Earthquake: On Shaky Ground

Usable By: Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer

Spell Level: 8

School: Evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 500 feet

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Components: V, S, M (A pinch of dirt, a piece of rock, and a lump of clay)

You create a seismic disturbance at a point on the ground that you can see within range. For the duration, an intense tremor rips through the ground in a 100-foot-radius circle centered on that point and shakes creatures and structures in contact with the ground in that area.
The ground in the area becomes difficult terrain. Each creature on the ground that is concentrating must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature’s concentration is broken.

When you cast this spell and at the end of each turn you spend concentrating on it, each creature on the ground in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is knocked prone.

This spell can have additional effects depending on the terrain in the area, as determined by the GM.

Fissures. Fissures open throughout the spell’s area at the start of your next turn after you cast the spell. A total of 1d6 such fissures open in locations chosen by the GM. Each is 1d10 × 10 feet deep, 10 feet wide, and extends from one edge of the spell’s area to the opposite side. A creature standing on a spot where a fissure opens must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or fall in. A creature that successfully saves moves with the fissure’s edge as it opens. A fissure that opens beneath a structure causes it to automatically collapse (see below).

Structures. The tremor deals 50 bludgeoning damage to any structure in contact with the ground in the area when you cast the spell and at the start of each of your turns until the spell ends. If a structure drops to 0 hit points, it collapses and potentially damages nearby creatures. A creature within half the distance of a structure’s height must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 5d6 bludgeoning damage, is knocked prone, and is buried in the rubble, requiring a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check as an action to escape. The GM can adjust the DC higher or lower, depending on the nature of the rubble. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and doesn’t fall prone or become buried.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

You probably don’t want Earthquake. It sounds awesome from a narrative perspective; you will the earth itself to shake and break apart, sundering buildings and burying your foes! Practically, by the time you’re casting 8th level spells, Earthquake feels like a baby shake, a slight nudge, a tummy rumble.

What it does have going for it is it does a lot of different things all at once. It can break concentration, drop a large group of creatures prone, open up a few small fissures, heavily damage or drop some structures, and damage and potentially prone more creatures than those in the initial area. With all of that in mind, there just isn’t a lot happening here that is POWERFUL.

If you need a way to force a concentration save without damaging a creature, this can do that, which is fairly niche. By having the save use your spell save DC instead of the normal concentration DC there is a real upside to doing it this way. You could instead just hit the creature, or cast the 3rd level spell Sleet Storm, which also is a way to get a large area of creatures prone if that’s what you want to do.

On the note of creatures dropping prone, doing so endangers your melee allies to falling to the same fate while bolstering the enemy defenses from ranged attacks. Being prone isn’t always a bad thing; if you’re going after enemies that outrange you, having the ability to drop prone with no action required can function as a free dodge action. Because of the range of the spell, I ask then when would you want to knock enemies prone from such a distance? It just seems like you’re either emboldening the enemies or hindering your allies simultaneously.

The fissures are where the spell really sells the fantasy, but it creates only one to six, determined by the DM. Falling in the fissures is just a ten foot drop; for an 8th level spell I want a fissure that at least deals more than 1d6 fall damage. Large creatures barely fit, and huge or larger literally ignore this portion of the spell.

Fifty damage to structures is a headache for DMs to work with. The existing rules for structures and objects hit points are minimal, meaning the DM just ends up arbitrarily deciding if the building is coming down. If it does, it can incapacitate large numbers of weak creatures, but there are a dozen spells of equal or lower level that can do that with greater consistency and less “what ifs”. This effect is neat, and can affect the world in some epic ways, but isn’t actually doing something powerful for its level. In the hands of a villain or demolitionist player there might be that one time you use it specifically to level a small village, but that’s so fringe I’d rarely expect to see it happen. You know what else levels a small village? A series of fireballs, a group of summoned rhinos, or something as simple as a loose, uncontrolled flame!

Worse yet, for some reason it requires your concentration. By this stage of the game there are dozens of spells you’d rather be spending your concentration slot on. Do you really want to spend your 8th level slot AND your concentration on a barely better Sleet Storm?

Earthquake is a lot of text, rules headaches, and bookkeeping for a bunch of effects you can get for half the level or less. I really wanted Earthquake to be the geomancer’s Storm of Vengeance, but it's just not. It's just sad.

5e Spells

Earthquake: On Shaky Ground