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https://www.flutesloot.com/top-11-unexpectedly-creepy-spells/?utm_source=youtube
D&D is full of unsettling magic. More than likely, you’re already thinking of spells that you believe are creepy and well-suited to a Halloween or Gothic adventure. But I’ve identified eleven spells that can be incredibly creepy when described and used for that purpose.
⏰Time Stamps:
00:00 Creepy Intro
00:41 Tenser's Transformation
01:25 Tree Stride
01:56 Danse Macabre
02:41 Telekinesis
03:23 Reverse Gravity
03:46 Enervation
04:38 Modify Memory
05:26 Soul Cage
05:54 Maze
06:45 Dream
07:32 Magic Jar
08:14 Conclusion
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hey looters. Today I want to talk about some spells that become a lot creepier if you flavor them just right
0:06
Arthur Conan Doyle once wrote, where there is no imagination, there is no horror
0:11
So let's talk about some creepy spells for Halloween. So some of the spells I want to talk about today are clearly like on the creepy side, while others, you just need to think about them in a different way and change the way you're perceived
0:29
or describing them to your players or when they end up happening
0:34
and it'll really change the tone of those spells to be much more unsettling
0:39
I've got 11 spells to talk about, so I'll go through them. Tenser's transformation is a Xanathar's guide to everything spell
0:44
that involves a spellcaster becoming, you know, like Bain in Batman, where he suddenly juices up on the venom that makes him super strong
0:53
And so you can have a spellcaster, or someone who looks shrimpy
0:57
suddenly get all bulky and transformed. And you don't have to describe it as them casting a spell
1:02
Just describe it as their muscles bulging and their veins popping out
1:06
And they suddenly start to foam at the mouth. And then describe their attacks as having a great force behind them
1:12
just like blows things to pieces and blows people back. Or describe how their temporary hit points are causing them to like take no damage from attacks for a while
1:20
And it just seems like they're in a frenzy that's causing them to not even feel pain
1:25
Next spell is tree stride. can really give your character the sense of being overwhelmed and surrounded as some creature or
1:33
person is tree striding from tree to tree and keeping an eye on them, almost like they are many
1:39
creatures poking out from different trees to watch the characters. You know, give a little child giggle as they are traveling through the woods and they keep
1:47
seeing figures jumping from tree to tree. It's pretty easy for that to become an unsettling situation and to hide the numbers of
1:55
enemies. Next up, hope I'm pronouncing this right is Dance Maccob from Xanathar's
2:01
Guide to Everything, where you can suddenly, like a puppet master, cause a bunch of
2:05
bodies to rise up and work as your little minions in a battle You know I kind of picture as well the puppet masters from Naruto who create chakor strings to inanimate objects and cause them to attack
2:19
Well, they also do that with bodies and use them like puppets. You can have the players suddenly come upon a bunch of bodies
2:25
that doesn't seem like it would be an undead situation, but then a spellcaster from the shadows raises all of them up
2:31
And especially if they know some of the people who were slain and have risen up from this spell
2:35
it'll be extra unsettling to deal with their loved ones and friends coming at them in this way
2:41
We can't forget the telekinesis spell. Using your mind to push and pull things or restrain people, lift them into the air
2:50
You know, Darth Vader has a very commanding presence in this way as he uses the force to try to strangle people
2:57
to force them against walls, to pull things from their hands. You know, telekinesis doesn't need to be described as they cast a spell
3:05
and now they have telekinesis active. It can be some unseen person in the room
3:10
because they already cast the spell, causing things to fly around the room in a creepy way
3:14
and then the players are getting hit with things or being forced up, poltergeist style, into the ceiling
3:20
and it can be a really chilling situation. Another way to use that same concept is the reverse gravity spell
3:27
If suddenly a whole room up becomes down and everything goes flying up towards the ceiling
3:33
and then it reverses again, and they fall towards the floor again. What an interesting problem to have of falling over and over again up and then falling down
3:42
It can easily be described as some kind of haunt situation. Next up we have the nihilist spell enervation where you create a chain of necrotic energy
3:51
between you and an enemy as you slowly seep the life from them to replenish yourself
3:59
Now what could be creepier than being locked in some sort of force cage or, um
4:04
a watery sphere from one creature and then another spellcaster who was wounded starts
