Moonbeam: Shoot for the Moon
Usable By: Druid
Spell Level: 2
School: Evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Components: V S M (Several seeds of any moonseed plant and a piece of opalescent feldspar)
A silvery beam of pale light shines down in a 5-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder centered on a point within range. Until the spell ends, dim light fills the cylinder.
When a creature enters the spell’s area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it is engulfed in ghostly flames that cause searing pain, and it must make a Constitution saving throw. It takes 2d10 radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
A shapechanger makes its saving throw with disadvantage. If it fails, it also instantly reverts to its original form and can’t assume a different form until it leaves the spell’s light.
On each of your turns after you cast this spell, you can use an action to move the beam 60 feet in any direction.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 2nd.
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
Druid’s don’t have a ton of low level damaging options at their disposal. There’s Ice Knife and Thunderwave at 1st level, and Flaming Sphere, Heat Metal, and Moonbeam at 2nd. So when you’re looking for spells to engage fights with, if summoning sounds like too much of a headache, Moonbeam is a pretty big contender for your 2nd level prepared spells.
What you’re getting is a 2d10 single space damage effect on a space. It’ll feel similar to Spiritual Weapon that you need to spend actions to move- a major downgrade. The damage is slightly higher, and if the creature doesn’t move you don’t need to spend any actions keeping the damage up, but if we’re comparing the two, Spiritual Weapon is easier to move, doesn’t eat your concentration, and does nearly as much damage.
The only remaining upsides Moonbeam has is it transforming shapeshifters, and hitting creatures stacked vertically. I’m sorry to say, but neither has a particularly high likelihood of occurring. There just aren’t that many shapeshifters out there, and by the nature of the game, creatures tend to group up on the ground, not above each other in the air.
Flaming Sphere is your other option for damaging 2nd level spells, and I think it probably is better on average than this. Yes, it does less damage, but it keeps your action free to make attacks, cast more spells, or take other meaningful actions. It’ll feel closer to Spiritual Weapon, which is the mark we’re trying to meet, and while still not particularly exciting, is probably a better bet.
If you like the fantasy of Moonbeam, and expect to face large, immobile creatures, it will do a decent chunk of damage round after round. It's not the greatest, but it’s one of the two main damaging options you get with your 2nd level druid spells.
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