Talk:Glitterdust (5e Spell)

I added this spell to dndwiki years ago in the form we use at my table. I modeled it after an old favorite from past editions. I was disappointed to see it changed. Please restore it to how it was, and if you want a 5th level version of glitterdust for your own tables, make a new entry for your own spell. 11-Feb-2023

5e doesn't have spells with a duration increasing by level as a standard, only having durations increase by casting at higher levels in flat increments. It's a level of micromanaging from older editions that 5e intentionally left behind.

Otherwise, this spell is basically Faerie Fire with the blinded condition added, and quite a bit more powerful that it would be more appropriate as a higher level spell. The spell blindness/deafness is the same level as this and only targets a single creature, where as this one can affect all creatures in a 20ft sphere, for instance. It's a massive power spike, and makes it a spell that should be an automatic choice, which is to be avoided. Power spikes should occur at 3rd, 11th and 17th for spell levels, ideally.

Another comparison would be the 1st level spell Color Spray, which when cast at 2nd level has a smaller area, restricted range, similar base duration (where as this spell increases per level at current), and affects 8d10 (8-80 hp, average 44 hp) hp worth of creatures instead of -all- of them. Just having the blind effect is far too powerful for the AoE at this level, but also removing invisibility and adding stealth disadvantage pushes it even further up.--Kahz (talk) 01:51, 9 October 2016 (MDT)

Hi thanks for the criticism. I've edited the Glitterdust version a bit in response to your input, I used the 3.5 version as a template and completely forgot to change duration to fit 5e. Good on you to compare with Faerie Fire, and Colorspray they are good examples to use for a discussion.

In 3.5 Colour Spray was ridiculously good at the lowest levels, apparently the devs in 5e didn't like that so they nerfede it into the ground. So much so that I find it completely useless, so I don't completely agree that it is the spell I should use as comparison when judging appropriate power level. I think Faerie fire as you also mention is a better one for comparison. Faerie Fire has one major benefit since it doesn't offer extra saves each round, so I think it's not completely skewed in Glitterdust's favor. I wanted to keep some of the utility of 3.5 Glitterdust against invisible enemies so rather than outright cancelling invisibility I just kept the Stealth disadvantage since by RAW it seems like an invisible character isn't exactly hidden without taking a Hide action, so other players still know what square the invisible creature is in unless it successfully hides. The progression from using higher spell slots is a bit wonky, and definitely worth criticizing. I have a bit of a bias against the slot progression of spells in 5e it's often too weak IMO, and very few spells add any extra functionality, but I looked a bit at Major Image and bestow Curse as inspiration to do something about concentration, which is an arbitrary balancing mechanic that has literally nothing to do with the world of Faerun, so I detest it, while acknowledging that removing it completely at my table would create too many balance problems. So I think many concentration spells would be kept viable at higher levels if there was a way to remove the concentration req by using higher spell slots.

I do not currently have an account, but will probably create one next time I want to do any homebrew. So I hope, but am not sure, you will actually see this at some point. :-) -Ibskib

Even with the new tweaks, the fact this can blind several creatures at once (let alone other benefits) makes me think it should be at least a 3rd level spell if left as it is. Otherwise, why would anyone ever prepare blindness/deafness over this? Concentration doesn't seem like a good enough reason. — Guy (talk | edits) 09:56, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

This spell is inferior the 3rd level hypnotic pattern in every way. This spell has been nerfed into oblivion.

Yes, this is useless at fifth level, and goes against the original posters wishes as you can read at the top. Please keep it 2nd level. If you think it is OP, then just use your own version at your table rather than sabotage this homebrew version. Or make a new entry with your own version. Dec-2023