Enemies Abound: With Friends Like These…
Usable By: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Spell Level: 3
School: Enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Components: V, S
You reach into the mind of one creature you can see and force it to make an Intelligence saving throw. A creature automatically succeeds if it is immune to being frightened. On a failed save, the target loses the ability to distinguish friend from foe, regarding all creatures it can see as enemies until the spell ends. Each time the target takes damage, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Whenever the affected creature chooses another creature as a target, it must choose the target at random from among the creatures it can see within range of the attack, spell, or other ability it’s using. If an enemy provokes an opportunity attack from the affected creature, the creature must make that attack if it is able to.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Who doesn’t love the fantasy of mind controlling the villain’s minions to beat each other up instead of you? Crown of Madness is the introduction to mind control and 5e, and while Enemies Abound doesn’t give you direct control over your target, it does open up windows the turn basically any enemy, regardless of combat style, against their allies.
What I really like about Enemies Abound is its great in encounters with lots of creatures, yet still can have some niche applications even against a single foe. Obviously getting the enemy wizard to Finger of Death their own elemental is great, and the likelihood of something like that happening goes way up if you’re outnumbered. However, in games with more cutthroat tactics, removing enemy control over who gets hit can be a massive strategic advantage, even if they still are randomly hitting a party member. Its often best practice to send all of your damage at a single creature to reduce the enemy team’s action economy as much as possible. Removing the ability for an enemy to lay into one party member till they drop can spread the damage evenly and protect your side’s actions for the entirety of the fight.
Enemies Abound’s usefulness will be limited by roleplay and DM discretion. You might think you’ve found the perfect scenario and manage to get the hill giant to fail its Int save only for the DM to use that as a reason for it to flee as it's cowardly when it feels its allies have betrayed it. Sometimes creatures won’t smash at random, which while still likely a net positive, can detract from the fun of Enemies Abound for many. If you’re a DM and somebody is taking Enemies Abound, this is a natural balancing lever you can pull. If the party is using it heavily for a highly chaotic environment, and you want to reel the chaos in a bit, consider using RP as a tool to tone the spell down. If your a player and feel that the spell is acting more like a single target Fear than a high variance mental breakdown, talk with your DM about your and their expectations of the spell.
All in all Enemies Abound is a nifty save or die that might be a bit higher level than it needs. Its effect has a huge amount of variance involved, but when used strategically, can be a major asset to have access to. If you’re looking outside the PHB for new, nifty effects, Enemies Abound can scratch that itch.
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