Fizban’s Platinum Shield: Take Cover in the Spotlight
Spell Level: 6
School: Abjuration
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 60 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Components: V, S, M (a platinum-plated dragon scale, worth at least 500 gp)
You create a field of silvery light that surrounds a creature of your choice within range (you can choose yourself). The field sheds dim light out to 5 feet. While surrounded by the field, a creature gains the following benefits:
Cover. The creature has half cover.
Damage Resistance. The creature has resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, and poison damage.
Evasion. If the creature is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, the creature instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.
As a bonus action on subsequent turns, you can move the field to another creature within 60 feet of the field.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
6th level spells are getting up there cost wise. They’re the first of the upper tier slots you only get one of per long rest as a full caster up until 19th level, and are outside the scope of all the half-casters. As a once per long rest type of effect, Fizban’s Platinum shield is a list of mediocre effects that you can move around as needed. Crucially, it's only a bonus action, but I end up wondering how much better is this than a simple Shield of Faith?
Fizban’s Platinum Shield does four things, none of which on their own are worth a 6th level slot. You give the target half cover (+2 AC and +2 to Dexterity saving throws), resistance to the five chromatic damage types, the evasion feature, and an unnatural glow that sheds a bit of dim light. By far the most valuable element is evasion; going from half damage to no damage on a failed saving throw can make huge amounts of damage from upper tier breath weapons or aoe damage spells feel harmless. This paired with the damage resistance puts Fizban’s Platinum Shield in a category of “silver bullets”; damage based saves that deal acid, cold, lightning, fire, or poison damage are going to be, at a minimum, quartered in effectiveness. That’s not bad, especially seeing as it only takes a bonus action to cast. You can still dash, dodge, fire off cantrips, or take another meaningful action alongside setting up this defense.
Outside of saves, you’re really only giving the affected creature access to an extra shield. That’s fine, but it can be done with a 1st level spell. If you’re facing down creatures who primarily are attacking, this is quite bad. If you’re against a large quantity of creatures this probably isn’t going to be all that beneficial either, as large quantities of threatening creatures make maintaining a protective concentration effect challenging. Even against an ancient chromatic dragon, Platinum Shield is only ever protecting a single entity. Primordial Ward is probably about as good in that scenario, and I’m not crazy about Primordial Ward.
I just struggle to see the value Fizban’s Platinum Shield brings that other options at lower levels don’t offer for longer periods of time or much cheaper spell slots. If you’re going for the blessed by bahamut dragonborn sorcerer, sure, this is a fine enough spell with a flavor win. Beyond that, this spell is just shy of being good enough to cast. I wouldn’t recommend it.
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