Wall of Stone: Rock Hard Erections

Usable By: Artificer, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard

Spell Level: 5

School: Evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 120 feet

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

Components: V, S, M (A small block of granite)

A nonmagical wall of solid stone springs into existence at a point you choose within range. The wall is 6 inches thick and is composed of ten 10-foot-by-10-foot panels. Each panel must be contiguous with at least one other panel. Alternatively, you can create 10-foot-by-20-foot panels that are only 3 inches thick.

If the wall cuts through a creature’s space when it appears, the creature is pushed to one side of the wall (your choice). If a creature would be surrounded on all sides by the wall (or the wall and another solid surface), that creature can make a Dexterity saving throw. On a success, it can use its reaction to move up to its speed so that it is no longer enclosed by the wall.

The wall can have any shape you desire, though it can’t occupy the same space as a creature or object. The wall doesn’t need to be vertical or rest on any firm foundation. It must, however, merge with and be solidly supported by existing stone. Thus, you can use this spell to bridge a chasm or create a ramp.

If you create a span greater than 20 feet in length, you must halve the size of each panel to create supports. You can crudely shape the wall to create crenellations, battlements, and so on.

The wall is an object made of stone that can be damaged and thus breached. Each panel has AC 15 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness. Reducing a panel to 0 hit points destroys it and might cause connected panels to collapse at the GM’s discretion.

If you maintain your concentration on this spell for its whole duration, the wall becomes permanent and can’t be dispelled. Otherwise, the wall disappears when the spell ends.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

Easy comparisons between Wall of Stone and Wall of Force might lead you to assume Wall of Stone is just a worse Wall of Force. First, Wall of Force creates an INDESTRUCTIBLE barricade. That, on its own, makes it have far more applications than Wall of Stone. Are you looking for a barricade to prevent creatures getting in somewhere right now? Wall of Force is better! Are you looking to contain something within a giant sphere? Wall of Force is better! Do you need a reprieve from a fight to strategize or talk down an enemy? Wall of Force is better!

Even as it's far worse than Wall of Force in the aforementioned applications, the power it is offering still is sizable. Trapping a large creature in a cube until it can deal at least one-hundred and eighty damage can offer you a handful of rounds of reprieve, which is likely more than enough to sway an encounter in your favor. By thinning out the walls, you can conceivably bar an even larger entity for less time, which is a real up-side over Wall of Force. You can create a massive stone wall that can block large groups of middle CR enemies for minutes, giving you ample time to explore, prepare, or escape as needed. While a Wall of Stone isn’t invincible, with enough thickness, it can be “invincible enough” to not really matter.

You’d rather have Wall of Stone when you’d want to build permanent stuff with it out of combat. In these cases, the spell is solid. If you’ve got some downtime, it can easily be used to erect literal defensible walls around entire villages, create a convenient connection over chasms and rivers, and even build the foundations of your own fortress. This makes the spell unique in that if you want it for this out of combat utility, it can be used in combat in a pinch, and be fairly effective in these cases.

It still falters to ethereal or magical gates, and high damage area of effect attacks can break large chunks of it at once. This does make a neat distinction point between Wall of Stone and Wall of Force, which ultimately leads me to being glad both exist.

I do wish there was a slightly worse 4th level version of this effect in place of the 5th level version, but as is, Wall of Stone can fit on a decent amount of character sheets, and ends up being a spell I’m both happy to use in and out of combat. It can be a great tool in exploring the world alongside navigating fights, and can leave permanent marks on the world that other magic really can’t. If that’s something you’re in the market for, give Wall of Stone a try. If you just want the in combat tool that offers a bit more game warping power, Wall of Force is where you should look.

5e Spells

Wall of Stone: Rock Hard Erections