Dungeons And Dragons: Spells Missing From 5th Edition

Summary

Disarm spell was left out of 5th edition, leaving players with a less convenient disarm action.
Vortex spell was a chaotic and powerful spell that created entertaining combat scenarios.
Bone Blade spell allowed players to conjure a weapon, adding to the sense of magical power and freedom.

When new versions of Dungeons and Dragons come out, there are always some cuts to be made. Whether for better or worse, updated editions have chosen to go with certain spells and abilities over other ones, leaving many old spells behind in the dust. However, some of these spells are some of the absolute best to have graced the pages of any Dungeons and Dragons manual, leaving players to wonder why they were ever left out.

Dungeons & Dragons: 5 Skills Every Ranger Should Know (& 5 To Avoid)

Rangers are a key part of any Dungeons & Dragons party, but, while some of their skills are absolutely vital, others are fairly useless.

Posts

There are obviously reasons why Wizards of the Coast chose to leave these spells behind, but it's still left a gaping hole in some Dungeons and Dragons players who are yearning for their favorite, sometimes goofy, spells to make a return. With that being said, here are some of the best, and most entertaining spells left behind in the transition to 5e.

8 Disarm

Disarm Enemies Of Their Weapons

The Disarm spell seems like an obvious choice to include in the game, yet it was never included in the 5th edition. Instead, players have the option to use the disarm action, which makes things a little more difficult and complicated since it's very situational. It's great that there is still a feature to disarm enemies, but it's not one that any magic player will be performing any time soon.

The 30 Most Useful D&D 5e Spells Players Should Have

Here are some helpful Dungeons & Dragons 5e spells that any magic-using player should make use of during their adventures.

Posts

Disarm was a great spell because it created more tactical options on the battlefield. Wizards could cast Disarm and other players could pick up the disarmed weapon on their turns, sometimes enabling dual wielding or bonus attack options. It was fun and creative, and often highly useful, and it's pretty surprising that it was snubbed in the 5th Edition.

7 Vortex

Attack Enemies With Magical Energy

Vortex was a crazy spell that wizards could cast and it often proved highly entertaining since the caster would barely be able to control the spell. Casting Vortex meant players could fire a swirl of magical energy at an enemy. It took two turns to cast and turned into a huge tornado that the player would have to maintain concentration over to continue its effects.

Casters could move in the direction of the tornado, but it was a temperamental thing that even had a chance of moving back in the direction of the caster. It was an over-the-top ridiculously powerful spell that made for a lot of hilarious combat scenarios and is sorely missed by all chaotic wizards out there.

6 Bone Blade

Turn Air Into A Weapon

Bone Blade was an awesome spell that was left out of the 5th edition, and it allowed spell-casters to conjure a weapon out of thin air. Sure Warlocks can already do that in 5e, but it's a cool feature for other players to be able to cast a spell like this also. It's spelled like Bone Blade which allows players to immerse themselves in role-playing, and actually creates a feeling of magical power.

Dungeons & Dragons: 10 Best Conjuration Spells In 5e

The Conjuration school offers great utility in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Here are the best spells players should take advantage of.

Posts

Bone Blade was an eighth-level spell that summoned a bone blade to the caster who could wield it for as long as the spell's duration. It did a decent amount of damage and even did a little extra against undead enemies. All in all, Bone Blade was a cool spell that gave players more freedom and a cool sense of power.

5 Duodimension

2D Enemies

This was a neat little spell found in 2e which allowed casters to turn targets into essentially 2D versions of themselves, as only their height and width became visible to others. It was often used as more of a passive spell to assist party members or NPCs in crawling through tight, narrow spaces. However, it could also be used as a comic spell against unwitting enemies to create an optical illusion or irritate shopkeepers.

A cool feature of the spell was that part of the caster's spirit would get sent to the Astral Plain, meaning creatures in the Astral Plain could interact with the target. As such, there was an inherent possibility that casters of Duodimension could get pulled completely into the Astral Plain, and possibly never be seen again!

4 Sticks To Snakes

Priests Armed With Snakes

Another spell from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (2e) was the Sticks to Snakes spell which allowed casters to turn sticks into, well, snakes. This was a spell used by priests, who could turn more sticks into snakes the higher their level. It was a surprisingly powerful spell as priests could control each of the snakes they summoned.

Of course, Sticks to Snakes was a very situational spell as it was only effective in areas where there were lots of sticks. However, if used effectively, 9th-level priests could turn up to 13 sticks into 13 snakes, which also had a chance of being poisonous. Sure they only had about 2 HP, but think of the chaos that 13 snakes could create!

3 Mordenkainen's Involuntary Wizardry

Enemies Cast Random Spell On Themselves

Here's another hilarious spell from previous editions that unfortunately didn't make the cut. Mordenkainen's Involuntary Wizardry is a spell that can be cast on another spell caster which makes them cast a random spell they have prepared onto themselves. The outcome of this spell is pretty much pure chaos, as the target can either end up doing any number of things to themselves.

A Split Image Of The Best Low-Level Spells

Dungeons & Dragons: Best Low-Level Spells

Even at lower levels, mages in Dungeons & Dragons have access to incredibly useful abilities. Here are the best for those starting out.

Posts

By Christopher Julian Anaya

A random spell is selected by the DM and the target has to perform a saving throw to determine if Involuntary Wizard lands. If it does then the target could blow themselves up, summon a monstrosity or an ally, heal themselves, or even poison themselves. The possibilities it creates are endless plus it's a fun and entertaining way to spice up the battlefield in an unexpected manner.

2 Rainbow

Shortbow Summon

Rainbow was another fun spell from 2e, and it's very colorful, to say the least. 5th-level priests who are in sight of a rainbow can cast this spell to summon a majestic, shimmering shortbow with rainbow hues. The magical bow can shoot seven arrows, one for each color of the rainbow and players can shoot up to 4 arrows per round.

Each colored arrow has the ability to cause extra damage against certain enemy types. For example, red does double damage against fire dwellers or elementals whilst green does double damage against creatures who live in water and water elementals. These arrows are not only fun and beautiful, but also pretty dangerous as they have an added +2 to their hit and damage rolls. Shooting rainbow-colored arrows has been missed by many priests around the world.

1 Summon Cats

The Power Of Felines

Cat lovers across the globe are seriously missing this funny spell that first appeared in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2e. For feline lovers and cat enthusiasts, two of the largest cats nearest to the caster (within a 20-mile radius) are summoned to fight for the caster. Listen, yeah it's kind of silly, but the fifth edition is seriously missing out on these hilarious, goofy summon spells. There's something about the randomness to it all that just works.

The best part of this spell is that the two summoned cats can be any type of feline. This includes tigers, giant cats, leopards, or just household pet cats. It's one of those spells where the caster has no idea what will be summoned, often making for some of the most entertaining role-playing experiences. 5e needs more spells like Summon Cats!

Image