Psycic Scream: Scream Bloody Murder
Usable By: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Spell Level: 9
School: Enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 90 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Components: S
You unleash the power of your mind to blast the intellect of up to ten creatures of your choice that you can see within range. Creatures that have an Intelligence score of 2 or lower are unaffected.
Each target must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, a target takes 14d6 psychic damage and is stunned. On a successful save, a target takes half as much damage and isn’t stunned. If a target is killed by this damage, its head explodes, assuming it has one.
A stunned target can make an Intelligence saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a successful save, the stunning effect ends.
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
“‘AHHHHHHHH!’” “BLSH” - Aerie, tiefling warlock, and the heads of two dozen gnolls exploding around her
Psychic Scream is one of my absolute favorite 9th level spells. It's not on the same playing field as Wish or True Polymorph, but all 9th level spells can’t be. What Psychic Scream offers is the top end psychic fantasy: you think really hard and all your enemies' heads around you pop like balloons. I love that so much.
Beyond just the flavor, Psychic Scream is a genuinely powerful effect to have access to.
Stunning strike is a controversial monk feature that can lock down fights by stunning multiple targets each round; Psychic Scream one-ups that by dealing way more damage and stunning the creatures until they pass an Int save at the end of their turns.
Stunned creatures are incapacitated (they can’t take actions or reactions), automatically fail Str and Dex saves, and all attack rolls against them are made with advantage. Having a 90 foot selective AOE around you that can stun creatures and deal 14d6 damage (the same damage as a 9th level Fireball) is great. Once stunned, you and your friends are free to wail on them as hard and fast as you’d like, and can expect little recourse for a few rounds. Even just stunning two high CR baddies can be worth it alongside the damage you’re dishing out with it.
Like I said, this isn’t on the same playing field as Wish. This isn’t something as a DM you have to rebuild the world around or arbitrate in ways you’d never expect. Honestly its damage could probably be a dice size higher, and it wouldn’t hurt if it could affect any number of creatures within the area, but as written, it's fine. If you like the psychic murder fantasy that pops peoples heads with your mind, Psychic Scream is exactly the spell for you.
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