Player's Spellbook

Sick of those cowards in your party? Use heroism to imbue them with bravery and give them incentive to get hit. Tim almost creates Bilbo Baggins with his heroism specialist. And Derek's homebrew monster is the Gloryhound , a celestial that would rather see someone die fighting than live to fight another day. The perfect monster to lead your players into a TPK.

We've never met a reaction spell we don't like and Hellish Rebuke doesn't fail to deliver. Who doesn't love it when an enemy takes more damage on their turn than they deal? Tim shares a character build that maximizes fire damage. And Derek heats things up with his homebrew monster, the Censure Devil , which does more damage on opponent's turns than its own.

Healing Word is a give and take kind of spell. You give some hit points with your bonus actions and take some hit points with your action. Tim's character this week harnesses the wonders of Divine Soul sorcery and healing magic. Meanwhile, Derek brings us the Spirit of Valor , his homebrew monster this week.

Hail of Thorns is why DMs don't group their NPCs. But if you can find a way to group everyone together definitely take advantage. Tim shares what a horizon walker ranger can do when they're surrounded. And Derek's homebrew monster this week is the Wilden Seeker , who adds a little poison to their hail of thorns.

Cleric's tend to choose between hitting things or helping their friends, but not with Guiding Bolt! Tim introduces Gabby whose Guiding Bolts shed more than just dim light on their targets. Derek shares his homebrew monster, the ' Hammer of Judgement ', a helpful celestial and Gabby's best friend.

Need a 1st-level spell that can make an ancient dragon fall prone? Look no further than 'Grease'! Tim tried desperately to make a character that's immune to the prone condition, but only has a floating mechanical wild boar to show for it. Derek shares his homebrew monster the ' Slipslime ' which takes advantage of all the upsides of Grease with none of the downsides.

What happens when you consume 10x your daily nutritional requirements? Cast 'Goodberry' to find out! Tim has a goodberry-selling druid as his character this week. And Derek shares his homebrew monster, the ' Goodberry Bush ', a cute little plant to help your characters on their adventures.

Sick of all your players having darkvision? Try Fog Cloud instead! Tim shares his Fog Cloud specialist who uses blindsight to get the drop on foes. And Derek shares the creepy hag-adjacent Borda that chokes its victims with a long cord.

Floating Disk is that spell you use when you have a DM that loves to reward their players in copper coins. But what else is it good for? Tim and Derek explore some alternatives and Tim tries to slip one past Derek with his Floating Disk specialist. Derek shares his homebrew monster, the Porter, as a dedicated servant for your powerful fey NPCs.

Who doesn't want a pet that does everything they want and will come back to life when it dies? Derek shares why it might be his favorite 1st-level spell. Tim explains why Pact of the Chain Warlocks are Find Familiar specialists. And Derek shares his homebrew monster, the Familiarist , an NPC that can use their familiar like a meat shield.

Derek and Tim discuss why Feather Fall is a must have spell for any party and why good DMs give their players opportunities to fall from great heights. Tim's Feather Fall specialist is a thief/wizard who Derek designs a homebrew item for. Derek's homebrew monster is a mischievous air elemental called the Zephyrian .

Derek and Tim discuss why this spell isn't as good as Armor of Agathys, but why it's a good option to take anyways. Tim's character concept this week is a sorcerer who's addicted to casting False Life. Our homebrew monster this week is the Draugur , an undead barbarian who does more damage when it has temporary hit points.

What can't faerie fire illuminate? Derek lets us know in this episode. Tim shares his character concept for a Circle of Stars Druid who summons starlight from the Feywild. And Derek shares his homebrew monster based on faerie fire, the Irontooth Cat . It's a fey that hunts other fey.

Everyone's got a little rogue in them and with expeditious retreat you can let it out. In this episode we share how this spell will probably be used more to charge than retreat. In character corner, Tim shares his warlock who uses expeditious retreat with a fly and swim speed, but that quickly morphs into a sorcerer who uses subtle spell to juice in competitive races. Derek share his homebrew...

We're getting tangled up in all these spells. Entangle is a druid-special for those who love the restrained condition and requires a fun strength save if you're sick of those monks and rogues running around. Derek and Tim discuss the range and unique timing of the strength-saving throw before Tim introduces us to Edwin, a gentle druid who uses this spell for conservation. Then Derek shares...

This week we're looking at Ensnaring Strike. It's a Ranger-special with lots of advantages if you can get it to land. Let us know if you would be casting this spell or sticking to Hunter's Mark. Also, check out our homebrew monster of the week the incredibly versatile Cannibalista .

We're not completely sold on this Paladin-specific spell. Would you use it instead of divine smite with your limited spell slots? Either way make sure you catch Derek's homebrew monster The Octopod Archon for a combat geared towards your most clever adventurers.

If you don't like it when someone comes up behind you and whispers in your ear then you know all about how Dissonant Whispers works. Tim shares his Eloquence Bard and Sorcerer builds and Derek gives you something to terrify your party with: "The Melomaniac."

It's the friend of "Friends". Disguise Self is perfect for shenanigans, but fairly easy to detect. Tim explains why this is perfect for a School of Illusion wizard and Derek shares his homebrew monster the Rusalka . It's disgusting and creepy and perfect for drowning that PC you don't like.

If you have the kind of DM that just loves to poison you take "Detect Poison and Disease." It's the classic situational spell that won't matter for most of the campaign, but can save your life when it matters. Check out Derek's homebrew Weretiger Yuan-Ti Hunter on the DMs guild for a monster inspired by this spell.

It's the spell that answers the question, "where's the magic at?" Find out how Derek rules the corner case of invisible magic creatures and objects. Tim's character build is a cleric searching a low-magic world for an ancient relic. And don't forget to check out our homebrew monster of the week The Mage Hound !

It's the first spell in our "Detect" series. Let's hope you're surrounded by fiends and fey or this spell might be useless. And don't forget to check out Derek's homebrew monster the Makara, which was inspired by this wonderful spell.

Tim explains why he always chooses Healing Word instead of Cure Wounds and Derek tells us how WotC didn't follow their own guidelines when designing this spell. Also, Derek's got a new homebrew monster, the Healer . It's perfect as a support NPC to boost your bosses or your party!

We review this 2-for-1 special and try to figure out what an "open container" is. It's the perfect spell to launch your Mad Max-themed campaign. Tim shares his design for a desert druid and Derek gives us a homebrew monster called the Peri .

Comprehend Languages is the spell your DM wants you to take so you stumble into their lore drop traps. Tim shares his homebrew Bardic Sublcass - the College of Linguistics Bard and Derek shares the Archive . A monster that's perfect for your Spelljammer game. Find it now on the DMs Guild from Gryphon Games.