Transmute Rock: Put On Some Soft Rock

Usable By: Artificer, Druid, Wizard

Spell Level: 5

School: Transmutation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 120 feet

Duration: Until dispelled

Components: V, S, M (clay and water)

You choose an area of stone or mud that you can see that fits within a 40-foot cube and that is within range, and choose one of the following effects.

Transmute Rock to Mud.
- Nonmagical rock of any sort in the area becomes an equal volume of thick and flowing mud that remains for the spell’s duration.
- If you cast the spell on an area of ground, it becomes muddy enough that creatures can sink into it. Each foot that a creature moves through the mud costs 4 feet of movement, and any creature on the ground when you cast the spell must make a Strength saving throw. A creature must also make this save the first time it enters the area on a turn or ends its turn there. On a failed save, a creature sinks into the mud and is restrained, though it can use an action to end the restrained condition on itself by pulling itself free of the mud.
- If you cast the spell on a ceiling, the mud falls. Any creature under the mud when it falls must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 4d8 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Transmute Mud to Rock.
- Nonmagical mud or quicksand in the area no more than 10 feet deep transforms into soft stone for the spell’s duration. Any creature in the mud when it transforms must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature becomes restrained by the rock. The restrained creature can use an action to try to break free by succeeding on a Strength check (DC 20) or by dealing 25 damage to the rock around it. On a successful save, a creature is shunted safely to the surface to an unoccupied space.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

Quicksand: one of the greatest adventure movie tropes. Who doesn’t love the suspense of our beloved hero sinking into certain doom, only to cleverly figure out how to rig up a vine to a bunch of rocks to give themselves a last moment of escape? Transmute Rock brings that experience to 5e in a pretty novel way. It's not going to reshape your character or break the game by any stretch, but in the hands of the DM or some clever players, Transmute Rock can be super fun to play with. It fits in the category of “lower level spells can do it better”, but does have some unique elements that make it worth the slot.

Out the gate, this is a spell that loves tunnels. If you can get both the floor and ceiling turning to mud, you’re looking at both super difficult terrain, 4d8 mud rain damage, and potential restraints in a fairly wide area. It offers a nice bit of utility and will regularly eat multiple enemy actions as they trudge through the most difficult of difficult terrain. Creatures at the center of this need to spend at least 80 feet of movement to get out. Even with dashing, creatures with 30 ft. walking speeds are going to need to spend more than a turn escaping here, possibly more than two if they get restrained. Paired with the falling rocks, we’re looking at a very solid effect all together. Without the 4d8 damage, Sleet Storm is probably a better option than this for closing down an area if you don’t care about your concentration, as you don’t need stone environments for it to function. If you do care about concentration and want the effect, Transmute Rock is excellent in most adventuring locales.

While rock to mud will be fairly usable at most tables, mud to rock on the other hand will be a bit trickier to find uses for as most environments aren’t going to be laden with thick mud. Fortunately stone to mud is good enough that mud to stone ends up being a nice little flavorful ribbon more so than something eating the power budget of the spell. Plus, as you get into the upper tiers, spending a pair of 5th level slots to mud a bunch of creatures then stone them is pretty cute.

All things considered, this is a great utility tool for area control in specific environments that has a permanent lasting effect that crucially doesn’t take your concentration. That makes it somewhat unique and pretty solid. As a DM, this spell is a roadmap for using thick mud and quicksand as hazards, and is a great tool for earth mages to slip into their toolbox to shakeup a fight in a really interesting way. This will have clear moments where it’s great, while almost always being somewhat usable. If you’re in the market for some crowd control tools that oozes flavor, give Transmute Rock a try.

5e Spells

Transmute Rock: Put On Some Soft Rock