Warding Wind: Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

Usable By: Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard

Spell Level: 2

School: Evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

Components: V, S, M (a drop of water)

A strong wind (20 miles per hour) blows around you in a 10-foot radius and moves with you, remaining centered on you. The wind lasts for the spell’s duration.

The wind has the following effects:

It deafens you and other creatures in its area.

It extinguishes unprotected flames in its area that are torch-sized or smaller.

The area is difficult terrain for creatures other than you.

The attack rolls of ranged weapon attacks have disadvantage if they pass in or out of the wind.

It hedges out vapor, gas, and fog that can be dispersed by strong wind.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

Would you ever cast a spell that’s sole purpose is to deafen you and creatures within ten feet of you? How about a spell that exclusively disperses vapors and gases? Is creating ten feet of difficult terrain around you something you’d actually spend a 2nd level spell slot on? Would you ever even consider spending the slot to extinguish torch sized flames? If you’re like me, the answer to all of these questions is absolutely not. So then, is it worth it to cast ALL of them at once?

Once you tack on imposing disadvantage on ranged attacks, I say probably. Of all the modes, this one stands head and shoulders above the rest as an actually useful defensive effect. It's by far the most common effect you’ll be looking to mitigate. Tactically, this can defend basically any number of the party from ranged attacks at the cost of being in the normally disadvantageous “Fireball Formation”; you get a neat strategic choice, and windows from fight to fight where you’ll want to cast this. For that reason alone, I’m a fan. Having reasons to care about you and your buddies positioning is something I think this game needs more of.

Any of the other effects wouldn’t ever be worth preparing for, but being incidentally tacked on here actually is great. Once in a while this will mitigate a Cloudkill or protect you from sirens. Having an effect that is generally good attached to niche solutions elevates this spell to where I want my spells to be: decent most of the time, and excellent in a few niche circumstances.

Concentration is a tall order, especially once it's competing with offensive options like summoning magic. If your goal is to be the defensive buffer, though, this is an option that scales well into the game, and will routinely surprise you with its utility. Even snuffing torches around you instantaneously can come up in the lowest levels of play. Each of these effects independently wouldn’t be worth your time considering. All together, Warding Wind is surprisingly solid.

5e Spells

Warding Wind: Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts