Agoston Balogh's Favourite Spells for Dragon Hunters

Agoston Balogh was born in a bad part of town and had to live by his wits. But he had plenty of those, plus a lot of charm and nimble fingers. As a street tough, he was the one who came up with the scams and staked out the marks. Well, one day he made a mistake. He planned to lead his gang on a break-in at a fat merchant’s huge house. It was supposed to be a quick raid to grab some jewels and get out. He had peeked through the windows and knew where some treasures resided. He had even conned his way into the house under the pretense of making a delivery so he could look around inside. He picked the lock on a back door used by the merchant’s servants, and he and his gang slipped into the mansion.

What Agoston did not know was that the fat merchant was actually a fairly powerful wizard, Orban Varazslo. He entered that fat old man’s library and something called to him. It was a huge tome with a golden clasp and a cover encrusted with gems. This was the wizard’s grimoire, his book of spells and ancient lore. Agoston grabbed it and ran, snatching some other items of value along the way. His buddies grabbed whatever small statuettes, vases, jewelry, and other valuables they could snatch and run with to escape the house.

When Orban returned home to discover he had been robbed, he was furious, and was going to hunt down and kill the young street thugs in training, but Agoston did something unexpected. After reading through the book and realizing what it was, he had become obsessed with learning to cast the spells within it. He returned to the wizard's home and told the wizard he would return the tome undamaged on the condition that he be allowed to learn magic. Orban, surprised and charmed by the young lad, agreed based on the sheer audacity of the young man, and it didn’t hurt that he could steal from the wizard’s rivals, either. So Agoston became his apprentice.

Decades later, as Agoston became a powerful wizard, his larceny grew to match his magical might, and he began targeting the lairs of dragons to steal from their vast hoards. After numerous near fatal failures, he researched a collection of new spells to help him and his party defeat even the most terrifying fire-breathing dragons. Some of his favourite for defending against dragon attacks and helping his party take them are presented here for wizards of all levels with his notes on their usage.

Chirospasmic Jolt

Level 1 enchantment

Components: V, S

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Duration: 1 round

Description: You cast this spell at an enemy to cause the target’s hands to spasm violently for 1 round. The target must save versus Strength or drop whatever they are holding in their hands and suffer disadvantage on all attacks, and on Strength and Dexterity based checks for the round.

"This spell is one of a set that makes it harder for an enemy like a dragon to use claw attacks. It will make a young drake lose an attack or two, which gives the meat sacks-, er, mighty warriors in your party a chance to get an extra hit in..."

Joint Lock

Level 2 transmutation

Components: V, S, M (a rusty nail)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Duration: 1 minute

Description: Casting this spell makes one large joint in an target’s body lock in position so it cannot move. The caster selects a single joint to target. Effects from multiple frozen arm or leg joints are cumulative.

• Jaw– The target cannot speak or eat. Casting spells with verbal components is impossible. No bite attacks can be made.
• Shoulder, Elbow, or Wrist– The target suffers a -1 penalty on all attack rolls and Strength checks with that arm.
• Hip, Knee, or Ankle– The target’s movement rate is reduced by 5 and the target suffers a -1 penalty on movement based Dexterity checks.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you can target one more joint per extra level.

"Another spell for disabling natural attacks, this one a little more useful and longer in duration. It can stop a dragon from using both its bite and breath weapon since it can block the beast from flapping its bone-box."

Cowl of the Bat

Level 3 divination

Components: V, S, M (a masked hood that resembles the head of a bat)

Casting time: 1 minute

Range: self

Duration: concentration

Description: This spell endows you with the senses of a bat, bestowing the bat’s echolocation ability and keen hearing. You gain blind sight with a 60 foot range and have advantage on hearing based Perception checks while the spell lasts. You cannot use your blind sight while deafened.

"This little trick is helpful when exploring the underground. It allows you to move around in the dark without the need for a torch that could give away your location. Add Invisibility, and you have a better chance of getting the jump on a dragon in its lair."

