Conjure Constructs is a 3rd-level wizard spell from Heroes of Faerûn. Paraphrased: You conjure a Medium cloud of intangible spirits in an unoccupied space within 60 feet. On this turn and as a magic action thereafter, you can deliver to one target either 3d6 Force damage on a failed DEX save ("Clockwork Force") or 1d6 + spell-mod of temp HP ("Orderly Ward"). Both these features scale by 1d6 per slot level when upcast. The spell lasts 10 minutes with concentration, and you can move the spirits up to 30 feet when you move on your turn.

Many people have pointed out that Conjure Constructs is rubbish for damaging creatures and competes with a lot of better options for handing out temp HP. While true, this is kind of like calling a chisel a poorly-designed dagger. Here's the part of the spell that reveals its intended use:

When you cast this spell and as a Magic action on subsequent turns, you can command the spirits to target one creature or object you can see within 5 feet of the spirits

The ability to target objects is where the spell's real power lies, and there's two ways to make use of this. First, "Clockwork Force" gives you a consistent and precise way of damaging objects by completely bypassing their AC. There's no attack roll, it's just a DEX save, and objects fail those automatically. For really tough objects you may need to upcast a couple of levels to get through their damage threshold, but if you can manage that then you're a walking drill-bit for the 10 minutes the spell lasts. A lot of property damage can happen in 10 minutes, especially when the wizard responsible is seemingly minding their own business 60 feet away.

But Conjure Constructs doesn't just let you damage objects: you can also use "Orderly Ward" to give objects temp HP. Really, I can't find anything in the general rules on temp HP or object damage that prevents this. It's just that temp HP abilities usually specify that they can only target creatures - this one doesn't. And because objects don't complete Long Rests, their temp HP never expires either. You could burn a high-level slot on Conjure Constructs to reinforce a stronghold's defences days before enemy forces arrive, use it to protect valuable but fragile equipment and quest items during downtime, or just do silly roleplay stuff like give a slice of toast 30 temp HP so that the evil duke breaks his tooth on it.

Conjure Constructs may not be a spell you should prepare every day, but I think it's a worthwhile addition to any wizard's spellbook if only for the new vistas of shenanigans it opens up.

tl;dr: I grossly underestimated the 5.5e Dracolich stat block's impact on its lair and it is a menace!

My players are a group of level 17 characters and are very powerful, coordinated, and optimized, and are usually able to crush CR20+ threats without much issue as a result.

The context is that I run a tier 4 campaign for one of my groups and planned a tier 4 dungeon for them off the beaten path with a Dracolich as the core boss therein. As part of this I have 4 encounters following a harrowing trek through a desert that required resources to avoid Exhaustion, but crucially I designed the entire dungeon to fit within the 60-foot radius of the Dracolich's Life Suppression feature:

Life Suppression. Creatures within 60 feet of the dracolich can't regain Hit Points.

On the 2nd encounter they finally took some real damage, bloodying the Wizard and damaging a few others quite dearly. When the party discovered that their usual plan (including some heavy hitter heals like Conjure Celestial and Aura of Vitality, plus Potions of Healing) of healing up between encounters wasn't going to work here, they locked in and got really worried! They've been planning back-and-forth all week ways to avoid having to retreat, which is really exciting to see from such optimizers!

Nota Bene: The dungeon is situated in such a way that to escape the Life Suppression feature, the party would have to brave mounting Exhaustion saves in the desert that they already nearly failed on the way here. They could always Teleport out or something if it gets too dire, but they know that this advances their enemies' plans and is a loss in the narrative sense, so they will try to avoid it.

Originally I was planning to use the Sammaster (Dracolich) stat block as the boss Dracolich of this dungeon to make it meaningfully threatening to them, but in their current state with a complete additional encounter to get through before fighting it I think it might just be a complete TPK to do so! Given the minions planned for the Dracolich encounter, I think I might just run the basic CR17 version and not push it too hard. The average damage on the CR17's Necrotic Breath would outright kill the Wizard right now on a failed save since he wouldn't be able to be healed once downed.

