I let my players take any spell that deals elemental damage (fire, cold, acid, lightning, or thunder) and switch the type to a different element. It has caused 0 issues and let’s us make specific character ideas work.
3/3.5 had some neat lightning spells – scintillating sphere, chain lightning, Gedlee’s electric loop, ball lightning, Presper’s moonbow, and lightning fog. I don’t imagine they’d be too hard to adapt to 5e? Not that that justifies wotc ignoring other elemental damage types.
And that’s why I give my players pdf’s full of spells from places like DM’s Guild, Blackstaff’s Book of 1000 Spells literally adds a thousand spells from elemental spells to lost spells from older editions. If WotC can’t be fucked to add elemental spells then I’ll just find some and add them to my game, easy fix.
Previous editions. Thunder was a big thing in 4e, lightning has been since 2e. You may need to convert some spells up from 3/4e, but it’s not too hard to do – 5e damage scaling is probably more 4e than 3e, and you’ll obviously need to strip effects more complex than forced movement off to keep 5e simple.
There used to be a great glass of specialty mages that were in old White Dwarf magazines, iirc. Heavy robes(ac 9( = 11 in new AC) long swords, and spears, and lots of cool elemental attacks. Very balanced, fun classes. The acid mage was a favorite.
Storm sorcerers could use some help. But let’s be honest: a tempest cleric getting to maximize the damage of a lightning bolt with channel divinity might be a bit OP.
Looks like a decent list for Storm Sorcerers to me. I’m not even concerned about Tempest Clerics because they get Thunderwave, Shatter, Call Lightning, and Destructive Wave as domain spells. And I bet if you asked nicely, your DM might let you swap out a 4th-level domain spell for Storm Sphere since it was printed in XGtE…
Wotc: let’s make spells do lightning damage with out making a spell with this optional rule for sorcerer
Players: ya this is ok but where the lightning and thunder spells
Baddysunny
I let my players take any spell that deals elemental damage (fire, cold, acid, lightning, or thunder) and switch the type to a different element. It has caused 0 issues and let’s us make specific character ideas work.
Meanwhile, here I am trying to play a water based mage. Not ice, not thunder, maybe lightning, but mostly water.
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It’s rough.
Numbers of spells for the interested:
35 Fire damage
18 Lightning damage
13 Thunder damage
25 Cold damage
16 Acid damage
10 Poison damage
25 Necrotic damage
21 Radiant damage
22 Psychic damage
26 Force damage
26 Bludgeoning damage
11 Piercing damage
6 Slashing damage
This includes things like dimension door dealing force damage to the user for poor aim.
3/3.5 had some neat lightning spells – scintillating sphere, chain lightning, Gedlee’s electric loop, ball lightning, Presper’s moonbow, and lightning fog. I don’t imagine they’d be too hard to adapt to 5e? Not that that justifies wotc ignoring other elemental damage types.
And that’s why I give my players pdf’s full of spells from places like DM’s Guild, Blackstaff’s Book of 1000 Spells literally adds a thousand spells from elemental spells to lost spells from older editions. If WotC can’t be fucked to add elemental spells then I’ll just find some and add them to my game, easy fix.
Thats what I’m saying, why the fuck does the tempest cleric have insect plague?
Previous editions. Thunder was a big thing in 4e, lightning has been since 2e. You may need to convert some spells up from 3/4e, but it’s not too hard to do – 5e damage scaling is probably more 4e than 3e, and you’ll obviously need to strip effects more complex than forced movement off to keep 5e simple.
Meanwhile acid/poison casters….
Wotc: best I can do is fire
There used to be a great glass of specialty mages that were in old White Dwarf magazines, iirc. Heavy robes(ac 9( = 11 in new AC) long swords, and spears, and lots of cool elemental attacks. Very balanced, fun classes. The acid mage was a favorite.
Of you could take Transmuted Meta Magic and make everything lightning or thunder damage. Definitely an oversight, intentionally or not, on WoTC part.
Back in the 3.x days there was a metamagic feat called Energy Substitution that would handle this behavior.
Though the Cleric has some lightning and thunder domain spells and sorcerers get transmuted spell (the sorcerer subclaass is bad though)
1. Booming Blade
2. Lightning Lure
3. Shocking Grasp
4. Thunder clap
5. Chaos Bolt(Sometimes)
6. Chromatic Orb
7. Thunderous Smite
8. Thunderwave
9. Witch Bolt
10. Dragon’s Breath
11. Shatter
12. Call Lightning
13. Elemental Weapon
14. Glyph of Warding
15. Lightning Arrow
16. Lightning Bolt
17. Thunder Step
18. Elemental Bane
19. Storm Sphere
20. Destructive Wave
21. Chain Lightning
22. Prismatic Spray
23. Illusory Dragon
24. Prismatic Wall
25. Storm of Vengeance
All Thunder or Lighting Spells. Fire has 34 alone.
BuT wHaT aBoUt LiGhtNiNg BoLT ? !
Tempest domain clerics get spells like thunderwave and shatter which are both kickass lightning/thunder spells.
Storm sorcerers could use some help. But let’s be honest: a tempest cleric getting to maximize the damage of a lightning bolt with channel divinity might be a bit OP.
Chromatic Orb
Thunderwave
Witch Bolt
Dragon’s Breath
Shatter
Lightning Bolt
Thunder Step
Storm Sphere
Chain Lightning
Prismatic Spray
Looks like a decent list for Storm Sorcerers to me. I’m not even concerned about Tempest Clerics because they get Thunderwave, Shatter, Call Lightning, and Destructive Wave as domain spells. And I bet if you asked nicely, your DM might let you swap out a 4th-level domain spell for Storm Sphere since it was printed in XGtE…
Sorcerer, they’re in your class’s spell list. Pick them.
Wotc: let’s make spells do lightning damage with out making a spell with this optional rule for sorcerer
Players: ya this is ok but where the lightning and thunder spells
Be ready for the tempest cleric to do max damage lighting balls now at least twice a day
Liiiiiiightning Lure