Wither and Bloom: Caught With Your Plants Down

Usable By: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard

Spell Level: 2

School: Necromancy

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: V, S, M (a withered vine twisted into a loop)

You invoke both death and life upon a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on a point within range. Each creature of your choice in that area must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 2d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Nonmagical vegetation in that area withers.

In addition, one creature of your choice in that area can spend and roll one of its unspent Hit Dice and regain a number of hit points equal to the roll plus your spellcasting ability modifier.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot above 2nd, and the number of Hit Dice that can be spent and added to the healing roll increases by one for each slot above 2nd.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

Short rests may be my biggest problem with 5e. The variance table to table with how often players get these and long rests throws class balance and intended resource usage into a giant whirlpool of chaos. Some groups will take three or four short rests between long rests, making the full casters struggle to conserve their resources. More likely, though, players are taking one or less short rests between encounters, and instead are taking near exclusively long rests. In the latter games, Wither and Bloom gives the underused hit dice mechanic a place to be useful. I’m a big fan of that.

Wither and Bloom is a 2d6 10 foot radius sphere of damage for a 2nd level spell combined with a 1d6-1d12 + mod heal within the same area. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of any spells healing or damaging at this rate, but here is the critical thing: this does both with a single action. Wither and Bloom will be at its best when its functioning as an action cost Healing Word bringing up the paladin who just dropped while finishing off the few creatures that downed them. In those moments, there are no spells that are this cheap to cast that can have that enormous of an impact.

That scenario isn’t particularly common, however. I’d venture to say Wither and Bloom is probably still worth casting if it's your only healing option to get a downed ally up, and normally downed allies will be next to something dangerous. In those scenarios, even if the hostile creature lived, you’re getting damage on it and bringing an ally to their feet. That certainly is good enough, especially on sorcerers and wizards who don’t have an abundance of options for healing magic at their disposal.

Druid’s have access to Healing Word, which I’d say is about as good as Wither and Bloom; it's cheaper and keeps your action free, but Wither and Bloom offers area of effect damage on top of the heal. Wither and Bloom will always feel flexible; you really don’t want to have to cast it to just deal damage if you’re allies are out of hit dice, but at tables where hit dice are expended infrequently anyway, you nearly always can get both, in which case this is a solid option. I’d normally recommend having one healing spell in your back pocket in case something goes wrong; I’m happy to say Wither and Bloom can compete with Healing Word for that slot. If you’re a sorcerer or wizard, this spell is exceptional, and will let you fulfill a similar role to the other full casters with healing access. You still should never up-cast this unless you absolutely have to.

5e Spells

Wither and Bloom: Caught With Your Plants Down