Living Spells from the upcoming Arcana Unleashed books take center stage in the new free Play-Along Pack on D&D Beyond.
Living Spells are a concept that is no stranger to fantasy literature. They are spells that have somehow lived beyond the momentary expenditure of magical energy that called them into being. Whether they sustain themselves on ambient magical energy, or as a sort of destructive chain reaction, living spells can be found in fantasy worlds of all stripes, including the Mortal Realms of the Age of Sigmar.
And now, they’re in D&D 5.5E. Or at least, they will be, with the upcoming Arcana Unleashed books. In the new D&D Beyond ‘Dungeon Masters Play-Along Pack’, we get a preview of some of the new things you can expect to find in the as-yet-unreleased books, including and especially Living Spells.
Living Spells In D&D
So what makes for a living spell? As it turns out, you don’t need much. We get a preview of six different Living Spells, and while none of them are as dramatic as a 3rd-level spell like Fireball or Lightning Bolt, they do paint a picture of what you can expect out of one of these new monsters.
Take the Living Flaming Sphere, for example. It’s a good illustration of the basic idea of the creature. Every Living Spell is a magical construct, they have a pool of d8 hit points, and a +3 con, but they only weigh in at CR 1. At least the six in the play-along pack do, as you can see:
They’re all level 1 or 2 spells, and by and large they all have the same basic traits. Every Living Spell can squeeze into an opening as small as 1 inch in diameter, they all have magic resistance, and some have other properties on top of it. But, on the whole, every spell has two modes of attack, making a magical melee strike (and dealing 1d6 + 3 damage of a type appropriate to the spell), or using a rechargeable (5-6) action to mimic the spell they are.
In the case of the Living Flaming Sphere, above, it casts a Flaming Sphere. Or as the Living Shatter below, will illustrate, it can erupt into the area of effect. These will be used roughly once every three rounds (though possibly more if you roll hot).
Even More…
However, it wasn’t just Living Spells on display. As part of the Dungeon Masters Play-Along Pack, we also got a look at a new kind of treasure: an evolving magic item. In the adventure, it’s an item called the Idol of Good Fortunes. What it does isn’t super important, so much as the rules for evolving an item, which amount to “it evolves when the DM decides it does, but when it dos it grows in power.”
“You decide when a magic item evolves.In general, a magic item evolves when a character’s power level increases to the next tier of play. An evolved magic item retains its properties from its previous rarity.”
It’s a bit like the Milestone leveling system, but for magic items. Anyway, you can check out the new item, as well as a new Origin Feat at the link below!
And if you want, you can even “play along” with this pack!
Don’t Miss:
Source: Bell of Lost Souls
