Sleep and the Spell Check Ceiling
Sleep in DCC does not count heads. It counts Hit Dice, and the total depends on your spell check. Land an 18-19 and you put up to 3d6 HD worth of creatures under for an hour, lowest HD first. The roll governs both the quantity affected and how long they stay down. Affected creatures still get a Will save, so this is not a guaranteed kill switch.
The common error is pointing it at something with a strong Will. High-Will targets simply shrug it off, and you have burned a casting for nothing. Worse, a failed or mediocre spell check narrows the pool fast, so a single tough individual eats your HD budget while the rabble stays awake.
Sleep earns its keep against numbers. A pack of 1 HD vermin or low-HD humanoids is exactly what 3d6 HD is built to clear. Drop the mob, change the odds, and deal with the survivors on your terms.
At the table: Facing a dozen 1 HD kobolds, cast Sleep aiming for the 18-19 band; a strong check sweeps most of the room off its feet for the hour, leaving only the stragglers to mop up.
Related
- Spells Are Not Just Damage Buttons
- Spells Are Verbs, Not Damage Rolls
- Stat Blocks Lie: Monster Tactic in DCC
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