Don't Underestimate The Power of Battlefield Control Spells (in Pathfinder)

As I said back in Vulgar Displays of Power: Tips For Getting The Most Out of Your Magic in Pathfinder, sometimes the best spells to defeat an encounter won't do a single hit point of damage. Whether it's spells like haste, which allow the fighter and barbarian to crank out additional attacks and obscene amounts of damage, ray of enfeeblement which can leave a powerful foe sluggish and weak when they would otherwise have been a dire threat, or summon monster when you need temporary allies to help stem the tide of foes rushing toward the party, strategic use of magic is often what carries the day.

There is a particular kind of spell that doesn't get enough love in my view, though. Spells which can seem cumbersome and difficult to manage, but in the hands of a tactical player they can make all the difference. These spells are commonly referred to as battlefield control magics.

You should have surrendered. It would have been easier on all of us.

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What is Battlefield Control?

Since terminology can get confusing, a battlefield control spell is, generally speaking, any spell you cast that alters the battlefield. These spells typically alter terrain, create new hazards, or throw up boundaries that can be used to protect allies, reduce an enemy's mobility, and to generally shift the balance of how an encounter is going.

Examples generally work best, though, so here's a simple scenario to keep in mind.

The party is engaged in a battle in an opera house. Cultists with swords are fighting the party down on the stage, but they have allies up in one of the box seats who are firing crossbows down at the party. The swordsmen are a threat, but it's really the bolts that are causing the most harm. So the wizard, thinking quickly, casts wind wall. The wind wall blocks the crossbowmen's line of fire completely, rendering them a non-issue until they move to a new position, which could take several rounds. In that time the rest of the party can focus on the swordsmen, eliminate them as a threat, and then focus on a new enemy.

Just let me adjust this challenge a bit...

Whether you cast darkness so that your party has at least partial concealment from enemies that can't see in the dark, or create pit in a narrow hallway so that enemies don't have the ability to retreat without leaping over a chasm, battlefield control spells allow you to adjust the encounter so as to give your allies advantages and protection by altering the environment around them.

And it's not easy to do... but once you have the proper mindset, you can often tilt a battle with a snap of your fingers and a single, spoken word.

Tips For Getting The Most Out of Your Battlefield Control

The core concept of battlefield control spells (creating obstacles for your foes and benefits for your allies) is pretty simple. However, the same could be said when it comes to describing the basic mechanics of chess, and that doesn't mean it's an easy game to win. Which is why I'd recommend keeping the following in mind when it comes to choosing the best battlefield control spells for your party and your particular campaign.

- First, know your party members. Certain battlefield control spells are going to impact your party just as negatively as your enemies, so you need to be aware of what everyone's capabilities are. If the whole party has darkvision, for example, then darkness can be a great card to have up your sleeve for making sure the enemies are taking miss chances when they attack you. If only one or two party members can see in the dark, though, then everyone else is going to have problems. Obscuring mist is another good example, because unless the rest of the party can see what's happening (an oracle with blindsight, a rogue with fogcutter lenses, a cleric in a goz mask, etc.) then the cloud hampers you and your allies as surely as it does the enemies. This doesn't make it useless, but it does narrow its use significantly.

- Secondly, know the enemies you face. As with the darkness example, if your enemies all have darkvision then the spell doesn't actually help anyone. If you're fighting a dragon and you use obscuring mist to hide from it, its dragon senses will still allow it to pinpoint any nearby party members. Wind wall won't block spells or hurled boulders. Just as you need to know what won't hamper your party, you need to have some idea of your enemies' capabilities so that you can create effects that are actually obstacles to them. Otherwise you'll just be blowing through spells that aren't having an effect.

- Thirdly, consider the actions being taken, and the flow of combat. Throwing up a wall spell to block off a doorway is a great trick to have if a foe tries to escape, but you don't want to brick up the route prematurely in case your party members want to use it, or allies are trapped back there and can't join the fray. Additionally, throwing down pits might hamper ground-based foes who depend on melee, but if they can fly, or fire from further away, those same pits can be a problem for your allies. Don't just look at something in terms of whether it's a good move in this exact moment; ask how it will affect an encounter going forward.

- Fourth, and final for this list, remember that battlefield control spells are often there to waste an enemy's time, energy, and effort. If you throw up a wall, and half a dozen enemies have to spend their turns going over or around it in order to reach the party/to get new lines of effect so they can resume the attack, it can feel like you wasted your action. However, what you actually did was use your one turn to force multiple enemies to reposition themselves, buying your allies time. Because even if some enemies don't slip in your grease spell, or fall into your pit, the fact that the hazard is there means it's complicating the enemy's actions... and that's your job. Being the spanner in the enemy's battle plans.

Further Reading For Spellcasters

If you're a player who's looking to branch out with your spellcasters in Pathfinder, then consider some of the following reading to hit on the RP side of things, as well as the mechanics side!

- 10 Backgrounds For Your Spellcasters: Part of a short series I worked on, this list in particular is there to remind folks that just because you're a wizard, a sorcerer, a cleric, etc., that doesn't need to be all of what your character is. Flesh them out, and provide some context in order to make your character more memorable!

- 5 Tips For Playing Better Wizards: My 5 Tips series has been going on for a while, and I've tried to offer unique tips for as many classes as I can. If wizards aren't your thing, though, I've also covered sorcerers, clerics, bards, druids, alchemists, inquisitors, oracles, witches, summoners, and more!

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