4:10
draining the life from you and you just can't do anything about it really describe
4:14
the life being sucked out of you of like you know your veins turning a bright
4:18
purple and seeping up to the top of your skin where they visible and your cheeks become sunken in your eyes kind of sink back really describe yourself becoming emaciated as the life is drained out of you and then the spellcaster using enervation on you is just becoming enlivened again
4:35
that your suffering becoming their life force. Next up, modify memory. There's nothing worse than realizing some memory you have is false
4:45
Someone has manipulated you and wanted you to think something. They planted an idea in you, inception style
4:50
Describe how it feels when you realize your memory is modified to suddenly distrust all of your other memories
4:56
You as the DM, try to hide it for a while if you can that someone's had a modified memory
5:01
so even the player can be surprised. And depending on what kind of memory was changed, it can be especially chilling
5:07
You can trick someone into thinking that they accidentally killed their parents when really there was some creature that modified their memory and that creature was the one who slated them
5:15
That can create a whole new plot point for a character to pursue
5:20
once you as the DM have them reveal the modified memory. That's going to change things up
5:26
Another chilling spell is Soul Cage from Xanathor's Guide to Everything. You have a little silver cage
5:31
and when something dies, use your reaction to take their soul or a piece of it
5:35
and place it in a little cage. If you're going to have a character death or a beloved NPC
5:41
a pass away, or be slain, if you see that the enemy literally is taking their soul
5:46
and placing it in a cage and then starts whispering to it, like draining the life from it to replenish themselves
5:53
That's going to be a chilling situation. The maze spell can also be described to great effect to chill your players
5:59
Don't tell them that they were the target of a maze spell. Describe how they are suddenly placed in some haunted house
6:05
and they need to figure out a way to get out. Because the maze spell is often just described like some like sterile minotar maze
6:12
where you just like try to find your way out. But while they're making their intelligence checks, saves whatever it is
6:17
to try to get out of the maze, you know, describe it as some place. that they're actually afraid of
6:22
A childhood home where something horrible happened or just some haunted house they've been in before or not even been in before
6:30
A haunted garden. You know there could be so many places that could be more chilling Describe a fog or like a bog of water that they have to trudge through so that they are unsettled by what inside of it and maybe that sorting off their intelligence checks to escape the maze
6:45
One of my favorite spells next is the dream spell. You can really describe some frightening things
6:52
as creatures cast the dream spell on your players. They can cause it to become this nightmarish situation
6:58
and even dig up old skeletons in that player's closet or make them relive something that the dream spell caster knows happened
7:07
and then have it, like, alter their memory. Like, it's not a modified memory spell
7:11
but, like, have them relive memories with, like, slight alterations that make them doubt if things really went down that way
7:17
And then you take psychic damage as you're suffering from the dream spell
7:21
and you lose your long rest. So then you get to describe the character as, like, slowly going mad
7:27
from losing hit points and not resting properly. The dream spell can be very frightening
7:32
But the number one scary spell is magic jar. This is the body-swapping necromancy spell that can make you distrust anyone
7:43
Anyone, especially who has a jar on their waist. This is just a spell that's very hard to make it work
7:51
It's arguable that it's meant for a plot device for DMs to use against players to switch things up
7:58
But swapping bodies, there's nothing else that I know of that totally doesn't
8:02
that you can control people, like, to actually swap into their body, that can create a lot of
8:07
tense moments and interesting situations that are obviously full of creep factor
8:14
So those are my 11 spells that I think can be flavored to be extra creepy, especially for
8:19
your horror or Halloween one-shots. I tried to give spells that aren't top of mind as, like, inherently creepy
8:24
Let me know in the comments below, you know, cast message and tell me which spells stuck out to you
8:30
or any spells that you think could be added to this list that could be reflavored to be especially frightening or unsettling
8:37
I'm Flutes. Have a happy Halloween. And check out Fluteslut.com for many articles we have about all things D&D
8:43
And I'll see you later. Flutes out
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