10 Most Frustrating Spells For Dungeon Masters

Dungeons and Dragons is, at its heart, a power fantasy. Players, and that includes Dungeon Masters, thrill at all of their amazing new capabilities. Whether that means resurrecting an ally from the dead as a Life Cleric, or incinerating a battlefield with Evocation Wizardy, there's a certain glee in getting to show off amazing otherworldly feats.

And that is why Counterspell is just the worst. This spell, cast as a reaction, interrupts any spell being cast, causing to essentially fizzle out. Now granted, there is a roll required if trying to cast a spell stronger than what you are using, but generally it isn't terribly difficult to achieve given a player's existing modifiers.

Now there is certainly some satisfaction in disrupting the plans of an enemy, but players will often find that a Counterspell often leads to disappointing combat. After all, it essentially wastes a villain's turn, leaving them forced to wait for the entire round of combat to reset before trying again.

By the time that rolls around, players have probably spent an entire round attacking, dodging, casting spells of their own, and generally forcing an entirely new strategy.

For a game that is built on the premise of being able to do anything, a spell that dictates that the Dungeon Master can instead do nothing is a real buzzkill.