Spell Damage Feats
Flames of Phlegethos is a powerful feat for spellcasters, but is limited to one race and damage type. The following feats change that, and expand upon its base idea.
Elemental
Acid of Minauros
Prerequisites: The ability to cast at least one spell
You learn to use acid to utterly destroy creatures and objects. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- When you roll acid damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the acid damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.
- When you damage a creature with a spell that deals acid damage, the acid lingers on its body. If it takes acid damage again before the end of your next turn, it takes an additional 1d4 acid damage and the lingering acid is removed.
Flames of Phlegethos [Revised]
Prerequisite: The ability to cast at least one spell
You learn to call on hellfire to serve your commands. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- When you roll fire damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the fire damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.
- Whenever you cast a spell that deals fire damage, you can cause flames to wreathe you until the end of your next turn. The flames don't harm you or your possessions, and they shed bright light out to 30 feet and dim light for an additional 30 feet. While the flames are present, any creature within 5 feet of you that makes a melee attack against you takes 1d4 fire damage.
Frostfell Chill
Prerequisites: The ability to cast at least one spell
You learn to use magic to create temperatures lower than ever before. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- When you roll cold damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the cold damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.
- When you cast a spell that deals cold damage, you can cause the ground around you within a 5 foot radius to be covered in sleet until the end of your next turn, making it difficult terrain for creatures other than you. When a creature other than you moves in or within the area, it takes 1d4 cold damage for every 5 feet it travels.
Art Credit
Inner Storm
Prerequisites: The ability to cast at least one spell
You learn to furthur your ability to harness the tempestuous power of lightning. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- When you roll lightning damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the lightning damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.
- When you damage a creature with a spell that deals lightning damage, you can cause the spell's lightning to arc to another creature within 5 feet of it that has not taken damage from the spell. That creature takes 1d4 lightning damage.
Thunder of the Eternal Sky
Prerequisites: The ability to cast at least one spell
You learn to amplify the booming, thunderous magic which you so often use. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- When you roll thunder damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the thunder damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.
- When you damage a creature with a spell that deals thunder damage, you can cause that creature to become deafened until the end of your next turn.
Other
Fury of the Material
Prerequisites: The ability to cast at least one spell
Your magic manipulates the physical world, following the natural laws to tear apart your enemies. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- When you roll bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.
- When you damage a prone creature with a spell that deals bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage, it takes an additional 1d4 damage of the same type
Negative Energy Rot
Prerequisites: The ability to cast at least one spell
Your ability to drain the very life force held within beings brings fear and death. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- When you roll necrotic damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the necrotic damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.
- When you cast a spell that deals necrotic damage, you can cause one target of that spell to be cursed by necrotic energy until the end of your next turn. While the curse is active, the affected creature takes 1d4 necrotic damage when it uses its action to damage another creature.
Poison of Oblivion
Prerequisites: The ability to cast at least one spell
You can grant a slow, internal death using powerful magic. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- When you roll poison damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the poison damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.
- When you damage a creature with the poisoned condition with a spell that deals poison damage, that creature takes an additional 1d4 poison damage. Additionally, when you enter the initiative order, you know whether hostile creatures in the initiative order are immune or resistant to poison damage.
Thoughts of the Far Realm
Prerequisites: The ability to cast at least one spell
You can warp the minds of your enemies with strange energies and forgotten truths. You gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- When you roll psychic damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the psychic damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.
- When you damage a creature with the frightened condition with a spell that deals psychic damage, that creatures takes an additional 1d4 psychic damage.
Art Credit
Notes
Missing Damage Types
On the topic of radiant and force damage - these damage types are already considered the strongest as they are not resisted by most creatures, and they are often balanced around this fact (warlock eldritch blast, paladin divine smite). For this reason I did not create feats for these damage types.
Damage Type Ranking
For balancing, I considered the following ranking of damage types (using data from this post):
- Radiant, Force
- Thunder, Psychic, Magical Physical
- Lightning, Acid, Necrotic
- Fire, Cold
- Poison
I used this ranking to attempt to effectively balance the 3rd benefit of each feat.
Poison is considered one of the worst damage types, which is why Poison of Oblivion grants disadvantage on saves against the two spells that apply poisoned (Ray of Sickness, Contagion) in addition to the 1d4 extra damage.
As fire is the second-most resisted damage type, I buffed the 3rd benefit to apply on attacks made instead of attacks hit - a small change for wizards and sorcerers with low AC, but a large change for casters with the potential to fight in close combat. Frostfell Chill has a similar use to flames of phlegethos, but will apply its damage a little less often. The 5 foot radius of sleet also does not move with the caster, instead remaining on the spot they cast the spell.
Tier 3 grants very conditional buffs. Like Frostfell Chill, Acid of Minauros can apply only 1d4 in within the next turn (assuming a single target), and needs two turns to take effect. Inner storm has the potential to be better, but also the potential to never activate if creatures are not next to one another. Negative energy rot also has a chance to not activate, and takes at least two turns to become effective.
In tier 2, physical and psychic both require a condition to be applied before damage is done, which usually requires another spell slot or outside help. Finally, thunder damage applies the deafened condition, which, depending on the DM and situation, could be good or bad.
Naming Scheme
Each feat, (except Inner Storm) is named after a plane that embodies its element. Alternates name for inner storm could be "Quasi-Elemental Storm" or "Quasi-Lightning", something along those lines - however, names with Quasi in them don't quite sit right for me, so I decided to go with something simple.
While the naming scheme of these feats is strange (most feats usually have a name that describes the character that takes the feat, such as Charger, Slasher, Acrobat, Athlete etc.), their names are designed to be similar to Flames of Phlegethos, which also breaks the usual conventions.