Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Abjuration Spells by a Factor of Three

Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted sneak a look at homebrew Roguish Archetypes for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons from D&D Beyond. We get a kick out of checking out the 5E D&D content folks come up with and sharing their homebrew creations. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) This time around discrete magical effects — single shapings of the magical energies suffusing the multiverse into specific, limited expressions — get the spotlight when I check out out the Top 10 homebrew abjuration spells for 5E D&D. There’s currently over 5,560 homebrew of them so let’s get into it.

Abjuration spells at D&D Beyond

Before getting started it’s important to note you can create homebrew content for private use and share your homebrew content publicly at DDB at no cost — there’s no subscription required to access these services. However if you want to add any of the homebrew Arcane Traditions mentioned below or any other homebrew content you come across to your 5E D&D collection you must subscribe at the Hero Tier or above. There’s a lot you can do at DDB for free. Check out what you can do here.

The DDB homebrew collection uses several statistics to track entries. Views shows how many eyeballs any particular homebrew creation received, Adds shows the number of times a creation was added to someone’s collection and Rating is an upvote/downvote system. Since there are over 5,560 abjuration spells in the collection I’m going to share the top 10 highest rated, most viewed and most added selections and to see what’s out there along with any crossover between these three lists.

Top 10 highest rating abjuration spells

1. Can’t Trip (cantrip). Pretty powerful effect for a cantrip but because of the relatively narrow scope of the utility it’s solidly designed and a fine start to this look at homebrew abjuration spells.
2. Distant Shield (1st). Excellent! A caster concerned with keeping allies safe would do well to learn this spell.
3. Spellsteal (3rd). At first I thought this was a souped up counterspell, which would have immediately put the kibosh on it for me. But the limitation on what spells can be stolen along with the upcasting option balance things out.
4. Abjurant Armor (1st). Really creative design to replicate the defenses of various armor depending on the spell slot used.
5. Absorb Elephants (1st). It’s a pun so it scores points there. This one is incredibly specific so if pachyderms and related creatures feature prominently in your 5E D&D games you’ll certainly want this one in your spellbook.
6. Aardvark’s Armor (2nd). Another niche spell but much broader than the previous one on this list. This grants some great benefits against a pretty common variety of monster. I like the addition of a minor drawback as well, although to be mechanically sound requires changing “terrified” to “frightened.”
7. Absorb Spell (2nd). A great defensive spell against other spells with a really terrific potential extra benefit and solid upcasting.
8. Greater Mage Armor (3rd). Nothing to blow your mind here but mage armor is already a fantastic spell and an amped up version makes perfect sense. Apples to apples it’s better than Abjurant Armor too, if you’re keeping score.
9. Wizard’s Seal (4th). Nerdarchist Ted will love another ritual spell for starters. In the right circumstances this could be very clutch but I want to say arcane lock is more effective and it’s only a 2nd level spell.
10. Carve Jack-o’-Lantern (1st). My instinct tells me this rather kludgy spell, while fun and flavorful, is a tad on the over powered side. I might feel better if this were a 2nd level spell but aside from this a wonderful spell. It also reminds me of our take on Stingy Jack on the website here.

Top 10 most viewed abjuration spells

1. Abjurant Armor (1st).
2. Reflection (5th). I like the effect quite a lot but I feel like it would be more balanced if the reaction triggered when the caster made a successful saving throw similar to a morkoth’s Spell Reflection trait. As it stands I feel it would be too swingy to not only eliminate the danger to yourself but unerringly send the spell back at the instigating caster.
3. Greater Mage Armor (3rd).
4. Spellsteal (3rd).
5. Aardvark’s Armor (2nd).
6. Absorbing Ward (2nd). The mechanical language could use a bit of revision but the intent is clear and this is a nice complement to absorb elements.
7. First Strike (cantrip). I’ve seen so many takes on creating a better version of true strike over the years and this is one of them. I feel like this may be a bit much for a cantrip but you can be the judge. Elsewhere on the website we have our own rework called truer strike. The most glaring issue though is the school of magic, which ought to be divination.
8. Aarion’s Covetous Aura (5th). I don’t feel like this would be an abjuration spell but otherwise this is a really great spell for casters who often find themselves in combat with enemy casters who buff their allies with magic.
9. Earth Barrier (1st). Reaction spells are always good to have on hand and I really dig the flavor of this one. Plus it’s always a treat to make cover more relevant in 5E D&D.
10. Ice Shield (1st). It’s shield except with resistance to fire instead of immunity to magic missile. Niche but in the right adventures more effective.