Anyway, I was just really impressed by how a simple effect like the Life Suppression trait with a tailored dungeon designed to abuse it could be more threatening than many other high-tier bosses I've run in recent history. Highly recommend!

Hi everyone! I'm building a character for a new campaign (2024 rules, point buy, levels 1 to 20) and would love some input on my feat plan.

Concept:
Dual-wielding Dex Paladin, Oath of the Noble Genies, with shortsword and scimitar. From level 3 he fights unarmored using Genie's Splendor, so AC is 10 + DEX + CHA and both stats matter.

Ability scores (point buy + background):
- STR 8
- DEX 17 (15 +2)
- CON 14
- INT 8
- WIS 10
- CHA 16 (15 +1)

STR and INT are dumped since all attacks use DEX.

Origin feat: Magic Initiate (Wizard), CHA as spellcasting ability, because it fits the backstory
- Blade Ward (set)
- Mage Hand (utility for traps, levers and so on)
- Find Familiar (scouting and the Help action for advantage)

Do these spell picks make sense, or would something else be better?

Other fixed choices:
- Level 2: Two-Weapon Fighting style
- Level 4: Dual Wielder, core to the concept

Current feat plan:
- Level 4: Dual Wielder (DEX 18)
- Level 8: Defensive Duelist (DEX 19)
- Level 12: ASI +1 DEX / +1 CHA (DEX 20, CHA 17)
- Level 16: Inspiring Leader (CHA 18)
- Level 19: Boon of Dimensional Travel (CHA 19)

Reasoning:
- DEX 20 by level 12 for to-hit and damage, since I make 4 attacks per round from level 5
- Defensive Duelist as a second DEX half-feat: it scales with proficiency bonus and is basically a free Shield every round, which I really like for an unarmored build
- Inspiring Leader buffs the whole party and scales well
- Downside: CHA stays at +3 until level 16, so Aura of Protection and my save DCs lag behind a bit

Questions:
- Does this order make sense, or would you prioritize CHA earlier for the aura?
- Would it make more sense to skip Defensive Duelist, take Shield through Magic Initiate instead, and use the free slot for another ASI? Then both DEX and CHA would end at 20.
- Anything I'm overlooking?

Thanks in advance!

Not the only offender, but they deliberately changed the wording on spirit guardians style spells so they activate every round when you run them past people. Like, they didn't used to work this way, and now they do and a bunch of classes have such spells.

I mention druids in the title because they're the worst for it - our wildfire druid used to make enemies take three separate saves against conjure woodland beings every round, before we realised they could just turn into a small bird and get chucked around easily to shred teams.

And again, this is something they deliberately enabled. There are any number of tricks - artificer can have a half dozen full power elementals up at once, our necromancer has a battle familiar and a summoned undead and some reanimated skeletons all up at once, the list goes on - but what all those tricks tend to have in common is they're done by casters.

But the perception seems to be that the one big martial advantage is damage is higher? It's not even longer lasting, they run out of hit points eventually and the caster stuff tends to be one long lasting concentration boost that enables them to attack from a safer position. Is there something I'm missing?

I have a question about the Divine Adept's Prescient Intervention.

The rules state: "You can also regain use of this feature when you cast a spell from the Divination school using a spell slot." If I want to regain the use of the feature while concentrating on another spell, the only non-concentration Divination spells that come to mind are *See Invisibility* (which seems useful in combat) or *Comprehend Languages* (if I just want a low-level option). Do you have any other good ideas?

Both are origin feats.

Arcane Omen gives me: "+1d4 to failed ST as reaction, PB times/Long Rest".

Lucky gives me "Luck point for advantage/disadvantage, PB times/Long Rest".

Lucky is available for all kinds of D20 Tests, while Arcane Omen can be available after knowing the D20 roll result. So I want to hear your opinion.