Ray of Enfeeblement: Gets Better with Age
Spell Level: 2
School: Necromancy
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Components: V, S
A black beam of enervating energy springs from your finger toward a creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target deals only half damage with weapon attacks that use Strength until the spell ends.
At the end of each of the target’s turns, it can make a Constitution saving throw against the spell. On a success, the spell ends.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Okay, listen. I know it doesn’t read that well. Ray of Enfeeblement has so few words, eats your concentration, requires you to hit to do anything at all, then offers the hit creature saves at the end of each of its turns. Against an ogre making a single weapon attack a round, you’d be right in assuming this is certainly not worth the cast . HOWEVER: Ray of Enfeeblement has some sneaky utility in the mid to upper tiers, and will be the kind of spell that you’re happy you have access to with your lower level spell slots to potentially get a major boon. Wizards and the Death and Grave Domain clerics will benefit from this. Warlocks… not so much (thanks, Pact Magic).
Where Ray of Enfeeblement shines is against hard hitting singular threats with multi-attack and legendary actions and resistances. This is the kind of spell you bust out when the fight isn’t going to plan- your concentration gets knocked off from a stray hit, your fighter is taking the worst beating of their life, and you need to stall for a bit more actions with the few lower level slots you’ve got left. In this window, hitting a threat with Ray of Enfeeblement can take half of its potential damage away entirely until it ends its next turn. Any attacks made with legendary actions between now and then deal half damage. Any attacks it makes on its turn prior to saves deal half damage. You can buy dozens of hit points in a single round for just a 2nd level spell slot and hitting with a spell attack roll, and that can be the difference between life and death.
Ray of Enfeeblement isn’t something you’ll be regularly firing off as your concentration effect, nor should you expect it to last more than a couple rounds. If it does, it can trivialize an enemy, taking its 3d10+5 weapons down to a far more manageable 1 and a half d10s +5. When it's making three attacks a turn, you’re mitigating five and a half d10 damage a round, which often results in more rounds of conscious allies able to bring down the threat, all for an incredibly affordable spell slot. If you’ve got a better damaging or controlling ability to sling out with an upper level slot you’d probably rather be doing that. If you’re running on fumes, though, and only have your lowest level slots left in the tank, Ray of Enfeeblement can have a massive impact where many other 2nd level spells have become near obsolete.
Ray of Enfeeblement isn’t something I’d recommend picking up and using regularly at 3rd or 4th level, but something to consider past 7th level when you’re starting to bank a lot of higher level spell slots and have some room to switch out lesser used lower level options. Ray of Enfeeblement scales with your opponents damage output, making it something that will only get better for its cost the higher level you get. Give it a try!
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