Tidal Wave: Flash Flood Warning

Usable By: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard

Spell Level: 3

School: Conjuration

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 120 feet

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: V, S, M (a drop of water)

You conjure up a wave of water that crashes down on an area within range. The area can be up to 30 feet long, up to 10 feet wide, and up to 10 feet tall. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 4d8 bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone. On a success, a creature takes half as much damage and isn’t knocked prone. The water then spreads out across the ground in all directions, extinguishing unprotected flames in its area and within 30 feet of it.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

3rd level spells have it rough. Every one of them has to compete with Fireball, a spell literally designed to stand out for its enormous damage. Most get swept up by the competition; not Tidal Wave. Tidal Wave comes crashing in with excellent utility, a pretty sweet area, and a solid chunk of damage. If you’re only looking for one or two damage spells, should you have the right party composition, you can consider Tidal Wave to fulfill that role.

The immediate damage comparison is an average of 18 versus an average of 28; that’s a pretty steep difference. HOWEVER; the prone condition can be excellent. Melee attacks against a prone creature are made with advantage, meaning should they act in between you and the hit creatures, this can offer advantage on a huge amount of attacks which can translate into more hits. If you’re only facing down two or three moderately harty creatures, converting a handful of attacks from misses to hits or hits to crits can easily lead to scenarios where you’re dealing functionally more damage than Fireball.

Prone also acts as a temporary speed reduction. If you can get a creature to spend an action dashing that otherwise wouldn’t have, or force it to take an entire extra round attempting to reach you and your party, you’re getting an effect that can be worth more than just ten extra damage. This can then be used over and over in long chase scenarios, potentially locking down huge numbers of creatures in specific areas.

Both of these scenarios aren’t always given, though. For starters, if your party is composed predominantly with ranged attackers, the first major upside is actually a downside. Ranged attacks against prone creatures have disadvantage, meaning this might end up offering a moment of reprieve in initiative for creatures running at you. In those scenarios at least you can be confident in the second benefit coming into play, as the prone creatures will be a bit easier to keep at a distance in large spaces. If you aren’t in a large open area, though, this may not even be applicable. There will be many environments where you’ll have nowhere else to move to, and back yourself into a corner. In those scenarios, the prone condition can feel entirely useless.

This leaves it as a spell that will thrive with both a front line focused, high move speed party that likes fighting in open spaces. In games built around exploration and open world style adventuring, when paired with monks, fighters, and rangers, Tidal Wave can be the exact right tool to supplement your build. Otherwise, it does limit itself down to a far more niche option that will only have a few moments to really shine per game, and you’ll feel a lot better just taking a damage only option or condition inflicting one instead.

5e Spells

Tidal Wave: Flash Flood Warning