Top 5 Spells to Extend with Extended Spell
by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Extended Spell offers an exciting opportunity- it reads as follows:
“When you cast a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can spend 1 sorcery point to double its duration, to a maximum duration of 24 hours.”
Making the most out of this effect can be tricky, as most spells ’ durations are more than long enough for what you typically ask them. There are a few exceptions, though- here, I’ll highlight some of my favorite spells to extend that become significantly better thanks to this metamagic.
5. Aura of Vitality
Divine Soul sorcerers, or sorcerers dipping into Cleric, can find Aura of Vitality an amazing spell to pair with Extended Spell. It offers you a special bonus action each round to restore hit points for its duration- when that duration doubles, so too does the total quantity of hit points you can restore!
2d6 per turn for 10 turns averages to 70 hit points for a 3rd-level spell slot, which is a pretty big chunk already. Higher-level parties may feel they need more than that, though, and Extended Spell doubles that average pool to 140 over two minutes, making it a pretty sweet option to consider.
4. Mage Armor
Sorcerers sometimes have to lean on Mage Armor to provide a decent AC. That normally comes at the cost of a 1st level spell slot. With Extended Spell, you’re trading yesterday’s sorcery points and slots for tomorrow's armor class!
All you need to do is cast an Extended Spell Mage Armor immediately before you long rest. After the rest, you’ll still have 8 hours of Mage Armor remaining, and recoup both the expended sorcery point and spell slot. It's like a free AC bump!
3. Aid
The option that is most interesting to me is Aid, and for all the same reasons as Mage Armor and Darkvision but with added extra benefits from the spell’s text and up-cast potential.
Prior to a long rest, you can cast Aid using your highest level slot to give out a truckload of extra hit points to the party. Each character can only benefit from one aid effect at a time still, but that’s often going to be 20-30 extra hit points. Normally that costs you a pricey higher-level slot, but again, you can cheese the system by resting immediately after casting, functionally granting your entire party free hit points depending on what slots you had left over after your last adventure.
Divine Soul sorcerers can pick this up easily; alternatively, any levels in Cleric will give you a way to prepare it if you’re in the market to expand your team’s total hit points at close to no cost.
2. Death Ward
Like Aid, Divine Soul sorcerers or sorcerers with levels in Cleric can easily make Death Ward a “party buff” if they have any left over 4th level slots and sorcery points before a rest. We’re seeing a trend here- eight-hour duration effects doubled offer you an opportunity to game the system by resting after cast while still benefiting from its normal duration for eight hours after.
Death Ward is always a struggle to cast for me because its cost is so high- when I can spend yesterday’s slots on it, it suddenly becomes functionally free! Avoiding going down outright is a massive bump to your party’s performance; it gives you more time and potential actions to figure out a solution to the pressing imminent death.
1. Foresight
Topping off your selection of spells that benefit from Extended Spell is a fitting 9th-level spell- Foresight. Normally, I’m not particularly high on Foresight because I want my 9th-level spells to do something instantaneous and splashy. When you can cast it before a rest and benefit for eight hours the next day while still having an open 9th-level spell slot, it's absolutely bananas.
At a minimum, two members of your party now can both be under the effects of Foresight at once, which is an enormous perk any party will want to have.
Where Doubling Length Matters
Your average 1-minute duration spell isn’t going to usually be meaningfully improved by doubling its duration to two minutes- the same somewhat extends to 10-minute and hour-long duration effects. Usually, they’re long enough for your needs. Eight hours is where things get spicy, and definitely where I’d look if you’re trying to maximize Extended Spells perks.
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