Ravenous Void: Soul Crushing Despair

Usable By: Wizard

Spell Level: 9

School: Evocation (dunamancy:graviturgy)

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 1000 feet

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Components: V, S, M (a small, nine-pointed star made of iron)

You create a 20-foot-radius sphere of destructive gravitation force centered on a point you can see within range. For the spell's duration, the sphere and any space within 100 feet of it are difficult terrain, and nonmagical objects fully inside the sphere are destroyed if they aren't being worn or carried.

When the sphere appears and at the start of each of your turns until the spell ends, unsecured objects within 100 feet of the sphere are pulled toward the sphere's center, ending in an unoccupied space as close to the center as possible.

A creature that starts its turn within 100 feet of the sphere must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pulled straight toward the sphere's center, ending in an unoccupied space as close to the center as possible. A creature that enters the sphere for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there takes 5d10 force damage and is restrained until it is no longer in the sphere. If the sphere is in the air, the restrained creature hovers inside the sphere. A creature can use its action to make a Strength check against your spell save DC, ending this restrained condition on itself or another creature in the sphere that it can reach. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by this spell is annihilated, along with any nonmagical items it is wearing or carrying.

Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold

9th level spells are the top end fantasies of D&D. These are the big ones; you’re granting wishes, you’re raining meteors from the sky, you’re stopping time and seeing the future. Ravenous Void creates a black hole, and it functions exactly as I’d want it to… except it probably should do a bit more damage.

Ravenous Void does somewhat fill a niche 9th level wizard spells were missing. This is the giant area of effect status effect. You pull everything towards a twenty-foot sphere and restrain everything within it. Creatures with less than 45 feet of speed are going to be stuck in it for at least two turns should they fail a single save, or if the void is created on top of them thanks to the difficult terrain. Creatures needing to take actions to escape makes it so it's a constant pressing threat that can deal with one hundred feet worth of monsters at a time.

5d10 damage is pretty bad, even if you’re getting two or three instances of it when compared to Meteor Swarm. Still, Meteor Swarm doesn’t also restrain a huge amount of creatures at once. If you’re getting four rounds of damage out of Ravenous Void, I think the conditions make it comparable to Meteor Swarm as far as it being a spell to handle large groups of enemies with ease. It being concentration does make that a much taller order, but seeing as the void actively protects you from advancing threats, it's not too much of a concern.

It will be genuinely difficult for non-teleporting enemies to get away from this. Functionally, this is a 120 foot area sphere of death; if you’re ever within it, you risk crashing towards the center and getting obliterated. It's still probably a bit too tame, and could have been pushed a bit more for its slot. But as is, if you’re looking for a big battlefield control finisher for your level 17 wizards, Ravenous Void can do the job.

5e Spells

Ravenous Void: Soul Crushing Despair