Spirit Guardians: Break Out the Spirits
Usable By: Cleric
Spell Level: 3
School: Conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (15-foot radius)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
Components: V S M (A holy symbol)
You call forth spirits to protect you. They flit around you to a distance of 15 feet for the duration. If you are good or neutral, their spectral form appears angelic or fey (your choice). If you are evil, they appear fiendish.
When you cast this spell, you can designate any number of creatures you can see to be unaffected by it. An affected creature’s speed is halved in the area, and when the creature enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d8 radiant damage (if you are good or neutral) or 3d8 necrotic damage (if you are evil). On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 3rd.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
5th level is the big bump for basically every character that isn’t a rogue. Martial characters get their first extra attack. Full-casters get 3rd level spell slots. The game officially shifts from the early to mid-tier of play, with far more daunting encounters and expectations that player characters can deal with a greater variety of problems. Spirit Guardians is one of the major new tools in a cleric’s toolbox to approach these new challenges.
Spirit Guardians is no Fireball, nor is it really trying to be. It paints a picture of how clerics are intended to deal damage: in a controlled area around them, like a protector. They’re better at defending a space. They are rewarded for being in melee range and utilizing their higher base AC from their armor. Spirit Guardians offers you 3d8 damage a round each round you can maintain it to anything within 15 feet of you that you haven’t designated. If you can get 6d8-9d8 damage out of this, it will absolutely be comparable to Fireball damage for the slot, but needs to happen over time.
It requiring concentration does majorly hamstring its practicality; if you’ve got a bunch of spirits flying around you chopping your enemies to pieces, the enemies may find shutting that off by any means necessary becomes a priority, which quickly can result in the spell ending as your health depletes from the onslaught of attacks. Concentration on this short-ranged effect ultimately takes it from a superb tier of 3rd level spells to more mediocre and situational. If you’re only getting 3d8 damage to two or three creatures out of this, it's not going to be worth the slot, and that will be a fairly common occurrence.
The right party with a couple of other frontline characters can take this spell and get the most out of it. When you’ve got a paladin with Protection blocking shots for you as your Spirit Guardians cut up the monsters surrounding you, you’ll feel like a cohesive team taking on enemies that outnumber you 5 to 1. That’s a pretty fantastic fantasy to live out, but won’t work at many tables. If you’re in the market for a frontline damaging option for your cleric in a party that is good at protecting your concentration, Spirit Guardians can put up huge damage numbers. Otherwise, it may feel clunky and inconsistent, often resulting in not enough for its cost.
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