In the multiverse of Dungeons & Dragons there are a lot of spells that sound really cool. Especially at low levels, you tend to learn or pick them up, but some of them are not as useful as their description suggests. We present you with 5 of them, so you don’t fall for them.
We have selected 5 spells for you that sound cooler based on their description than they are actually useful in practice. Especially at the beginning or at low levels, with a class that is unknown to you, it can quickly happen that you learn or take them, even though they are not particularly practical.
What is not so bad for clerics, wizards, or druids aside from cantrips is a bigger problem for bards, warlocks, or sorcerers, as they must choose their spells for each level up. To ensure that you don’t make a mistake here and know which spells sound better than they often are, we have selected 5 offenders for you.
No spell is completely useless, as it depends on how you use it. However, the specific limitations, high effort, or the necessity for specific situations that occur relatively rarely often make them less useful in practice.
How were the spells selected? For the selection, we focused on spells from the 5th edition, taking into account the rules from 2024. We also made sure to represent a wide range of different spells. For our list, we decided against a direct ranking, as the power of a spell depends on too many factors to compare them well.
A spell can be powerful because it deals a lot of damage or because it can manipulate the world around it significantly – or because a player cleverly uses it at an opportune moment.
What kinds of spells are there? In Dungeons & Dragons, there are hundreds of different spells you can choose for your characters. There are cantrips that cost no spell slot when cast. They may not be particularly strong, but are often very useful.
If you want to cast more powerful spells, you can choose from spells of various levels from level 1 to level 9, which each cost a corresponding spell slot. The rule is: the higher the level, the more powerful the spell. Also, not every class can learn every spell.
The spells belong to one of the 8 schools of magic:
- Abjuration
- Conjuration
- Evocation
- Illusion
- Necromancy
- Transmutation
- Enchantment
- Divination
Bestow Curse
- Spell Level: Level 3
- Available Classes: Bard, Cleric, Wizard, Paladin (Oathbreaker, Oath of Conquest)
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range/Area: Touch
- Duration: 1 minute (10 rounds)
- Damage/Effect: Debilitation
- School of Magic: Necromancy
- Attack/Saving Throw: Wisdom saving throw
- Components: V, S
- Spell on DnD Beyond
The name sounds fantastic at first – “Bestow Curse”! The effects (disadvantage on attacks/checks, wasted actions, damage disadvantage) sound powerful and can potentially cripple a single opponent. Additionally, you can cast it without concentration when using a spell slot of level 5 or higher.
The big catch is that the target must be touched to be afflicted with a curse – you will have to engage in melee combat to do this. This is dangerous for a spellcaster, who typically stands further back, in most combat situations. Alternatively, you can send a familiar to cast the curse on the target, provided you have one.
Moreover, the spell allows for a Wisdom saving throw, and many of the most dangerous opponents have high Wisdom scores. If the curse takes hold, it is strong, but the hurdle of casting it and overcoming the saving throw often makes it a poor choice in combat. For the same spell level (base level 3), there are often more effective control or damage spells.
