Protection from Evil and Good: With Fiends Like These

Usable By: Cleric, Paladin, Warlock, Wizard

Spell Level: 1

School: Abjuration

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Touch

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

Components: V, S, M (holy water or powdered silver and iron, which the spell consumes)

Until the spell ends, one willing creature you touch is protected against certain types of creatures: aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead.

The protection grants several benefits. Creatures of those types have disadvantage on attack rolls against the target. The target also can’t be charmed, frightened, or possessed by them. If the target is already charmed, frightened, or possessed by such a creature, the target has advantage on any new saving throw against the relevant effect.

Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold

I’m a big fan of niche spell effects with excellent effects. D&D is a game about sharing a group spotlight, each person passing around the coolness torch while showing off the unique things their character is good at. Protection from Evil and Good creates a clear moment for the clerics, paladins, warlocks, and wizards out there to be epic. It's not something you’re going to be casting every adventure, but many will have moments where this can really shine.

Despite the name, Protection from Evil and Good doesn’t really care about a creature's alignment; it cares about its type. Aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead make up a good chunk of monsters you can expect to face in high fantasy adventure of the week style games. At tables with wandering monsters, random encounters, or just a variety of environments, Protection from Evil and Good is something you can expect to be valuable in a good amount of encounters. In games focused around a specific environment or creature type, depending on said environment Protection from Evil and Good can become a ubiquitous buff you’re casting every fight, or something you’ll nearly never cast the entire campaign.

More often than not I’d expect you’d want to cast this on others instead of yourself. The spell wants the target to be attacked to get the most out of it; it being concentration makes it so the more you’re attacked, if you’re concentrating on it, the quicker it goes away. Having a plan to then stay behind somebody with this on can keep its duration up for a long while and provide maximum benefits by weakening a larger quantity of attack rolls.

The effects it provides aren’t encounter winning, but can radically improve your chances at winning a fight. Giving your barbarian immunity to possession against ghosts can single handedly save what otherwise would be a lost fight. As a paladin, taking your already high AC and pairing with imposed disadvantage on all the mephit attacks you might otherwise be taking can make it so you’re nearly impossible to actually hit. Encounters with the listed conditions or a large quantity of attacks will care about this more than those without, but even against a few wraiths or a death knight, a 1st level spell slot for the bonuses you’re getting against them is absolutely worth it.

Protection from Evil and Good may not be a spell you’re starting out with, but if you’re finding you have a bunch of lower level slots you don’t know what to do with unused in the mid to upper tiers, this can be a great pickup. In games centered around any of the listed creature types this is an obvious powerful addition to a lot of characters. If you’re in any of those circumstances or want a few powerful situational buff spells, Protection from Evil and Good delivers.

5e Spells

Protection from Evil and Good: With Fiends Like These