Fog Cloud: The Fart of Darkness
Usable By: Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard
Spell Level: 1
School: Conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
Components: V, S
You create a 20-foot-radius sphere of fog centered on a point within range. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts for the duration or until a wind of moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the radius of the fog increases by 20 feet for each slot level above 1st.
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
Fog Cloud has a special place in my heart. It’s such a useful little tool to have in your back pocket that can get you out of sticky situations for just a single 1st level spell slot.
Heavily obscured areas treat creatures within them as if they were blinded. Blinded creatures can’t see, automatically failing ability checks that require sight, have disadvantage on attack rolls, and grant enemies advantage on attack rolls against them. This breaks down into two major use cases, with the primary use case being as a tool to briefly obscure vision.
Blinded creatures for even just a few seconds can give the party time to relocate, hide, or perform tasks with discretion. Sounds may still give them away, but with some coordinated planning or decent stealth checks, Fog Cloud can facilitate escape maneuvers or quick crimes. At its best, Fog Cloud can provide cover to bamboozle enemies, leaving them dumbfounded and fumbling trying to figure out which of the four possible directions you could have gone in. At its worst here, though, they pick out your sound and can move through the cloud fast enough to keep pace. Your mileage may vary.
The second major use case is as a means of getting tactical combat advantages on enemies. Paired with blindsight, or other means of getting around the blindness effect, creatures can have advantage on all their attacks, while enemies will have disadvantage on their attacks. Fog Clouds placed on ranged enemy combatants can force them into vulnerable positions for your melee buddies while being within an area prone to giant AOE damage effects like Fireball.
My biggest issue with Fog Cloud is its concentration requirement. That paired with how easily it can be dispersed makes it difficult to keep using in the upper tiers regularly. Still, for such a cheap slot and with the mechanics it offers, Fog Cloud is a great option for a lot of characters. If you’re looking for a tool that isn’t always straightforward but has a myriad of uses, maybe pick it up!
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