Searing Smite: As Dangerous as Sparklers
Spell Level: 1
School: Evocation
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Duration: Concentration up to 1 minute
Components: V
The next time you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack during the spell’s duration, your weapon flares with white-hot intensity, and the attack deals an extra 1d6 fire damage to the target and causes the target to ignite in flames.
At the start of each of its turns until the spell ends, the target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 1d6 fire damage. On a successful save, the spells ends. If the target or a creature within 5 feet of it uses an action to put out the flames, or if some other effect douses the flames (such as the target being submerged in water), the spell ends.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the initial extra damage dealt by the attack increases by 1d6 for each slot.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
D&D is foundationally a game about math and pretending. With these two powers combined, you have the grounds for make-believe with rules. D&D is at its best to me when both the numbers and fantasy you create are in harmony; you’re rolling the big dice and doing the cool stuff. Searing Smite is the cool stuff for sure: igniting your foes to burn in holy fire for their sins. Numerically, the spell is a joke. A spell that is highlighting an epic fantasy while interacting with the game math in a near meaningless way is the worst kind of spell to me, as they can trick people who want to do the cool thing they describe into using them, and ultimately let them down by it being just worse than not taking the option at all.
In this specific case, Searing Smite is competing with the paladin class feature divine smite. Without needing to concentrate on anything, and without needing to consume your bonus action, you can use divine smite to empower an attack to deal a bonus 2d8 radiant damage on hit in exchange for a 1st level spell slot. Searing Smite takes a bonus action to use, can potentially do nothing if the encounter ends after you miss an attack or two, and deals a measly 1d6 bonus fire damage on hit. Subsequent damage comes on the hit creatures turn. If it passes the save the first time, you’re out of luck. You spent a spell slot for 1d6 fire damage instead of 2d8 radiant damage. If they fail, you get up to 2d6 damage, which still is less than just divine smiting in the first place. Only if it fails two subsequent saves in a row do you get to 3d6 damage at which point you’re barely out damaging the option you don’t have to prepare.
Divine smite also comes with niche cases where you get bonus damage to specific creatures. If you’re hitting an undead creature with it, you’re comparing Searing Smite to divine smite’s 3d8 damage, making it all the more pitiful. A big perk of divine smite is choosing to use it after knowing if you hit, allowing for critical hits to majorly multiply the damage being dealt. Searing Smite never gets to do that bonus damage.
The spell promises a lingering burn on a monster when realistically they’re getting put out after a couple rounds tops. Large monsters that you’d want to burn over longer times typically have higher Constitutions, and as a paladin your Charisma modifier isn’t going to typically be your primary stat. This leads to a comparatively low spell save DC that you want to use against monsters with solid Constitution modifiers leaving you in this awkward position where you know this isn’t likely going to work out numerically.
This is another in the long line of smite spells that are going to be worse than just smiting with the feature. It's baffling to me just how weak all of them are when compared to the base feature. You have to choose to prepare a smite after reading it knowing its numbers are just lower than regular divine smite. I will recommend almost always preparing the non-smite spells to add to your out of combat utility or protection capabilities. Preparing spells like Searing Smite don’t add anything new or powerful to your combat potential, and will leave you feeling underwhelmed in nearly all situations.
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