Haste: Stab Faster, Not Harder
Usable By: Artificer, Sorcerer, Wizard
Spell Level: 3
School: Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 30 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Components: V, S, M (a shaving of licorice root)
Choose a willing creature that you can see within range. Until the spell ends, the target’s speed is doubled, it gains a +2 bonus to AC, it has advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and it gains an additional action on each of its turns. That action can be used only to take the Attack (one weapon attack only), Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object action.
When the spell ends, the target can’t move or take actions until after its next turn, as a wave of lethargy sweeps over it.
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
You know what’s scarier than your rogue insta-killing one creature each round? Your rogue insta-killing TWO creatures a round! You can make that happen, all with a little help from everyone's favorite buff spell, Haste.
Haste reads a bit clunky, but performs exceedingly well in specific groups. At its best, Haste is like having an extra party member. The bonus move speed can equate to multiple extra actions a round if you’d want to move massive distances as it functionally gives you “free” dash actions. The bonus AC and advantage on Dex saves makes it a decent defensive tool that can boost your paladin or fighter into unhittable territory.
Where the meat is of course the extra action. Standard uses of the spell make your martial characters get an extra swing in; on your party’s rogue, you’re getting so much more. Sneak Attack triggers once each turn. By using a hasted extra action to deal sneak attack damage on their turn, your rogue can spend their regular action readying another stab against something, allowing them to get sneak attack damage on another person’s turn, literally doubling their effectiveness in most cases.
The downside is monumental as well; debilitating stillness when you lose concentration gives sweet counterplay for DMs to work with. If you consistently are hasting a melee character, which the spell encourages you to do, should you get caught off guard by a loose bolt or ray of sickness, you could find yourself bloodied, dropping concentration, and having stranded your mate in the center of a den of bugbears for an entire round. This trade off for what is a genuinely powerful ability can be incredible back and forth, and lead to super high highs and lows that feel fair.
Weighing this downside, you probably don’t want to Haste somebody if they aren’t dealing extra damage with the hasted action by means of chasing somebody down or getting extra attacks. The inability for it to work with cantrips, while frustrating for the munchkin in me, makes it a spell clearly designed to facilitate cooperation and coordination between the group. A cooperative spell? Made for teamwork? In MY Dungeons & Dragons? Crazy!
I can’t recommend Haste enough; my only real qualm with it is it can crowd out other effects like Longstrider, but nobody is casting Longstrider as is anyway. It has such a perfect use case that it’ll feel like a tool to frequently use without being the only thing you’re ever casting. There will be times where you’ll want to concentrate on something else, but you won’t ever be disappointed to have access to Haste.
Thank you for visiting!
If you’d like to support this ongoing project, you can do so by buying my books, getting some sweet C&C merch, or joining my Patreon.
The text on this page is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 6.0.
A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.