Hello spellcasters! welcome to my official website. Today we’re taking a look at dnd 5e lightning bolt spell from our 3rd level spells list. Make sure you check out our other official spells too from this page. In any case lightning bolts we are talking about today, makes it feel kind of like palpatine super cool. If you’re going for a lightning based build which is super easy to do in 5e. This is going to be one of your bread and butters. It is really great dnd 5e spell. It is found on the Sorcerer and Wizard spell list and it is found in the good old players handbook as it should be because you know what this spell should be just as iconic as fireball. I know a lot of you are gonna disagree on that in one way or another because the meme war is so strong. But if you factor that out lightning bolts really been around just as long as fireball has. So, i think it deserves some recognition for being an og spell. Let’s dive into its mechanics now.
Table of Contents
Mechanics
- Level: 3rd
- Casting Time: 1 Action
- Range/Area: Self (100 ft Line)
- Components: V, S, M *
- Duration: Instantaneous
- School: Evocation
- Attack/Save: DEX Save
- Damage/Effect: Lightning
It’s damage is 8d6 plus an additional d6 per slot level above third. The cast time is one action, the range is focused on self but it does create a 100 foot line, the duration is instantaneous, the components are somatic, material and verbal so the holy trinity and if you’re curious about that material component it is a bit of a fur and a rod of amber, crystal, or glass. They’re not consumed so it’s not as though you need to have those things on you. An arcane focus or component pouch should work just as well. It’s saving throw is Dexterity and honest success they only take half damage, the school is Evocation and the damage type is lightning which should be a little surprise.
The effect at a glance: Create a bolt of lightning, which is more capable of igniting flammable objects that aren’t being worn or carried.
Now let’s take a look at its full description.
Description:
According to the Lightning Bolt Spell DnD 5E a strong stroke of lightning is forming a line of 100 feet long and also 5 feet wide blasts out from you in a specific direction which you do select. Each of the creature in the line should make a dexterity saving throw. Actually, a creature can take 8d6 lightning damage on a failed save and on a successful one it takes half as much damage.
Normally, the Lightning Bolt 5E Spell ignites the flammable objects in an area which is not being worn or carried.
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At Higher Levels:
Whenever you cast this Lightning Bolt Spell D&D 5E by using the spell slot of 4th level or higher then the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot above the 3rd level.
I have seen some interesting ideas regarding them, having disadvantage on the saving throw if they’re wearing metal and to be fair shocking grasp has a similar attachment to it. However it’s not by raw if rule of cool you want to implement it as a dungeon master you’re certainly allowed to i would encourage it as a matter of fact. I think it makes sense logically, thematically and i think it would give this spell a slight advantage over fireball perhaps. In terms of damage it’s never going to be there and in terms of aoe it’s probably never going to be there as well. But you know if they’re more likely to fail to save might help balance out the damage component of it. However, that of course is completely optional and up to the DM.
Another thing that i’ve had some slight questions about is the ignition part of it. So usually it’s implied that this spell has to make direct contact with something in order to ignite it. However the wording here is the lightning ignites flammable objects in the area. So what is the area? right, i would say five feet in either direction of the lightning bolt like it might arc and spark something ablaze that to me make sense. However feel free to implement it as you see fit.
Attributes Of Lightning Bolt Spell DnD 5E
| Casting Time | 1 action |
|---|---|
| Classes | Sorcerer, Wizard |
| Components | V S M |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Higher Spell Slot Desc | When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot above 3rd. |
| Level | 3 |
| Material | A bit of fur and a rod of amber, crystal, or glass |
| Name | Lightning Bolt |
| Range | Self (100-foot line) |
| School | Evocation |
| Target | Self (100-foot line) |
Alternative Uses
The first use and i feel bad including this is an alternative use all the time. Because it’s really the intended purpose of the spell itself is to just affect multiple opponents, the fact that it’s a line with the lunacres range when you really think about it. A hundred feet is great range for a spell that targets a single person but this isn’t like that right like it’s you create a 100 foot bolt of lightning from your palm essentially. So, thematically it’s almost overwhelming to really conceptualize. It’s really cool though so targeting multiple people is one.
In terms of planing this spell is super awesome, whether you’re trying to reactivate a long since dormant construct and you need to recharge it or whether you’re trying to make a trap for other enemies to fall into and you’re trying to get them into a narrow corridor and just blast them.
This spell certainly does have a thematic flare and decent amount of utility to it. I suppose you could also use it to signal as well although. If you’re gonna burn a third level spell slot to do that i’d probably caution you against it there are spells of lower level and even some cantrips that would probably be just as good.
Something i want to point out for those dungeon masters out there this spell has pretty good synergy with glyph of warding if you’re gonna be making traps in a dungeon, this is a really good way to do it. It does a pretty decent amount of damage, however most party members will be able to thank it.
