2nd-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
One humanoid of your choice that you can see within range must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by you for the duration. While the target is charmed in this way, a twisted crown of jagged iron appears on its head, and a madness glows in its eyes.
The charmed target must use its action before moving on each of its turns to make a melee attack against a creature other than itself that you mentally choose.
The target can act normally on its turn if you choose no creature or if none are within its reach.
On your subsequent turns, you must use your action to maintain control over the target, or the spell ends. Also, the target can make a Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a success, the spell ends.
All information about Crown of Madness 5e comes from the DnD Player's Handbook.
The following classes gain access to casting Acid Splash 5e as part of their normal class spell availability:
Damage | 3rd-Level | 5th-Level | 7th-Level | 9th-Level | 11th-Level | 13th-Level | 15th-Level | 17th-Level |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Average Fighter DPR | 15 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 30.5 | 34 | 37.5 | 41 |
Total Value | 30 | 38 | 46 | 54 | 61 | 68 | 75 | 82 |
In the table above, "DPR" indicates damage per round, in this case, not accounting for hit chance. The numbers provided are very rough calculations of the average damage a fighter might do, per round. The fighter class is used as an example for the spell effectiveness of crown of madness because ideally, you would charm a powerful melee unit with the spell. Furthermore, the "Total Value" column in the table shows the value of not only not being attacked by a charmed fighter, but of them attacking an ally - so, double the effect, by target level.
Crown of Madness 5e is such a cool spell because it's a charm effect that actually allows you to take over your charmed target's actions, and cause them to attack their own allies. Though crown of madness has some drawbacks, it also has terrific potential. Use crown of madness 5e in the following situations to make the most from the spell.
There are some spells such as burning hands or call lightning that, since they can target multiple units, or in other cases, get a sort of multiplying effect, they can become almost game-breaking. Crown of Madness certainly fits into the "potentially game-breaking" category, as you can not only prevent a powerful enemy from attacking you, but you can even turn that same enemy against their own allies.
Before casting Crown of Madness, in order to maximize its potential multiplying effect, try setting up the combat encounter by mixing in some of the following spells:
The easiest ways for your crown of madness run to end are when an enemy silences you, bolsters their affected ally's Wisdom saving throw with Bless, or deals damage to you to break your concentration. When it comes to damaging spells, something like cloud of daggers, which automatically hits, is especially troublesome, so be wary of effects of that nature by keeping your distance and knowing what your enemies are capable of casting.
Effects where you control another character's actions, or generally go berserk and sometimes attack allies, are some of my favorite in any TTRPG. I've included a couple examples of crown of madness 5e-type spells below, from the Eternity TTRPG Game System.
Wicked Heart (Magic): weapon Range, -3Strike Bonus vs. Resilience or 4Range, -3Faith vs. Resilience, if this spell hits, take control of the target’s Action for 1turn.
When you take control, you may not
have the target use a critical, use a spell or ability with a 1Day Recharge, or dispel any of their own maintained effects. However, you may have them take any other action (including attacking themselves), and you may know the target’s HP, Wisdom, and all other stats and maintained effects for the duration of the control.
If you hit the target with “Spellbound”
while they are affected by “Wicked Heart,” you may instead have them use a Critical.
(Double-Hit): also deals 1damage.
Wicked Heart (Magic): weapon Range, -3Strike Bonus vs. Resilience or 4Range, -3Faith vs. Resilience, if this spell hits, take control of the target’s Action for 1turn.
When you take control, you may not have the target use a critical, use a spell or ability with a
1Day Recharge, or dispel any of their own maintained effects. However, you may have them take any other action (including attacking themselves), and you may know the target’s HP, Wisdom, and all other stats and maintained effects for the duration of the control.
If you hit the target with “Spellbound” while they are affected by “Wicked Heart,” you may
instead have them use a Critical.
(Double-Hit): also deals 1damage.
Wicked Heart (Magic): weapon Range, -3Strike Bonus vs. Resilience or 4Range, -3Faith vs. Resilience, if this spell hits, take control of the target’s Action for 1turn.
When you take control, you may not have the target use a critical, use a spell or ability with a 1Day Recharge, or dispel
any of their own maintained effects. However, you may have them take any other action (including attacking themselves), and you may know the target’s HP, Wisdom, and all other stats and maintained effects for the duration of the control.
If you hit the target with “Spellbound” while they are affected by “Wicked Heart,” you may instead have them use a
Critical.
(Double-Hit): also deals 1damage.
Crour Formula: you create an “item” that you or other characters can use.
When used, 4Range, the target deals an
additional +1damage when they hit with physical attacks (non-magic) that deal damage, and they also gain +2Resilience, +2Dodge, and +2Will. Each affected target can only deal additional damage from this ability once per turn.