Top 10 most added abjuration spells

1. Spellsteal (3rd).
2. Distant Shield (1st).
3. Greater Mage Armor (3rd).
4. Abjurant Armor (1st).
5. Can’t Trip (cantrip).
6. Absorbing Ward (2nd).
7. Absorb Spell (2nd).
8. Delayed Damage (7th). The highest level spell so far! This is really creative and I think a lot of players would dig this one immensely. A footnote explains how this is based on the second edition Advanced D&D spell delay damage from the Chronomancer book, which fans of time travel magic may find incredibly interesting.
9. Wizard’s Seal (4th).
10. Aegis (2nd). Really, really powerful. This basically grants super Evasion to everyone within 10 feet (not just limited to Dexterity saving throws). There’s also a sort of upcasting option not in line with 5E D&D design. If your DM allows this one in your game you should 100% keep it prepared at all times.

Abjuration spells rising to the top

Out of 18 spells spread across these three lists only six are above 2nd level, which fits with the data and demographics indicated most 5E D&D games take place in tiers one and two. Since there’s only 18 official abjuration spells in the same range I’d say these homebrew creations add much needed variety. I particularly dig how many of these spells are reactions, which seems like it fits exactly right in the wheelhouse of a spellcaster focused on protective magic.

Spells can be rather tricky to design and balance for 5E D&D. At least for me spells are the area of game design I feel least confident about. Thankfully there’s plenty of existing spells to look at for comparison and contrast. I found a great many of these homebrew abjuration spells really nifty and more than once thought it would be a lot of fun to play a spellcaster focused on this kind of magic. A School of Abjuration wizard makes the most sense since they’d really keep their Arcane Ward going with so many terrific options.

5E D&D spell resources

I mention our own forays into homebrew content creation for 5E D&D several times to plant the seed in your mind. Now you’re wondering, “What kind of homebrew content do you create, Nerdarchy? I’m extremely interested!” In addition to the monthly rewards our Patreon supporters receive we’ve presented tons of material in our videos and right here at Nerdarchy the Website ready to drop right into your games too. Another place we frequently create new content for Dungeon Masters and players to drop right into games is Nerdarchy the Newsletter and you’ll also get several gifts including $9.99 in store credit so you can add whatever you like there to your own collection when you sign up. Over the years we’ve scribed over 60 new spells of our own. Here’s some places where you’ll find these spells along with other spell related stuff we’ve shared.

• Make 5E D&D Spells Your Own with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
• Play Your Next 5E D&D Game with Snakes on the Brain and Cast More Snake Magic Spells
• Play Your Next 5E D&D Game with Snakes on the Brain and Cast Snake Magic Spells
• Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Force Spells by a Factor of Three
• Top 10 5E D&D Summoning Spells by a Factor of Three
• Uphold your Sacred Oath Through Paladin Oath Spells
• Beardomancy (11 new spells)
  • Beard Growth, Beard Servant, Beard Whip, Beardgury, Beardskin, Conjure Hirsute Horror, Feard, Guardian of Face, Power Word Beard, Hairotte, Transport Via Beard
• Friend of Foe Vol. 1 (1 new spell)
  • Withered Thorn Whip
• Lost Lore Vol. 1 (3 new spells)
  • Wood Warp, Swords to Sorrows, Sticks to Snakes
• Lost Lore Vol. 2 (7 new spells)
  • Spider Bite, Pack of Spiders, Nest of Spiders, Rampage of Spiders, Spectral Spider Servant, Spider Plague, Hail of Crystal Spiders
• Gaze of the Void Eye (6 new spells)
  • Darksight, Shadowstep, Darklight, Shadowtrap, Darkling’s Hand, Silhouette
• Winter Court Soiree (7 new spells)
  • Solstice Cheer, Virgin Snow, Icespike, Grasp of Winter, Cloak of Rime, Find Sleigh, Winter’s Nightmare
• Hairable Ideas (12 new spells)
  • Animate Moustache, Blessing of Samson, Cloister of Combs, Enhance Style, Friendship Bracelet, Hairball, Haircut, Hair Whip, Rain of Quills, Rapunzel’s Curse, Shroud of Hair, Sun Wukong’s Magic Hairs
• Bad Hair Day (3 new spells)
  • Godiva’s Ride, Ordo’s Binding Beard, Ordo’s Resilient Beard, Wild Web
• Chained One’s Animus (10 new spells)
  • Venomous Blade, Heart of the Pack, Creeping Fungus, Shroud of Thorns, Cloud of Spores, Root, Thorned Oath, Chained Oath, Warped Oath, Barbed Shield

*Featured image — Fortunately in 5E D&D there’s no sacrificing of anything to cast abjuration spells, as one was required to do when casting Abjure from the Magic: The Gatherling Weatherlight expansion. In 5E D&D abjuration spells are protective in nature, though some of them have aggressive uses. They create magical barriers, negate harmful effects, harm trespassers, or banish creatures to other planes of existence. [Art by Ted Naifeh]

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