New Spells: Wind Funnel & Sonic Boom
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!
Art Credit: http://www.artofmtg.com/art/aven-wind-mage/
It’s been a while since we last posted any aeromancy previews. Aeromancies are spells that affect primarily air and wind, which means they usually deal bludgeoning or thunder damage. A list of all aeromancy spells, both published (such as whirlwind, control winds, or thunderclap) and new ones, will appear in The Elements and Beyond, accompanying the Aeromancer feat that the spell list works with. Aeromancer is one of many spellcaster specialization feats found within the upcoming compendium, which grant bonuses to spells from their specific spell list and give the caster additional abilities that can be used when casting one of those spells.
These two spells are both spells that affect an area, making them very powerful against groups of weaker enemies, just as any area spells do. Both of these spells also sacrifice some damage in order to move their targets around and knock them prone, making them very potent spells to use not just for area damage but also area control. Since standing up from prone requires half a creature’s movement, the targets of these spells will have a hard time regaining their original position after being moved and knocked prone. Sonic Boom is excellent against creatures close to an edge or a cliff, since it can easily push them over the precipice without the spellcaster having to reposition at all. Wind Funnel, on the other hand, usually requires the spellcaster to be mindful of their position, since the affected enemies are pulled directly toward the spellcaster. This spell can also send foes tumbling off a cliff (such as when casting the spell at targets across a yawning chasm), but usually its much harder to coordinate that when pulling enemies closer to you. However, pulling enemies closer also means pulling them together, making them even more susceptible to subsequent area effect abilities and spells.
Aeromancies can deal lightning damage, but spells that deal lightning damage only appear on the aeromancy spell list if they also deal thunder damage and have a distinctly atmospheric theme. That means that a spell like storm sphere is an aeromancy, but lightning bolt isn’t. Filling out the aeromancy spell list is one of the reasons that D&D Unleashed contains a number of new air- or wind-themed spells, like these two.
Links: PDF | D&D Beyond: Wind Funnel, Sonic Boom