The target must also roll d20 every
turn. If they roll 1-5, they go berserk for that turn and must do everything possible to kill their nearest ally (not including the use of criticals). If no allies are present when the target goes berserk, they must attempt to damage themselves.
Summoned units cannot benefit from
“Crour Formula’s” effect. You can make a number of “Crour Formulas” per day equal to your Intelligence value.
Whereas "Wicked Heart" is almost exactly the same as crown of madness 5e, except that it provides more flexibility for its use, "Crour Formula" actually enhances your own allies' strength, while also making them a liability. Both effects have quite a bit of nuance to them, and many more options when you choose to Critical with them, but they are definitely within the spirit of crown of madness, and make for wildly entertaining spells.
Curious to learn more about the Eternity TTRPG Game System? Check out the Eternity TTRPG Core Game PDF!
Crour Formula: you create an “item” that you or other characters can use.
When used, 4Range, the target deals an additional +1damage when they hit with physical
attacks (non-magic) that deal damage, and they also gain +2Resilience, +2Dodge, and +2Will. Each affected target can only deal additional damage from this ability once per turn.
The target must also roll d20 every turn. If they roll 1-5, they go berserk for that turn and
must do everything possible to kill their nearest ally (not including the use of criticals). If no allies are present when the target goes berserk, they must attempt to damage themselves.
Summoned units cannot benefit from “Crour Formula’s” effect. You can make a number of
“Crour Formulas” per day equal to your Intelligence value.
Whereas "Wicked Heart" is almost exactly the same as crown of madness 5e, except that it provides more flexibility for its use, "Crour Formula" actually enhances your own allies' strength, while also making them a liability. Both effects have quite a bit of nuance to them, and many more options when you choose to Critical with them, but they are definitely within the spirit of crown of madness, and make for wildly entertaining spells.
Curious to learn more about the Eternity TTRPG Game System? Check out the Eternity TTRPG Core Game PDF!
Crour Formula: you create an “item” that you or other characters can use.
When used, 4Range, the target deals an additional +1damage when they hit with physical attacks (non-magic) that deal
damage, and they also gain +2Resilience, +2Dodge, and +2Will. Each affected target can only deal additional damage from this ability once per turn.
The target must also roll d20 every turn. If they roll 1-5, they go berserk for that turn and must do everything possible to
kill their nearest ally (not including the use of criticals). If no allies are present when the target goes berserk, they must attempt to damage themselves.
Summoned units cannot benefit from “Crour Formula’s” effect. You can make a number of “Crour Formulas” per day
equal to your Intelligence value.
Whereas "Wicked Heart" is almost exactly the same as crown of madness 5e, except that it provides more flexibility for its use, "Crour Formula" actually enhances your own allies' strength, while also making them a liability. Both effects have quite a bit of nuance to them, and many more options when you choose to Critical with them, but they are definitely within the spirit of crown of madness, and make for wildly entertaining spells.
Curious to learn more about the Eternity TTRPG Game System? Check out the Eternity TTRPG Core Game PDF!
Dear reader, I hope you enjoyed this article. Tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine since I was 6 years old. I've played just about every game from Dungeons and Dragons to video games like Final Fantasy. These games have inspired me, made me laugh, made me cry, and brought me endless hours of enjoyment.
I started Eternity TTRPG - and the indie tabletop game that goes along with it (Eternity Shop) - to share my love of gaming with others. I believe that in our technology-driven age, tabletop games help bring a sense of magic and community back into our world.
If you love the site, please share it with others! I have lots of gaming-related material for you to peruse and use in your own gaming sessions. If you have any questions about the site or want to contribute, just send me a message using the "Contact" page, which you can find in the site's footer.
Dear reader, I hope you enjoyed my article. Tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine since I was 6 years old. I've played just about every game from Dungeons and Dragons to video games like Final Fantasy. These games have inspired me, made me laugh, made me cry, and brought me endless hours of enjoyment.
I started Eternity TTRPG - and the indie tabletop game that goes along with it (Eternity Shop) - to share my love of gaming with others. I believe that in our technology-driven age, tabletop games help bring a sense of magic and community back into our world.
If you love the site, please share it with others! I have lots of gaming-related material for you to peruse and use in your own gaming sessions. If you have any questions about the site or want to contribute, just send me a message using the "Contact" page, which you can find in the site's footer.
I may receive commissions when you click links I provide within articles and make purchases. However, this does not impact my reviews. I try my best to simply provide great content and ideas, for you.
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Eternity TTRPG offers unofficial fan content for major TTRPGs and the companies that own them, in addition to my own game.
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We may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to simply provide great content and ideas, for you.
As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Eternity TTRPG offers unofficial fan content for major TTRPGs and the companies that own them, in addition to our own games.