Hello spellcasters of all shapes and sizes! Welcome to my spellbook and thank you so much for checking out the 31st episode of our 3rd level spell series. Today we have admittedly one of the most underutilized spells in the game at least as far as my experience recalls i can’t remember a single caster i’ve played with ever using this spell which is really disappointing cuz it’s a fantastic one in my opinion and i’ve used it several times as a DM to great effect every single time. In any case today we’re talking about dnd 5e hypnotic pattern.
This spell is usable by the bard, sorcerer, warlock and the wizard as so far as to say it’s found on their spell lists and it is found in the good old players handbook, so we should all have access to it. Now without further ado let’s take a look at its mechanics. Also read enemies abound 5e.
Mechanics
It’s effect at a glance is as followed: On a failed save creatures in the area are charmed, incapacitated and have a speed of zero. The effect lasts for the spells duration or until an affected creature takes damage or has an action used on it. Naturally to kind of snap it out of it, you know.
- Level: 3rd
- Casting Time: 1 Action
- Range/Area: 120 ft (30 ft )
- Components: S, M *
- Duration: 1 Minute (Concentration)
- School: Illusion
- Attack/Save: WIS Save
- Damage/Effect: Charmed
The cast time is one action, the range is mind-boggling 120 feet and the area of effect is a pretty substantial 30-foot cube. The duration is one minute and it is concentration so do bear that in mind. The saving throw is wisdom and the components are somatic and material. That’s right no verbal components pretty dang cool, love it. If you’re curious about that material component it is a a glowing stick of incense or a crystal vial filled with phosphorescent material which is really cool.And the school is unsurprisingly illusion.
If you can’t tell i’m a pretty big fan of this spell, i really liked it. Whether or not i pick it kind of depends on the building going for but moving forward upon doing some more research on it. I do consider it a pretty strong choice if you’re not trying to build a DPS caster. That being said, let’s take a look at its full description and talk about a little bit further.
Description
You create a twisting pattern of colors that weaves through the air inside a 30-foot cube within range. The pattern appears for a moment and vanishes. Each creature in the area who sees the pattern must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes charmed for the duration. While charmed by this spell, the creature is incapacitated and has a speed of 0. The spell ends for an affected creature if it takes any damage or if someone else uses an action to shake the creature out of its stupor. * – (a glowing stick of incense or a crystal vial filled with phosphorescent material)
Now let’s move on to some alternative uses but before we do do not forget to check out my youtube channel and pinterest account. That being said, let’s dive right in to the alternative uses so that we all will get to know why is the hypnotic pattern so good?.
Alternative Uses
The first one is of course crowd control this is fantastic especially if you’re dealing with a mob or even giving a powerful speech or anything really the world is your oyster. Ultimately you could technically use this for a bank heist as well which is pretty cool which leads to the second point.
Anytime you want to plan to go off without a hitch and this is a great thing to have in your back pocket, not just because of the charmed effect but also because of that speed reduction. You can also check out this hypnotic pattern vs slow.
People can’t really chase after you, if they can’t move! Pretty fantastic and along this same vein of thought this is ideal to use on guards or even groups of guards. Not just once again because of the speed but incapacitated condition they don’t know what they’re gonna see, it’s gonna be pretty cool! they can take actions, they can’t take reactions life is good for the party who successfully pulls a spell off.
Conclusion
That being said, let me know what you think of hypnotic pattern 5e down beneath in the comment section. Make sure to mention any thoughts, questions, comments or concerns you have. That being said, i hope you all have a great day and as always happy adventuring my friends.