Are you looking for a way to protect your allies? Do you enjoy using obscure spells and find new ways to mess with your DMs plans? Well, then Protection from Energy 5e is just what you are looking for. Let’s dive in how the spell works, its best uses and clear up any confusion you might have! 

Mechanics and Requirements for Protect from Energy 5e

Requirements for Casting:

• Casting time: 1 Action (6 Seconds)
• Level: 3rd level
• Range/Area: Touch
• Target: N/A
• Components: Verbal, and Somatic
• Duration: 1 Hour
• Classes: Artificer, Cleric (Via Forge Domain), Druid (Via Circle of the Land: Desert), Paladin (Via Oath of the Ancients, Oath of Vengence, and Oath of Glory), Sorcerer, and Wizard

Spell description

For the duration, the willing creature you touch has resistance to one damage type of your choice: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder.

Advantages and drawbacks

Right off the bat, this spell can be selected by over half of the available published media classes that are capable of being played, either through their innate ability via their Spell List, or through a certain archetype of their class that allows the caster to use such ability. 

It also gives players who already do a lot of damage, and are perhaps looking for something more passive to help their party a spell to do so. The long-lasting effect of it also helps with situations, as it can be used as one of the first spells in a battle and can help a weaker class, such as a cleric or wizard, with a bit of extra protection against a certain damage type. 

As with most passive usage spells, this one does take up a spell slot that, for some more aggressive players, would be a waste of a spell slot that could instead use other 3rd-level spells that deal pure damage, do Area of Effect Damage, or even effects the enemies in a harmful way, through either status effects or certain damage types. 

Unlike other spells that have been written about so far, there aren’t that many downsides to this spell as opposed to some others that exist within the published medium of Dungeons and Dragons, as it is a rather simple spell that can help out in an incredibly big way if used properly. 

There is also no benefit to casting the spell at any higher levels, which although does save the player from using any higher spell slots that could be utilized better with more useful spells, also means that this spell can become rather boring to use if a caster continuously uses it as some form of a crutch, or at the very least, as a staple to how they conduct battles with certain enemies.

Best uses for Protection from Energy

Slightly similar to how Dust Devil should be used, or at least when, Protection from Energy should be used as soon as physically possible during a battle. However, it should not be used as the first spell in combat; Instead, the player who has this spell should coordinate with their fellow party members as to who should get the protection and for what type of damage before the beginning of the Second Round. 

That way, by the time the second round of combat does come around, the caster will know if the spell should be used, as by this point the enemies would of at least done one attack and/or spell against the party, and who it should be used for. 

Smaller HP Pooled classes with an equally low AC, such as Wizards, Clerics, and Rouges should definitely be the focused targets for said protection, especially if the party is dealing with enemies that could down either one of those classes within a few attacks. 

There are some possible ways that this spell could be utilized by bending the rules, but not only will that be discussed later on in this article, but it will also be completely up to the Dungeon Master’s interpretation of the spell and their call as to how far the spell can bend its own rules before reaching a limit for said rule bending. 

The Best Enemies to use this spell for when combating them are indeed creatures that mostly depend on that type of damage when they attack, such as Elementals, Dragons, and Oozes that could attack the party.

Advice and final thoughts

Although purely a passive spell in its usage and nature, this spell can be very helpful in battle, especially against enemies who tend to favor attacks that do any of the types of damage that can be protected against listed in the description of the spell. 

Its long duration and lack of a required casting time outside of the standard single action and cost of a 3rd-level spell slot makes it rather easy to use for mid to late-game characters with many spell slots to burn through. 

It also makes element-based monsters that are normally very difficult to fight and can easily deal a great deal of a certain element type of damage a little more bearable, as this spell does t least give said attacks a higher chance to miss, or at least deal less damage than without it.

Protection from Energy FAQ