New Spells: Acid Cones and Variants
This content can now be found at its most updated version in The Elements and Beyond, a free 246-page compendium that you can download right here, filled with 23 subclasses, 8 spellcasting feats, 134 spells, 213 spell variants, 85 monsters, 30 magic items, 4 races plus 12 new subraces each with racial feats, and even more goodies for both players and DMs!
I thought it would be fun to preview some of the new acid spells coming in The Elements and Beyond, and it just so happened that both of these new spells feature interesting mechanical variations on cone areas. Acid doesn't get quite enough love in the official D&D material -- its pretty hard to fill out the spell list of a dragon sorcerer trying to specialize in acid beyond level 3. That's one reason why D&D Unleashed features a number of new acid spells, including a wide variety of acid-variants of existing and new spells, along with some new spells that are acid-based without being variants.
Art Credit: https://www.deviantart.com/mattdemino/art/Flesh-Eating-Ooze-761953865
Glistening Acid Slick began with the design goal of a spell that would have synergy with other party members knocking enemies prone, but that (unlike terra spike) would also knock enemies prone itself. Knocking an enemy onto the floor is a solid plan when you've covered the floor with acid. Just don't use this spell on any nice rugs! It’s up the the DM how much this spell affects the floor its cast on, and since it doesn’t specify that it damages objects it shouldn’t melt the floor out from under you… but I doubt many DMs will let you cover a fine hardwood floor with magical acid and not leave a scratch on it. It’s also worth noting that this spell is a good counter to creatures like oozes, since they are counted as always being prone. Why? Well, creatures that cannot be knocked prone are either constantly pressed against the ground already (like an ooze), and thus should take damage from the spell like a prone target, or they aren’t on the ground at all, in which case the spell properly deals them no damage.
The other new one, Beluud's Bile Blossom, combines a single-target spell attack with a cone area at a long range. This cannon-blast of acid is perfect for melting the warchief at the head of an orcish horde, and then the horde behind him too! If the target takes full damage from both hits, this spell deals comparable damage to finger of death at the same level, but the target has an easier time avoiding much of the damage with this spell. It can be very easy to end up dealing the target a pitiful 15 or so acid damage with your 7th-level spell slot, and the positioning requirements can make utilizing both sides of the spell to its fullest extent rather tricky. If you can, though, you can end up dealing the damage of a finger of death to one target while throwing a weaker version of cone of cold at the enemies behind it.
Since we had some nice high-level acid spells here, I thought I'd round them out by including one of the damage variants from D&D Unleashed of an official existing spell. I adore all four of the damage variants for disintegrate, and liquefy is no exception. It's probably my favorite acid-variant of an existing spell, which is why it's appearing here.
Two of the other damage variants are worthy of comment as well, as they appear on spellcaster specialization lists in The Elements and Beyond. Gravelslide is rather predictably a Geomancy spell, and Thundercrash Cannon is an Aeromancy spell by virtue of its thunder damage, not its lightning damage. These feats provide bonuses for spells from their spell list and have special abilities that activate when you cast them, enabling players to build into specializations that are a single theme but aren't a single school or damage type.
PDF Link | D&D Beyond Links: Glistening Acid Slick, Gravelslide, Beluud's Bile Blossom, Light to Shadow, Thundercrash Cannon
