Hello spellcasters of all shapes and sizes! Welcome to my spellbook and thank you so much for checking out the 10th episode of our first level spell series. Today we are looking at one of the most iconic spells in all of d&d, may i introduce to you every pyromancers dream come through true burning hands usable by the sorcerer and wizard and through extension anyone else with access to their spell lists of which and this is a very popular regardless found in the players handbook and let’s get to work on some of those mechanics here.
Table of Contents
Mechanics
- Level: 1
- Casting Time: 1 Action
- Range/Area: Self (15 ft Cone)
- Components: V, S
- Duration: Instantaneous
- School: Evocation
- Attack/Save: DEX Save
- Damage/Effect: Fire
So your damage is a 3d6 fire and a half damage on a successful save. The cast time is one action, the range is a 15-foot cone which is actually quite decent. The duration is instantaneous, the saving throw is dexterity and at higher levels the damage increases by 1d6 for each spell slot above first.
So at if you burned up a second level spell slot using it would be a grand total of 4d6, third level spell slot would be a 5d6 etc etc. The components are somatic and verbal. Meaning you have to you know this was a little bit unique in the way that you guys need both hands to cast it.
So the somatic point the component is kind of times 2 and that you have to be able to speak forth incantation as well. The school is evocation and the damage type unsurprisingly is fire. Now let’s check out the full description so we can kind of get a better feel for this spell.
Description
As you hold your hands with thumbs touching and fingers spread, a thin sheet of flames shoots forth from your outstretched fingertips. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The fire ignites any flammable objects in the area that aren’t being worn or carried.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.
Very cool stuff! This is once again one of the most iconic d&d spells. When we think about fire-based magic or even damage based magic this is ranked incredibly highly of the most recognizable probably right beneath fireball in all honesty and it is for that reason as well as a decent damage and decent AOE that a lot of people pick it.
It’s a fun spell to be able to work with and the biggest drawback however is it specifically says you need both hands for this. You need both of your thumbs touching and fingers spread. That means you cannot be carrying a weapon. I suppose you could always use the war caster feat to kind of jumbled jumbled mix that up a little bit but for the most part it’s a hard rule. That being said, let’s take a look at some alternative uses here.
Alternative Uses
Now the only one i could really think of out of combat would be well i mean i guess there’s two. Al right! So firstly you could effectively use it to burn down any building really. I mean a 15-foot cone is quite substantial and if the building is comprised of wood or something of that nature could be incredibly useful there. You may also like to read can a warlock use burning hands?
Another way i’d like to see it used and i have see it use this wau in the past is the ability to really trap enemies. For example if you know where the enemies are you know their approximate locations etc etc. You can get a surprise round in there’s nothing to stop you from kicking in a door and torching mutliple enemies at once. Also read this does distant spell work on burning hands?.
I think that is a great way of using it. A lot of strategy aspect in this spell, really i find in to the right circumstances. It could very easily and encounters all together, especially if there’s just low health things like goblin stuff of that nature. You can also check out this do tieflings get burning hands?
Conclusion
In any case if you have any alternative uses for this spell that you would like to share we do appreciate it. Seems if you have any cool stories involving it, i respond to absolutely everything on this website i love you guys so much and i’m looking forward to seeing this website grow with you. Your support has been so helpful and i really do appreciate the fact that all of you guys there, especially those of you who’ve been around since the very beginning. With that in mind i hope you all have a great day and as always happy casting everyone. magic missile 5e | mage hand 5e | scorching ray 5e.