Dungeons and Dragons Spells Trivia Quiz

Answer: Control Flames

Control Flames is a fire-related cantrip, but (at least when used as intended) it does no damage and has few combat applications. Instead, it allows the caster to affect an already existing fire in a number of fun ways, such as increasing its brightness, changing its color, or forming it into simple shapes.

Answer: Tasha's Hideous Laughter

Tasha's Hideous Laughter is a first-level bard and wizard spell. On a failed save, a target begins to perceive everything around them as hilariously funny and drops to the ground laughing, effectively incapacitating them.

Answer: Zone of Truth

Zone of Truth allows the caster to designate a given area as a "zone of truth" where all creatures are prevented from deliberately lying if they do not pass a charisma saving throw. While this spell is very useful in interrogations, it has its limits. It cannot prevent the targets from making vague or misleading statements or from just refusing to speak at all, and as soon as a target leaves the zone, they are free to lie as much as they want.

In this question, I mention The Adventure Zone, which is a comedic D&D podcast, because I most strongly associate this spell with the character of Merle Highchurch, their dwarf cleric, who absolutely adores this spell and casts it frequently even when it's not particularly useful. Since the podcast plays fast and loose with the rules, the often has exaggerated effects, such as making NPCs suddenly blurt out secrets, but since Merle's player doesn't seem to fully understand any of his other spells, it doesn't really hurt the game balance.

Answer: Fiend pact warlocks

Fireball is on the expanded spell list for fiend pact warlocks, allowing them to learn it when they reach fifth level and can learn third-level spells. Incidentally, all three other options can learn Fireball, but they must wait until higher levels. Eldritch knights have access to all evocation spells, but since they primarily belong to the martial fighter class, they do not learn third-level spells until 13th level. Similarly, monks belonging to the Way of Four Elements can learn the Flames of the Phoenix elemental discipline at 11th level, which lets them cast Fireball using ki points. Finally, bards get a feature called Magical Secrets, which allow them to learn any spell in the game, but lore bards do not receive this feature until sixth level (and all other bards get it even later).

Answer: Triceratops

Polymorph can only turn creatures into beasts whose challenge rating is less than or equal to the creature's level. While imps and air elementals have low enough challenge ratings, they are fiends and elementals respectively, not beasts. (The young red dragon, which is a CR 10 dragon, fails on both counts.) Dinosaurs, however, are considered beasts, so at seventh level, a wizard could Polymorph into a CR 5 triceratops. (At eighth level, transforming into a T-Rex would also be an option.)

Answer: Raise Dead revives the character's original body, while Reincarnate restores their soul to a new healthy body.

Raise Dead is a cleric, paladin, and bard spell that returns a creature to life, closing all mortal wounds on their body (assuming that their corpse is missing no essential body parts). In contrast, Reincarnate is a druid spell, which forms a new adult body of a randomly chosen race and calls for the dead creature's soul to inhabit that new body. Both spells require a free and willing soul and can only be performed on a creature who's been dead for at most ten days, and Reincarnate is actually more expensive.

Answer: They turn into a pile of dust.

When Disintegrate reduces a target to zero hit points, the target dies instantly and turns into a pile of fine gray dust, along with any non-magical items they are carrying. (Magic items do remain intact.) Because the body is destroyed, the character cannot be resurrected by normal means but can be resurrected using True Resurrection or Wish.

The zombie effect listed actually belongs to a different spell, the seventh-level Finger of Death. Finger of Death also does a lot of damage and also instantly kills a target when it reduces them to zero hit points, but with Finger of Death, the character becomes a zombie permanently controlled by the caster.

Answer: Mordenkainen

Mordenkainen was a wizard played by Gary Gygax in an early Greyhawk campaign. Since then, he has become one of the most iconic D&D characters. In 5e, he's the namesake of the supplemental book Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, as well as the spells Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion, Mordenkainen's Sword, Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound, and Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum.

Answer: Mind Blank

Mind Blank is a very powerful spell, but it's probably a better idea to cast it on yourself or one of your party members, since it has a lot of really strong benefits for the target. Mind Blank renders its target immune to psychic damage, as well as making them immune to any sort of divination or mind reading effects, even those caused by the Wish spell.

On the other hand, the other three spells listed are all powerful offensive spells when cast on an enemy who fails a saving throw. Feeblemind reduces a target's intelligence and charisma scores to 1, Maze traps a target in a labyrinthine demiplane, and Dominate Monster allows the spell caster to control the target's actions for a time.

Answer: When Wish is used to replicate a lower level spell

Casters can use Wish to replicate any spell of 8th level or lower without suffering any consequences. All other uses, including those explicitly listed in the spell description, have immediate negative consequences for the caster. As mentioned in the question, casting Wish weakens a caster, as their strength drops to 3 until they have 2d4 days of complete rest. Additionally, until their next long rest, they take necrotic damage any time they cast a spell, and there is a 33% chance they can never cast Wish again.