Aganazzar’s Scorcher: In the Line of Fire

Usable By: Sorcerer, Wizard

Spell Level: 2

School: Evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 30 feet

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: V, S, M (a red dragon's scale)

A line of roaring flame 30 feet long and 5 feet wide emanates from you in a direction you choose. Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d8 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 2nd.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

Sometimes you want to be a little evil; sometimes erupting the flames of hell beneath your enemies toes just speaks to you. Aganazzar’s Scorcher isn’t going to reshape how you play the game or anything, but fills a role in the 2nd level spells as a line based damage spell for wizards and sorcerers. That role doesn’t really need to exist when it's often going to be worse than an up-cast common first level effect, but hey, it doesn’t really hurt the game to exist.

The obvious and immediate comparison is to Burning Hands, and truth be told, I think Burning Hands will nearly always be better. 4d6 VS 3d8 is practically the same (14 VS 13.5 average damage), and Burning Hands likely is easier to get multiple enemies in most circumstances. HOWEVER: Aganazzar’s Scorcher is just so much cooler. Both cones and lines have to come from you, so both encourage you to position tactically. What I like more about Aganazzar’s Scorcher is the line is offering you a bit more choice in your positioning, at the cost of hitting a typically worse area. Being able to be more than ten feet from the creatures you’re aiming at while still dealing the area of effect damage you want is a wee baby upside that makes the spell just a little cooler to me. There will be moments where you’ll have to decide if getting into hit range is worth hitting the third creature at the end of the line; that’s a neat decision, and something Burning Hands doesn’t really offer as often.

There isn’t really much else to say about Aganazzar’s Scorcher. It's a line AOE fire spell for your wizards and sorcerers. You will immediately forget this exists after 5th level when you get Fireball, as 8d6 blows 4d8 out of the water damage wise. If you already have Burning Hands, you probably don’t need Aganazzar’s. If you don’t like Burning Hands, but still want AOE fire damage for some reason, give the scorcher a try. This spell really needs something else, any other effect, for it to have a meaningful place on your sheet. As is, it’s one of a dozen damage spells for your evokers out there.

5e Spells

Aganazzar’s Scorcher: In the Line of Fire