Mind Spike: Your Place or Mind?
Usable By: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Spell Level: 2
School: Divination
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
Components: S
You reach into the mind of one creature you can see within range. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw, taking 3d8 psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. On a failed save, you also always know the target's location until the spell ends, but only while the two of you are on the same plane of existence. While you have this knowledge, the target can’t become hidden from you, and if it’s invisible, it gains no benefit from that condition against you.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 2nd.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
3d8 ranged damage pointed at one creature is roughly worth a 1st level spell slot. Chromatic Orb is a perfect example; outside of the niche upside of picking a damage type, that spell is 3d8 damage for 1st level spell. Guiding Bolt trades 3d8 for 4d6 and offers up advantage to an ally’s attack. Inflict Wounds upgrades the damage to 3d10, but asks you to be in melee range. It's well established that 3d8 is roughly what that spell slot is worth.
Mind Spike is a 2nd level spell that deals 3d8 damage to one creature on a failed save, or half on a success. This has the upside of being save based, meaning this will always do some amount of damage, but this damage is not worth the up-cast on its own. What do you get in exchange for 2nd level damage, then? Welp… nothing. At least, nothing meaningful.
Knowing a creature's location is fine and all, but not when your core objective at the moment is to kill it. If you’re casting a spell at a creature you can see that deals 3d8 damage, nearly always the goal is to kill it. There are next to no encounters where a Mind Spike is going to meaningfully assist you in tracking down something you’ve successfully hit. It needs to be basically exactly 60 feet away and about to successfully escape. 3d8 damage will outright kill most minions, meaning this isn’t a great way to scare something into running back to its boss and leading you to them. There are plenty of mundane ways to follow somebody, and classes like ranger’s get huge bonuses to doing these things.
To make matters worse for Mind Spike, the tracking effect actively makes it worse compared to other one action casting damaging spells as this requires your concentration. Have a summon spell up? Not any more you don't! Concentrating on a buff spell like Haste? Not if you’re casting Mind Spike, you're not!
3d8 damage to one creature with half damage on a failed save is probably barely enough as a 2nd level spell to consider. But needing to concentrate on it? No thanks, I’d much rather just cast Chromatic Orb or Magic Missile! This effect is niche, has almost no real situations where it’s helpful, and doesn’t not deal nearly enough damage to justify it breaking concentration on other effects. You don’t need Mind Spike.
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