Chaos Bolt: I Cast Whatever
Usable By: Sorcerer
Spell Level: 1
School: Evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Components: V, S
You hurl an undulating, warbling mass of chaotic energy at one creature in range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 2d8 + 1d6 damage. Choose one of the d8s. The number rolled on that die determines the attack's damage type, as shown below.
If you roll the same number on both d8s, the chaotic energy leaps from the target to a different creature of your choice within 30 feet of it. Make a new attack roll against the new target, and make a new damage roll, which could cause the chaotic energy to leap again.
A creature can be targeted only once by each casting of this spell.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
I know dozens of people who have tried out Chaos Bolt. The fantasy sounds wacky and whimsical; who doesn’t love a little volatile randomness now and then, right? Chaos Bolt gives you a spell that deals some damage to a creature, and sometimes will bounce to another enemy and do MORE damage! That sounds sweet, right?
Unfortunately, it only occurs about an eighth of the time. Every other time, this is a slightly lower damage and random damage type version of Chromatic Orb. Your odds of getting it to bounce again is another one in eight. I have never once witnessed the spell bounce twice.
What Chaos Bolt gets wrong and why it won’t deliver the fun chaotic energy it promises is that its effects and outcomes are just too tame. People love wild magic sorcerers for the moments where they’re in the heat of battle, fire off a Lightning Bolt from above, and spontaneously break the tension by turning into a potted plant. Chaos Bolt is a downgraded damage spell that rarely hits two things. A spell’s damage type rarely matters, so the randomness here feels like an extra pointless step, and even when you do get the 12.5% chance of it bouncing, all you’re getting is more damage.
Chaos Bolt could have succeeded by doing something more interesting than damage, and having higher odds of bouncing about. This could ignite, freeze, slow, or do any other number of conditional effects. First level spells represent a pretty robust amount of effects; attaching versions of these effects to Chaos Bolt could actually have let it be an unpredictable and exciting to use spell instead of just a slightly better cantrip for a 1st level slot.
The biggest failures in D&D to me are the options that sound exciting to people and ultimately disappoint them. Chaos Bolt comfortably lands in this tier. If you’re looking for a single target 1st level damage spell, this is usually a slightly worse Chromatic Orb. That’s it. The highest high you’re likely going to get is a single bonus bounce within eight or nine casts. If you end up casting this forty or more times, you might see two bounces. If you’re in the market for some spell offering a bit of spice and diversity to your games, this really isn’t it.
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