Temporal Shunt: Let’s Pretend That Never Happened

Usable By: Wizard

Spell Level: 5

School: Transmutation (dunamancy:chronurgy)

Casting Time: 1 reaction, taken when a creature you see makes an attack roll or starts to cast a spell

Range: 120 feet

Duration: 1 round

Components: V, S

You target the triggering creature, which must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or vanish, being thrown to another point in time and causing the attack to miss or the spell to be wasted. At the start of its next turn, the target reappears where it was or in the closest unoccupied space. The target doesn't remember you casting the spell or being affected by it.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, you can target one additional creature for each slot level above 5th. All targets must be within 30 feet of each other.

Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold

Reactions, oh reactions. A combat element I’d consider key to making engaging back and forth games with depth and choices. 5th edition technically has the mechanic, but man is it underdeveloped. There are only a handful of features in the game, let alone spells, that give you something to do with your reaction each round. This makes it so that anytime there is a new ability or feature that offers one, you should seriously consider it, no matter how minute the effect may be. Temporal Shunt is a new 5th level reaction spell, and its effects are FAR from minute.

Temporal Shunt reads to me like Counterspell that also negates any number of attacks made in a turn. It's an effect where you can simply say “Naw, not today” to the most harmful attacks and spells the game has to offer. Like Counterspell, how tables rule knowledge of spells cast will radically affect this spell’s power in those specific circumstances. Unlike Counterspell, the outcome is always dependent on a die roll. Temporal Shunt trades consistency for flexibility.

If Temporal Shunt always only hit spells, I’d say it's a niche spell for a few tables, but probably not needed everywhere. With it also potentially denying attacks, this becomes a new staple on more or less any wizard who has spells to burn. It is expensive: I normally like my reaction effects cheap. A 5th level slot to a 9th level wizard is a huge ask, especially when some times it’ll consume the slot, pass the save, and you get nothing as a result. If you ever do succeed, though, you’re looking at negating effects that you know could kill somebody. It can be a miracle when you need one, denying a battery of attacks from a single source, or denying an 8th or 9th level spell for a 5th level slot.

Exiling a creature into time isn’t strictly beneficial, but it’s mostly beneficial. Oftentimes removing a creature for a full round will eat the creature’s turn whenever it leaves, offer allies free movement to reposition away from the threat, and give everyone time to ready an action to lay into it when it returns. At its worst, you’ll remove a creature you really wanted to kill on a specific turn before evildoers can reinforce it. I think that scenario is going to be infrequent, though.

Temporal Shunt is a reaction spell that even for a 5th level slot provides a potentially game changing effect. You won’t be casting it constantly, but as you get higher and higher level it’ll become easier and easier to put creatures in time out. If you’re eating two or three creatures' actions with an up-cast, you’ll be very happy with the effect. Looking for a new powerful reaction? Pick up Temporal Shunt.

5e Spells

Temporal Shunt: Let’s Pretend That Never Happened