Canonfire!

Mon Aug 11, 2025 1:46 pm New Spell Idea

I originally did this for D&D 3.5, but D&D 5 wouldn't be much different:

Damper Damage
1st-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 minute/level

All hit points of damage caused by the caster’s spells are converted to non-lethal damage. Any death result caused by a caster's spell results in the victim being reduced to -10 non-lethal hit points. The caster may dismiss the spell at will.

Is there any precent for a spell that converts lethal damage to non-lethal damage?

I was considering how a fantasy medieval army might use spells during training without frying their guys with fireballs, and this is what I came up with. It could be used during any sort of training, like the "Assassin's Run" in Dragon #64, or to subdue an opponent in order to capture them (like dragon subdual), or by pacificists (perhaps a cleric of Zodal).

Fri Jan 09, 2026 7:57 pm

For some reason I seems to remember that 1/4th of subdual damage is real (lethal) damage. I'm not sure if that is a 5th edition rule however.

I like the spell as a training supplement for regular army troops. It would simulate a battle against a mage and prepare the troops for what they are up against. It would make any fighting man/woman think twice about charging a mage.

I think that I illusions would be a good way to also supplement the actual battle conditions too. I don't think that Illusion damage can kill but it just knocks people out once again not sure if it is a 5th edition rule but you can just have the Illusionist "pull" the damage in order to not kill the targets.

Just a few thoughts. I hope this helps.

Wed Jan 14, 2026 11:58 am

Wed Jan 14, 2026 11:59 am

Looking through some old AD&D2 modules, I found some spells, "Bewilder" and "Priest Lock" from WGA1, and "Water Bomb" from WGA2, that didn't seem to make it into later editions. Can anyone think of why they weren't used later on? I really don't see any problem with either one, although "Water Bomb" could be dropped a level, I suppose.

"Priest Lock" is a spell that looks particularly useful- its basically did for clerics what "Wizard Lock" did for magic users. It's a wonder that no one created it before WGA1, and a wonder it wasn't continued in later editions. I did find something similar in L5, The Kroten Campaign Guide, in use by the Temple of Phyton in that town (p. 67). For D&D 3X, it would be presumably be renamed "Divine Lock", since "Wizard Lock" was renamed "Arcane Lock" to give it a more general usage.