D&D Spells DMs Should Consider Banning

There are some spells in Dungeons & Dragons that can be too strong, so DMs should consider banning their use at their table. It’s common for groups to use homebrew rules and optional content in their game, such as restricting the use of darkvision or allowing fan-made D&D subclasses. It’s a good idea for DMs and players to use a Session Zero to hash things out and decide what they want to include in their game before it begins.

The spellcasters have always ranked highly on fan-made D&D class tier lists. Arcane and divine magic allows players to bend the rules in their favor and do things that the creators of the game might not have expected. Nowadays, rule exploits aren’t a major issue in D&D, as the creators of the game can easily post an errata on social media, and let all of the fans know that they have patched the game with a new edict about how the rules work.

The fifth edition of D&D is far more balanced than previous editions of the game, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any problem spells that are too strong. A Dungeons & Dragons spell doesn’t have to inflict lots of damage dice to be overpowered, as it only needs to render any challenge moot in a different way. The final say about the inclusion of content in a D&D campaign goes to the DM, and it’s up to them whether they wish to ban or restrict the use of specific spells in their game.

Goodberry Is Too Filling For A D&D Spell

Goodberry is a first-level transmutation spell in Dungeons & Dragons that can be taken by Druids and Rangers. It creates up to ten berries that can heal one hit point each, but it takes an action to consume a single berry. The berries keep their healing properties for twenty-four hours. This isn’t all that the goodberry spell is capable of, as it also completely nourishes a creature for one day, similar to lembas bread from The Lord of the Rings. The nourishment aspect of the spell can cause issues in certain campaigns, where survival in the wilderness is a major part of the experience.

The jungles of Chult in Tomb of Annihilation and the frozen tundra of Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden can provide extra challenges for players who must ration their resources and limit their activities while exploring, yet goodberry removes that obstacle, as food isn’t an issue. It’s in this specific instance where DMs should consider banning the goodberry spell in that campaign, in order to ramp up the difficulty.

The nourishment aspect of goodberry mostly exists to avoid unnecessary bookkeeping in D&D games where players want to focus on roleplaying or combat encounters, so it does have an important place in the game, and should only be banned in instances where it would be disruptive. The DM could also consider restricting the nourishment aspect of the berries and keeping the healing properties. Another way to restrict the spell is for it to require the caster to enchant an actual piece of fruit, which will be hard to find in some environments.

D&D’s Banishment Spell Takes Key Pieces Off The Board

The banishment spell has changed a great deal between editions. In Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, it was a stronger version of the dismissal spell, with both focused on sending extraplanar creatures (like celestials and fiends) back to their home plane. In fifth edition, banishment can send any creature in the game to a pocket plane for up to a minute, assuming they fail a Charisma saving throw. The target is also incapacitated for the duration of their time on the pocket plane, so even beings with the ability to travel between planes using magic are stuck. Once a minute has passed or the caster’s concentration is broken, then the target reappears.

If the target is an extraplanar creature and they are banished for the whole minute, then they are sent back to their home plane. The caster can increase the number of targets of banishment by using a higher-level spell slot. The reason banishment is so overpowered in Dungeons & Dragons is due to how it can separate groups of enemies, taking the strongest foe off the board, while leaving their allies to be picked off by the party, and for everyone to gang up when they return from the banishment. It’s also good for removing a single powerful enemy and giving the party a chance to prepare a nasty surprise for the round they return.

What makes banishment even more annoying is how it outstrips a similar D&D spell of the same level: Otiluke’s resilient sphere. This is a spell that traps enemies in a sphere of energy. It has a shorter range, doesn’t work on anything bigger than a Large creature, relies on a Dexterity save instead of Charisma, the creature is aware of what is happening within the sphere and can direct its allies from within, the creature can move the sphere, and it’s possible to break the sphere and end the spell early, so long as an enemy has the disintegrate spell prepared.

The two spells in Dungeons & Dragons even have the same one-minute duration. One way in which to restrict the banishment spell is to take it back to its roots and ensure that it only works on outsiders, which means that it’s far more situational and can’t just be used on every threat in the game.

Polymorph Is A Save Or Die + Multiple Spells In One

The polymorph spell has caused all kinds of issues throughout the history of D&D and it may be tied with haste for being the troublesome spell for DMs. In fifth edition, polymorph lets the caster transform a being into a beast-type creature of the same challenge rating/level or lower. This gives a single spell an incredible amount of utility, as it lets a character fly, see in the dark, burrow underground, or breath underwater, with the only restriction being that it lasts a maximum of one hour and is tied to the caster’s concentration.

It’s not the exploration element that makes polymorph so overpowered, however, as it can be used on a foe, who is always one saving throw away from being turned into a turtle. Some of the stronger foes in D&D have Legendary Resistances, which lets them automatically pass a saving throw, but they have a limited number of these each. The reason the conjure woodland beings spell nearly broke D&D is that it could summon eight pixies, who could all cast polymorph, which would remove the advantage of Legendary Resistances. Luckily for the epic-tier monsters in D&D, the conjure woodland beings spell was nerfed through errata.

Like banishment, the overpowered aspect of polymorph is its ability to totally incapacitate an enemy through one failed saving throw. A big nasty boss monster isn’t going to be quite as threatening when it’s turned into a sloth. The fact that this Dungeons & Dragons spell lasts an hour means the party will have plenty of chances to deal with it when it returns. The only sticking point with both spells is that they’re tied to the caster’s concentration, so all it takes is one of the enemies to land a good blow to end the spell.

The problem is that spellcasters tend to be effective at keeping themselves out of harm’s way, as that’s what the other party members are there for. The best way to balance polymorph in Dungeons & Dragons is to remove the offensive aspect entirely, and just restrict it to willing beings, and give them the ability to end the spell at any time, to stop players from trying to trick people into being transformed.

About The Author

Scott Baird
(2503 Articles Published)

Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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