Ignition Ward

Level 3 abjuration

Components: V, S, M (a brass candle snuffer)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 120 feet

Duration: 1 hour

Description: Casting this spell creates a 30 foot diameter ward over a specific area that makes it impossible to ignite a fire there. It is impossible to light a match, summon a fire elemental, or cast a fire spell within the warded area. Existing fires in the area of effect are snuffed out. Nothing within the area of effect can be targeted by a fire spell. Flames that target an adjacent area but overlap the warded area do minimum damage to anything in the warded area.

"Fire is the enemy, so nip it right in the bud. Use this ward to stand your ground, it minimizes any damage from the breath of a scarlet drake. This will protect your entire band as they launch attacks at a dragon, and is good for stopping fires during a siege."

Phantom Amputation

Level 3 illusion

Components: V, S

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 30 feet

Duration: concentration

Description: When you cast this spell on a target, the victim must save or believe that one limb of your choice has been cut off. For the duration, they will be unable to perform actions with that limb. If it is a leg, the target is left flat-footed and moves at half speed. If it is an arm, the target cannot use a two-handed weapon, wield a weapon with that arm, or use natural attacks with that limb, and may suffer penalties performing tasks. If the target uses wings to fly and one of them is affected by this illusion, the target must land immediately and make an additional Dex check to avoid crashing. If this check fails, falling damage is taken.

"This is an all-around mess with the enemy's mind spell. Any targets you make suddenly believe they have suddenly lost a limb are going to suffer a hit to their morale. Even an adult dragon is going to lose its nerve for a moment. If you can synchronize this with a weapon attack, it is more convincing."

Agoston’s Body Fortification

Level 5 abjuration

Components: V, S, M ()

Casting time: 1 action

Range: self

Duration: 8 hours

Description: This spell protects your vital organs and major blood vessels, protecting you from critical hits and other effects. While this spell is in effect, you are immune to the severing effects of weapons with the Sharpness and Vorpal qualities, and do not take extra damage from sneak attacks or critical hits.

"After meeting a dragon with vorpal claws, and needing to be resurrected, this seemed like an obvious topic for magical research. Keeping your head in a fight is important. Of course it is also helpful in fights against enemies with sharp weapons."

Agoston’s Curse of the Black Cloud

Level 6 conjuration

Components: V, S, M (a piece of black wool soaked in water and a piece of amber with the target’s name carved into it)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 120 feet

Duration: until dispelled

Description: This spell conjures a roiling dark cloud in the sky above a target. This accursed black cloud will follow the target and drench an area with a 90 foot radius of the target in non-stop rain until dispelled or banished with a Remove Curse spell. If the target is indoors or underground, the location will be continually rained upon so long as the target is there. If the subject teleports or otherwise moves out of the storm’s area, it will reform above the subject’s new location in 1d10 rounds. The target and any other creature that enters the area of the rain make visual perception checks at disadvantage due to the obscuring effect of the heavy precipitation. The heavy rain extinguishes open flames and its pounding sound makes perception checks for listening suffer disadvantage.

"This is an all-around inconvenience that makes everything an enemy wants to do just a little bit harder. They have trouble spotting and tracking targets, they cannot sneak up on you, and setting fires is impossible. Staying in one spot long enough will turn the terrain into a bog so it is hard to move. It is guaranteed to peeve your dragon enemy."

Devouring Void

Level 7 conjuration

Components: V, S, M (a small obsidian mirror)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 120 feet

Duration: concentration, up to 10 minutes

Description: This spell creates and maintains a barrier of hard vacuum. Any creature entering this airless void must hold its breath or immediately begin suffocating. The barrier is ten feet thick and forms a massive circular void with a 100 foot diameter, but this volume can be folding or stretched by the caster. Any creature coming within 10 feet of the void must make a Strength check to avoid being sucked into it. Unattended objects in this range that weigh less than 500 pounds will be sucked into it. Creatures inside the void must perform a Strength check each round to escape the sucking vacuum’s area. The Void may be cast as a vertical wall or a horizontal plane.

"This is a huge barrier that makes it hard to use breath weapons and bite attacks, foiling a dragon's best attacks. It is also an excellent way to put a lot of minions in the deadbook. It can block the passage of an army and makes light ranged weapons like arrows useless. Use it to fill a tunnel underground between you and a monster, then fire lightning bolts at the beast."