You unleash a string of insults laced with subtle enchantments at a creature you’ll see within range. If the target can hear you (though it needn’t understand you), it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 1d4 psychic damage and have a drawback on the consecutive attack roll it makes before the top of its next turn.
This spell’s damage increases by 1d4 once you reach the 5th Level (2d4), the 11th level (3d4), and the 17th level (4d4). You’re yielding your action for the round so as to offer your opponent an obstacle on their next attack. Oh, and you are doing a pittance of injury.
Contents
Vicious Mockery 5e
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: 60 feet
- Components: V
- Duration: Instantaneous
- Classes: Bard
How is this any better than True Strike? You hand over your action (and, thus, your guaranteed ability to try something useful) so as to offer your opponent a _possibility_ of failing to try something useful (and only under specific circumstances (i.e. he doesn’t have multiple attacks and is not a caster)). the sole scenario I can see where this is able to be useful is if you’ve got an outsized adventuring party all attacking one opponent who gets just one attack per round and is not a caster.
Don’t misunderstand. I fully grasp the role-playing fun of this spell. But, mechanically? It looks like a loss. You do not believe that role-playing should ever need a structure for mechanics.
Check also: Destructive Wave 5e
You could easily grasp VM’s potential if it gave the opponent disadvantage in their attacks (one attack at levels 1-4, two attacks at levels 5-10, three attacks at levels 11-16, and 4 attacks at levels 17+) as long as those attacks are within the round following the casting of Vicious Mockery.
Vicious Mockery is one of the simplest attack cantrips from levels 1-4. Maybe the simplest. Compare it to Firebolt or Eldritch Blast. Vicious mockery’s range is “within earshot”, and is not suffering from the line of sight. It just requires knowledge of the target. The powers to try to do any damage where otherwise you’ll do so are often worth quite a bit. Again, it’s a foothold case, but it does happen.
The bard within the game I run casts VM just about every round of combat. The remainder of the party are all big damage dealers, therefore the loss of DPR isn’t a drag. The reduction of enemy DPR is what does make the spell good, by reducing the damage your party takes eases the pressure on other party resources, like healing, or other characters’ action economy.
Your bard isn’t getting to be a primary damage dealer at any party. So comparing the potential damage of a spell vs spells designed for primary damage dealing is an apples and oranges thing.
Check also: Warlock Spells 5e
You can be ready to see within a variety that you simply unleash a string of insults laced with the subtle of enchantments. If you’ll hear the target albeit it needn’t understand you then it must be succeeded on a Wisdom saving throw the Vicious Mockery and.
Also, it can take 1d4 psychic damage but on the subsequent attack, it’s an obstacle before the top of its next turn. This damage would increase by 1d4 once you reach the 5th level then the damage would increase by 2d4 and at the first level the damage would be 3d4, and 17th level the damage would be 4d4.
