Spell Redesign: Cordon of Arrows
This second level spell is one of the few non-concentration spells rangers have access to, but sees virtually no play, as it fails to mesh with the core gameplay and its assumptions.
Ken: what is darkvision?
No. Today’s redesign won’t be nearly as vitriolic as yesterday’s, if only because it needs no vitriol to be fixed.
Ranger’s Minefield
Ignored and alone, cordon of arrows is a curio in the ranger’s arsenal. It has a long duration with no concentration requirement, but players don’t acquire it until level 5 on account of the spell cost. It allows the ranger to pop a few (four) specifically non-magical pieces of ammunition in the ground (limited only to arrows and crossbow bolts), which fly up and deal a measly 1d6 damage if a target fails their Dexterity saving throw.
Casting the spell at higher levels only allows you to plant more pieces of ammunition. If you’re smart, you can see where the frustrations begin.
Identifying the Fix
Looking over the spell, it’s clear it cuts off the typical means of improving it in virtually any capacity.
The spell’s damage die is fixed. It won’t deal more than 1d6 per ammo expended without some class feature giving you a flat bonus, and you won’t find them applying to this spell (much less in the ranger’s class features to begin with).
You can’t use magical ammunition. Even if the ammunition still only dealt 1d6 damage to the target, you could potentially get some additional effects out of the spell by forcing a save vs conditions, penalties, etc. The spell only deals damage.
Using different ammunition doesn’t really have any bearing on the effects. Not many tables use non-magical special ammunition, like exploding or quicksilver rounds. Certainly not when the game first came out, though some designers have attempted to tackle that problem. I created a free equipment supplement focused on this lack of content. But without those, the player is left choosing between heavy crossbow bolts and short bow arrows, which for the purposes of this spell, apparently have no difference at all.
Yeah, this thing isn’t going to get better no matter what you do or what you find or really what you even gain passively by virtue of you and your buddies leveling up. Shame. Sucks!
My Version (Better)
This version of the spell fixes pretty much all of the troubles I mentioned in the article’s opening. It scales, it’s open to more ammo types (including those of a magical persuasion).
My Version (Even Better)
This version clears up some ambiguity with the damage while also providing it with a larger damage set. It might not be clear what ammo gets what damage, so we say the arrow deals max damage to indicate it’s associated with the weapon. It might not be obvious at first blush, but it’s a lower word count fashion of saying something obvious if you’re familiar with 5e.
I inflated the damage value to the maximum of the ammunition for two reasons. First, higher damage ammunition is usually more valuable, letting you spend more to do more. Magical ammunition in particular is more valuable and more damaging, so maximizing it lets you synergize with the spell in a fun way.
Second, using the ammunition with the spell generally prevents you from using any features or bonuses made for weapon attacks. You can (probably) get more damage with the sharpshooter feat, bracers of archer, magic bows, you get the drift. But you might not. This adjustment evens the two out a little, just to make it an attractive option for more spellcaster-y rangers.