Witch bolt is situational, mediocre, or borderline useless, depending on who you ask. In play, I have seen it consistently chosen by new players (or players inexperienced with casters), who are frequently disappointed with the spell's performance.
In this question, I will look at what makes the spell unique, how it falls short, and at my attempt to bring it in line with other spells. First, the original:
Witch Bolt
1st-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a twig from a tree that has been struck by lightning)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minuteA beam of crackling, blue energy lances out toward a creature within range, forming a sustained arc of lightning between you and the target. Make a ranged spell attack against that creature. On a hit, the target takes 1d12 lightning damage, and on each of your turns for the duration, you can use your action to deal 1d12 lightning damage to the target automatically. The spell ends if you use your action to do anything else. The spell also ends if the target is ever outside the spell's range or if it has total cover from you.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the initial damage increases by 1d12 for each level above 1st.
Notable problems
- Witch bolt's damage starts bad and scales worse. This answer covers the math nicely. Its damage comes up short in every practical situation. To make matters worse, only its initial damage scales. A 9th-level witch bolt (which hurts more to type than to be targeted by) does the same damage on subsequent rounds as a 1st-level witch bolt.
- Witch bolt only works against one creature. Hex and hunter's mark last through the entire fight, if not through multiple fights. You can transfer them from one target to the next. If your witch bolt target dies, the spell is done. That's not the only way the spell could end, because...
- Witch bolt ends if your target takes a leisurely stroll out of range. Or behind a wall. Or a window. Its range is 30 feet. Many creatures don't even need to try very hard to escape. It also ends if you spend your action doing anything else.
Unique features
- Witch bolt is the only 1st-level concentration spell that deals damage directly. Hex, hail of thorns, and hunter's mark all require a separate attack to actually deal their damage.
- Witch bolt is also the only spell in which one successful attack roll causes damage over more than two rounds. Booming blade and Melf's acid arrow have lingering damage, but do not last as long.
Goals
- Keep what makes the spell unique. Removing concentration or automatic damage may make it easier to improve, but then it would no longer feel like witch bolt.
- Bring its damage in line, without making it overpowered. Witch bolt's automatic damage on subsequent rounds presents a unique balancing challenge. Done properly, a damage-focused caster should seriously consider (but not always select) an improved witch bolt, particularly in Tier 1 and Tier 2.
- Reduce the spell's "noob trap"-ness. Improving its damage will help, but the finicky "stay within 30 feet, maintain line-of-effect, and don't do anything else" leads to a lot of new player "gotcha" moments. It reads like Palpatine blasting Luke in Return of the Jedi. It plays like scuffing your wool socks on the carpet and chasing your brother around the house. It even includes falling on the hardwood floors (missing your attack roll).
Once more, with usefulness
With those goals in mind, here is my improved version of the spell:
Witch Bolt (improved)
1st-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (a twig from a tree that has been struck by lightning)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minuteFor the spell's duration, you are surrounded by crackling, blue energy. Make a ranged spell attack against one creature of your choice within 30 feet of you. On a hit, the target takes 1d12 lightning damage.
On each of your turns until the spell ends, you can use your action to target the same creature or a different one. If you target a creature that you have already hit with this casting of witch bolt, you may cause the target to take 1d12 lightning damage automatically, without making an attack roll.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage dealt on a hit increases by 1d12 for each level above 1st. Additionally, the automatic damage dealt increases by 1d12 for every two slot levels above 1st.
This new witch bolt's targeting was inspired by eyebite. The improved spell's range is changed to Self, and it allows you to spend an action each turn to choose a new or existing target. A range of Self also makes the new witch bolt ineligible for sorcerer's Twinned Spell, which should be factored in to balance considerations.
If you target a creature that you have not hit before, you need to make an attack roll. Otherwise, you can deal automatic damage, like the original witch bolt. (This intentionally allows the caster to choose to roll to hit an already-hit target - potentially dealing more damage - or to take the safe, automatic damage.)
The spell no longer stops when a creature dies or leaves range. The caster merely needs to move back into range to continue using it.
Additionally, the automatic damage is increased every other spell level (like spiritual weapon). I also considered giving the automatic damage full scaling, but that may make it too strong when combined with the other improvements.
Does increasing subsequent turn damage and improving targeting meet my goals for witch bolt? Are there any feats or class features that throw its improved damage and targeting out of line with other spells? Has it become less of a noob trap?