There are few things worse in Dungeons & Dragons than pulling out a spell at an epic moment and expecting it to save the day, only for it to backfire horribly. That proves terribly true for spells at the sixth level. These powerful options may seem tempting, but there are some choices that are far worse the closer you look at them. Spellcasters can be assets to a party, but not when they fill their slots with the wrong options.
Once a player reaches a high enough level, the resource demands for their spells goes up. Although an arcane focus can replace material components that are not consumed by a spell, the materials consumed need to be obtained before specific spells can be cast. Gold is rarely a concern for players of a high enough level, but some spells require a substantial amount of gold -- and for minimal payoff. These are the sixth level spells you're better off avoiding.
Heroes Feast is a perfect example of a spell with a cost greater than its value. The spell consumes a gem-encrusted bowl worth 1,000 gold pieces, which is expensive and extremely specific in a way that almost guarantees that a spellcaster can only ever use the spell a couples of times throughout a campaign. Its benefits are certainly substantial, but even after curing a character's ills and granting them advantage on Wisdom saving throws, the effects will still be gone after 24 hours. At that point, the rare gem-encrusted bowl will be gone. Really, players are better off paying 1,000 gp for a scroll for this spell rather than preparing the spell itself.
Drawmij's Instant Summons also consumes a 1,000 gp object, but for even less benefit. This spell allows the caster to connect an object to a sapphire and transport that object to their hands when the sapphire is crushed. The circumstances under which this is useful are so contrived that red flags should go up for anyone who finds it briefly tempting. What's worse is that the spell does not even work for transporting an object out of an opposing creature's hands. A situation where this spell is the only thing that could help is unlikely to arise even once, let alone enough times to justify dedicating time to it.
More nebulously expensive is Planar Ally, which does not have a direct cost. Instead, its cost depends on what the summoned being requests. The guidelines state that, for even an hour's service, it could be as much as 1,000 gp -- and there's no ceiling on how high it could go. While Heroes Feast and Instant Summons are obviouslt not worth it, Planar Ally is almost worse because whether it's a waste of time and resources or not is up to chance. That is risky, and not worth burning a sixth level spell slot.
Every spell has its costs, and even the act of choosing one spell over another is a tradeoff. However, with these sixth level options, there is clearly a material loss that just isn't worth the effects they create. Every group of spells has options that simply aren't worth it, but when it comes to these three, the disparity between cost and benefit is incredibly apparent.
0 Comments