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Spell: witch bolt

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Imogen and Witch Bolt

so, i have a few thoughts about imogen and her use of the spell witch bolt, and why that might be a problem when they get to higher levels (emphasis on might; there’s definitely a possibility that laura adjusts imogen’s playstyle as new options become available to her)

basically, witch bolt is a bad spell. a very bad spell. it’s somewhat decent at lower levels, but there are cantrips that outclass it in damage by the time you reach level 5. however, this is mitigated by imogen being able to use twinned spell; she could also twin a damage dealing cantrip, but that would only last one round, whereas witch bolt could last for up to 1 minute if she keeps concentration. but against single targets, it’s going to be strictly worse than some cantrips.

so, let’s get into a little bit of math. i’ll try to keep it really simple since a lot of people really do not like math. you can skip this paragraph if you don’t care how i do the calculations. for any attack, we can calculate an average damage per round, or DPR (you can do this for anything that causes damage, but it gets more complicated with saves, so for now we’ll just focus on spell attacks). it’s pretty easy to calculate the average damage for a given amount of dice; 1d12 has an average of 6.5, 2d10 has an average of 11 (5.5+5.5), etc. however, you have to also account for the fact that there’s a chance that you miss entirely; so to actually calculate average DPR, you multiply the damage dice by the likelihood that you’ll hit. it does get more complicated when you factor in the chance of getting a natural 20 and double damage, but that’s the general gist. you can find the equations i use for DPR on RPGbot (i would link to it but tumblr hates external links, you can find it by googling “rpgbot dpr”). for all of these calculations, i’ll be assuming the target has an AC of 15, since that’s the recommended AC for monsters with a challenge rating between 5 and 7 as per the DMG. We’ll also be using +7 as imogen’s spell attack modifier, since at level 5 proficiency bonus goes up to +3.

So. Witch Bolt. Cast against a single target at level 1, imogen would deal 4.225 damage on the initial hit, on average. if she already hit and uses subsequent actions to deal damage, her average DPR would be 6.5, since the likelihood of a hit is 100% and the likelihood of a crit is 0%.

compare that to what imogen’s DPR would be with fire bolt at level 5. imogen probably doesn’t know fire bolt (we probably would have seen her use it), but it probably would be a good idea for her to take it. her DPR would be 7.15. that’s higher than both the initial damage AND the subsequent damage of a single target level 1 witch bolt. she gets more damage for casting a cantrip each turn, rather than spending a 1st level spell slot and maintaining concentration. if she upcasts witch bolt to level 2, her initial hit would on average deal 8.45 damage, but on subsequent rounds her DPR would still just be 6.5. in the long run, imogen STILL deals more damage casting a cantrip over and over than using a 2nd level spell slot and maintaining concentration.

fire bolt is the best sorcerer cantrip for damage, because it deals damage in d10s. Chill Touch and Ray of Frost deal damage in d8s, and would give a DPR of 5.85. that’s more than the initial damage on a level 1 witch bolt, but it is a little less than the subsequent damage for witch bolt. However! they cost much less in terms of resources. no spell slot, no concentration. even if imogen isn’t spending spell slots on the subsequent rounds of witch bolt, she is still maintaining concentration, and quite frankly, she could be using her concentration on much better spells. her resources would be much better spent on concentrating on a spell like Web and casting a cantrip over and over for damage.

the main benefit witch bolt offers is when it’s twinned. a twinned 1st level witch bolt still deals less damage on the initial hit than a twinned fire bolt, but the important difference is that ALL of the subsequent rounds of damage are doubled without having to spend additional sorcery points. so there is sort of an argument to be made that witch bolt could be useful against multiple targets. however, there’s still the problem of concentration, and there are gonna be better spells to concentrate on at higher levels. and, just to reiterate, against a single target, witch bolt is strictly worse than fire bolt.

this is honestly mostly a psa not to overvalue witch bolt in your own games, but i was really thinking about it in the context of imogen after watching her use her action to deal 1 damage against a single target. it’s not that big of a deal at this level, since cantrips don’t scale up in damage until level 5 anyway, but i just really hope she does adjust when it gets to that point. having played a sorcerer, i can say it is harder to adjust playstyle than other casters since you aren’t learning spells as fast as the wizard or preparing from a massive list like the cleric. but it is going to be important when witch bolt goes from meh to awful.

#critical role #critical role meta #imogen temult #dnd #witch bolt #cr spoilers #i hope i don’t come across as mean or patronizing #it’s just that witch bolt is one of those notorious spells that looks really good but is actually really bad #i wish it were better because it really seems to fit imogen from a flavor perspective #but she’s probably better off reflavoring a better spell

Andy (playing Glupbub): I say to First Mate Grum, "Your Captain's dead, so you're in charge now. I think you should stand down and save yourself and your crew." That's a 19 for Persuasion.

DM: Lumi, you're close enough to see that he's foaming at the mouth. Eyes completely wild. He doesn't even hear Glupbub.

Tati (playing Lumi): Yep, seen that before.

Adam (playing Griz): Hiii.

Andy: Fine. I use witch bolt on Elfonso.

DM: How do you want to do this?

Andy: Yes! I shoot the lightning from my twig and it comes out of his eyes.

DM: Gross, I love it.

#funny #dnd #persuasion #rage #Glupbub #Lumi #Griz #Hamish DM #just little d&d things #ooc #combat #pirates #barbarians #witch bolt #gross #one shot

Witch Bolt

Although warlocks are rarely seen firing off Witch Bolts, the spell has roots in eldritch magic.

According to lore (the story is never prefaced with “according to Legend,” on account of it being dull and never told around campfires), there was once a coven of witches with a particularly modern-minded member of the trio. She commanded lightning to accomplish most wiccan tasks -- substituting hot plates for cauldrons and using an electrical flying broom which was much quieter than the gas-guzzling brooms of her peers.

Her ability to shoot magical lightning in all directions was a skill known and feared throughout the countryside, and by none moreso than the other two witches. Her allies, one known for always wearing plate armor and the other known for her 8ft-tall pointy hat, were unnerved by how lightning seemed to have a mind of its own. I’m putting this very lightly.

Despite herself, the witch in question eventually put to pen a spell specifically designed to fire lightning without fear of it leaping in all directions. She refused to admit that Witch Bolt was created to quell the complaints of the other witches. Instead, she merely grew tired of being yelled at from 20 yards away and wanted them to feel safe enough to come nearer and complain at a more reasonable volume.

The original version of Witch Bolt is far more powerful and likely to stop any monsters, allies, bystanders, and overhead birds in their tracks. The original spell differs from the refined version in the following ways:

1. Instead of targeting one creature, the spell targets yourself. 2. All creatures (besides yourself) within 50 feet of you must make a dexterity saving throw or take damage. 3. On each of your turns for the duration, you can use your action to deal damage to any creatures within radius who failed their initial saving throw. 4. On any of your turns while you’re concentrating, you can choose to force all creatures within range to re-do their saving throw. 5. You are Restrained for as long as you concentrate on this spell. If you lose concentration on the spell before the duration is complete, you and all creatures within rage take 1d6 lightning damage for each spell slot you expended.

What details on the spell that remain are sketchy, since most notes are concerned with how to administer CPR to elderly witches.

Common knowledge regarding the spell is plentiful: many alchemical shops can be spotted across town by the gnarled lightning rods used to create the material component. The verbal component is usually a complicated chattering, but purists believe that throwing one’s head back in a mad cackle is the only way to fire off Witch Bolts.