Sickening Radiance: Fun with Radiation Poisoning
Usable By: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Spell Level: 4
School: Evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
Components: V, S
Dim, greenish light spreads within a 30-foot-radius sphere centered on a point you choose within range. The light spreads around corners, and it lasts until the spell ends.
When a creature moves into the spell’s area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, that creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 4d10 radiant damage, and it suffers one level of exhaustion and emits a dim, greenish light in a 5-foot radius. This light makes it impossible for the creature to benefit from being invisible. The light and any levels of exhaustion caused by this spell go away when the spell ends.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
4d10 damage is pretty decent damage; it’s no Fireball, but not everything is. 8d10 damage? Well now we’re better than Fireball. 12d10? That’s just silly amounts of damage!
One level of exhaustion imposes disadvantage on all ability checks; two slows a creature by 10 feet, and three imposes disadvantage on all attack rolls and saving throws.
For one 4th level spell with an 120 foot range, you can get both of these effects in a 30 ft. area. Sickening Radiance has some serious potential.
Like all persistent damaging area effects, getting a creature to enter a space multiple times a round can ramp up the damage rapidly. Sickening Radiance offers the additional benefit of bumping their exhaustion levels up by one. After their first failed save, grapple checks they’re making are at disadvantage. After two failed saves, they have 10 feet less speed to get away. After three, all subsequent saves are made with disadvantage. That’s probably overkill, and likely still not happening that often, but man, if you ever shove something in and out of this twice in a round, and then it starts its turn there, it is in for a REALLY bad time.
Adding temporary exhaustion like this I think is a great concept to explore. Exhaustion is one of the deeper mechanics in 5e as it has tiers, ways it gets removed, and some interesting, albeit broad, penalties. I think the mechanic as a whole could use a second pass, but using it in this way takes what otherwise is just a standard zone of damage 4th level spell with the right numbers and turns it into a pretty interesting time bomb that can kill even the hardiest of creatures with enough failed saves.
Sickening Radiance doesn’t LOOK like it fits in at the table to me, but that’s just my preference. If radiation poisoning is your jam, Sickening Radiance is here for you. It comes with a neat, usable condition, some fun ways to maximize its effectiveness, and enough damage you’ll never really feel bad casting it. If this all sounds good to you, try it out!
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