There's nothing quite like casting spells in Dungeons & Dragons, right? There's a reason so many classes in this game have access to spells, after all, as even martial arts can get some through subclasses or just species and feats. Therefore, it is very common for a character to at least be able to cast a cantrip when needed.
Still, while most of your spellcasting will happen during combat, it's sometimes natural to cast spells outside of combat, such as during exploration or puzzle solving. With that in mind, some spells even work better in these scenarios, either because their casting time makes them bad for combat or their usefulness shines in other areas.
Find familiar
Best scout
Let's start with an obvious one. Find Familiar itself cannot be used in battle as it takes an hour to cast, but the familiar can help you in combat, as they can find enemies, help allies, etc.
Still, they are much more useful in moments of exploration, as they can help find things in a dungeon or even trigger traps and die, instead of having a trap trigger on a player. Don't worry, your familiar will be fine.
Discover magic
And the like
Other obvious spells are Detect Magic, Detect Evil and Good, Detect Poison and Disease or even Detect Thoughts. While you can actually use these in battle to track things, most fights are too simple for that to be necessary.
Thus, you're more likely to save them for times when you're not in a fight, such as when you need to track a specific creature or when you're looking for something that emanates magic from it.
Charm Person / Charm Monster
Advantage Be Damned!
Charm Person or Charm Monster will make the creature friendly to you against their will. But the spell ends if they take damage, and they'll know they were charmed, so there's a good chance they'll turn hostile.
To make matters worse, if you're actively fighting a creature and cast one of the charm spells, they'll have advantage on their saving throw to escape it, so doing this before you fight is just a better strategy.
Due to the advantage, something similar applies to Dominate Person and Dominate Monster. They are still useful in combat, so if you think a conversation will end in a fight, we recommend you try to cast these before the fight actually starts.
Proposal / Mass proposal
Violence makes things worse
Unlike the charm, these two spells do not give the target an advantage on their saving throws if you fight them, so these spells are actually more viable in combat. Yet they also end prematurely if you or an ally damage the target.
In battle, both suggestion and charm can be useful to get people to stop attacking, but due to the damage state, they work better to prevent fights rather than use them during the actual battle.
Dispel magic
Perfect for bypassing magic puzzles
In combat, you'll probably only see Dispel Magic used if Counterspell fails to do its job, or to remove ongoing spells. Dispel Magic doesn't stop the spell from happening, it just stops it earlier, which is why it's not often used during a fight.
That said, being able to remove any magical obstacles that might be in the party's way is a powerful tool to have. It's a good way to stop the DM's wicked misery, that's for sure.
Plant growth
This can change an entire city
Plant growth is a powerful control spell, as it can make traversing the environment very difficult. It can make it difficult for you and your friends too, so you have to be careful how you use it.
Or you can use this spell to make every plant within a half-mile (about 804.5m) radius more abundant, completely changing the local environment for the better, giving this spell some powerful narrative ramifications that most people don't even think about. You can end famine in a city with a 3rd level spell.
Foggy step
Controversial? Perhaps
This one can be a hot take, as Misty Step is extremely useful in combat. That said, it's also extremely useful outside of combat. Who would have thought that being able to teleport is just a good thing, right?
While there are stronger teleportation spells that can be used outside of combat, such as Dimension Door, the ability to easily move with a second-level spell is just too good to ignore. As long as you can see where you're going, and the area is within range, you can bypass anything in your path.
Fly
Go somewhere
Somewhat similarly, Fly is also useful for the added mobility. This mobility can come in handy during a fight, but it always comes with the fear that if you lose concentration while in the air, you'll fall and it'll hurt – unless you have Feather Fall ready.
That said, being able to fly, or even get multiple people to fly, is another useful way to bypass environmental hazards, and these situations are less likely to involve damage that threatens your concentration.
Darkness
Now you see me, now nobody sees anything
Darkness is similar to Plant Growth when it comes to its pros and cons during battle, as it will affect everyone, you and allies included, blinding everyone. Also, in high level scenarios, you might be facing monsters that can see through magical darkness, so that would actually only be a problem for the party.
But under the right circumstances, you can use this spell to break line of sight with the enemy and take the opportunity to flee, leave decoys through illusions, trigger disguises, etc. It's a nice way to avoid combat rather than have it.
Divination
A tip, DM
Divination has a fast casting time, so there's nothing stopping you from using it in battle to test whether a specific idea you have in mind is good or bad. That said, you'd be wasting your plot just to do that.
At the same time, you can use it more freely outside of combat, and even use it to see if it's a good idea to start a fight with a specific enemy. The spell is good, but not really worth spending an action on. Plus, if you're not in combat, you can use it as a ritual instead.
- Original release date
-
1974
- Number of players
-
2+
- Length per game
-
From 60 minutes to hours straight.
- Age recommendation
-
12+ (although younger can play and enjoy)
- Franchise name
-
Dungeons & Dragons
- Publishing Co
-
Wizards of the Coast
