Glibness: Turn On the Charm
Spell Level: 8
School: Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Duration: 1 hour
Components: V
Until the spell ends, when you make a Charisma check, you can replace the number you roll with a 15. Additionally, no matter what you say, magic that would determine if you are telling the truth indicates that you are being truthful.
Review by Samuel West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
The classic RPG experience is growing with a character that slowly gets better and better at doing the things that you find awesome. The fighter stabs faster and harder, the ranger scouts even in the insane climates, the bard bangs even the least likely to bang creatures out there; all of this coalesses at the top end spells. Glibness is not one of these spells.
When you cast it, you’re shaving off fourteen results from the d20. In practice with proficiency, expertise, Charisma, and other bonuses, you’re locking in results in the mid twenties to low thirties. The problem is DCs in 5e don’t really scale that high making these numbers unimportant; they all are successes, but most results on the d20 would be success anyway.
If you go to persuade, deceive, or intimidate to navigate a social encounter, you’re likely using your go to charisma check. Both bards and warlocks typically have one or more of these at the ready with a +5 charisma and +5/+6 from proficiency. Bards come with expertise, doubling the proficiency bonus, meaning their floor is already around a 16. A 16, even in the upper tiers of play, will often result in a success anyway, meaning they already can’t fail (reminder that RAW natural ones don’t automatically fail ability checks and saving throws). Warlocks get a bit more out of this, as 11s by this stage fail a lot of checks, but you are basically giving up an 8th level slot to remove the 25% chance of failure, which seems pretty bad. All of this is before magic items, advantage through help, Guidance, bardic inspiration, and all the other possible boons and abilities out there to boost ability checks, making it so even the warlock is auto succeeding without it.
The final bit on the spell is niche, and ultimately not that helpful. Sure, being able to lie to an angel or in a Zone of Truth may come up, but that’ll nearly always be a known element to them. Detect Magic exists; you need to prepare things like Nondetection alongside Glibness just to tell a straightface lie that comes off as genuine. All of this can often be overcome with clever wording, making this effect moot.
If you love rolling big numbers and hate the in person bullshitting many party faces thrive in, Glibness might be for you. Are you playing a charisma caster who has no charisma skill proficiencies by 15th level? Glibness might be for you! Do you NEED it on either, or any, character? Absolutely not. This spell makes the thing you’re already amazing at marginally better some of the time. Take a real 8th level spell.
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