D&D: Five of the Worst 9th-Level Spells
9th-level spells are some of the most powerful spells in the game. And even then, there are a few misses. Like these ones!
When it comes to spells, it doesn’t get better than 9th level. These are the most powerful spells in D&D. They can rain down fire, transform your allies into dragons, and alter the fabric of reality itself.
And then there are spells that can, if they try hard, be just a little bit better, maybe, than a 3rd level spell. There’s really only one of those, but these are five of the worst spells in the game.
Gate
Gate should, theoretically, be the most powerful conjuring spell in D&D. Which to many means being able to summon powerful creatures from the depths of the planes. But Gate doesn’t do that. It lets you open a two-way portal to anywhere in the planes, but Plane Shift (a 7th-level spell) accomplishes the same thing, effectively. And sure, Gate lets you call a specific being to you but grants you no special power. You have to negotiate yourself, like a chump.
Mass Polymorph
Mass Polymorph sounds really good, at first glance. It’s Polymorph but it affects up to 10 creatures? Sign me up! Except it’s weirdly, specifically, not-Polymorph. Instead of transforming 10 creatures per the Polymorph spell, it transforms everyone, mental ability scores and all, into a beast of your choosing.
This means it’s really only good as a debuffing spell that can shut down your enemies for a time. Except it only gets 10 of them, and even then, only for a little while (until they run out of hit points and revert back to their true form and hit point totals). And that’s assuming you even get all 10 targets in the first place. You’d be better off hitting them with Meteor Swarm or another more decisive 9th-level spell.
Time Stop
This spell used to be one of the most deadly spells in a Wizard’s arsenal. It’s a weirdly specific spell, in that it lets you stop time, but only in a certain area, and only for a certain number of rounds. But that was fine because in older editions, spellcasters could use this spell to cast an array of buff spells that would make Ains Ooal Gown blush.
But in 5E Time Stop actually lets you accomplish surprisingly little. Sure you can cast a bunch of spells if you have the time, but with Concentration limiting the number of spells you can have going, there’s not nearly as much you can get out of it. That said, it is extremely fun to use.
Power Word Kill
Okay, this spell is also very fun to use… when it works. It will let you instantly kill anyone who is under 100 hit points. Which for a spell is pretty good. No save. Just thank you for playing, you’re done now. And on rare occasions, that can actually be good. But in most circumstances, when a creature has fewer than 100 hit points remaining, and is facing a party of 17th-level+ characters, the odds are good they’re already dead.
Weird
Weird, as a spell, is just flat-out lackluster. It creates illusions of a creature’s deepest fears, and if they fail a save, they become Frightened. If it fails another save, it takes 4d10 psychic damage. Once it saves though, it’s done with the effect for good. So, in best case scenario, you make someone frightened for a little bit and deal them a bit of damage.
But compare that to something like the 3rd-level Cause Fear, which not only makes enemies Frightened but also makes them use their speed to move away from you, triggering attacks of opportunity from your party. It shuts people down and potentially can deal as much or more damage.
What are your picks for worst spells?
