Dark Star 5E Guide | Wildemount Graviturgy Spell

Oh, I wish upon a star for another Spell Review. One with a gigantic effect that will create nightmares till the end of time and is from the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount. I think I got it! This is the review for Dark Star! A gigantic new spell designed for the Graviturgy mage! So what are you waiting for? Stop sitting in the Dark and give this Dark Star 5E Guide a read!

 Dark Star 5E Guide

• School: Evocation
• Level: 8th
• Casting Time: 1 Action
• Range: 150 Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: 1 Minute
• Class: Graviturgy Wizard

Dark Star creates a sphere that covers a 40-foot area of your choice within range, filling the interior with dark magic energy and crushing everything inside with gravitational force.

For the duration of the spell, the area Dark Star covers is considered difficult terrain. While inside of the sphere, characters with Darkvision cannot see through the magical darkness and nonmagical light sources cannot illuminate the area inside. No sound can be created inside or pass through the area, and all characters inside of the sphere are deafened. Casting a spell that requires a verbal component while inside of the sphere is impossible.

Any character that starts their turn inside of the sphere or enters the sphere for the first time must make a Constitution Saving Throw. To make a Constitution Saving Throw, use the following formula:

If a character fails to pass the Constitution Saving Throw, they will take 8d10 of force damage. If they succeed in making the Constitution Saving Throw, they will take half of the 8d10 force damage. In order to pass the saving throw, they will need to beat your Spell Save DC. To determine what that is, use the following formula:

Any character that reaches zero hit points while inside of the sphere will instantly disintegrate. Everything that they are carrying, except for magical items, will be turned into dust.

Pros

Dark Star can do it all! Make it hard for your target to see? Check. Deafened your target? Check. Affect multiple enemies at once? Most certainly can do! Deal a boatload of damage, even if the opponent passes their Constitution Saving Throw? I believe that 8d10 would count as a boatload of damage.

Cons

Being a level eight spell means that a typical Wizard cannot cast Dark Star until they hit level fifteen, as they will not have the right spell level slot to cast this spell. You could get around this by starting your campaign at a higher level, but that will be at the digression of the Dungeon Master. If they decide not to start all of the characters at a higher level, it will take you a LONG time before you will be able to use this spell. Because of this flaw, I do not see Dark Star getting a lot of playtime.

I would mention the fact that you cannot use this spell to properly handle a Helmed Guardian, but because you will never find an army of Helmed Guardians rushing towards you because they are designed to protect, and it is rare for someone to have more than two at a single post. And the only time you will really use Dark Star is when you are facing a gigantic army. Besides, if you are facing an army of Helmed Guardians, I am pretty sure your Dungeon Master is looking to end the campaign quickly.

When Should You Use Dark Star

The best time to use Dark Star would be when you are facing an army of enemies… I would say two-hundred at the least. That will help throw several of them off of their thought process while your team works on demolishing the rest of the enemies that are charging at you.

When Better Options Are Available

If you are facing a handful of enemies, it would recommend using targeted spells that increase their damage output when you use them at a high spell slot as opposed to a large spell that traps a bunch of characters at once because you can possibly affect your team with Dark Star. With the amount of damage that Dark Star can do, the last thing you want to do is turn one of your party members into dust… literally.