Spell Spotlight: Silvery Barbs

Author: pandaniel

Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos is the newest official adventure module for D&D 5E, a magical school adventure set in Strixhaven University. Strixhaven introduced several unique player-facing options, and while we will be updating the Race and Lineage and Feat guide with these options soon, the book also added five new spells to the game, and one of them is of particular note: silvery barbs.

With silvery barbs, spellcasters can now debuff enemy saving throws using only 1st level slots. The basic premise of the spell is that you can make a creature (other than yourself) within 60 feet reroll a successful attack roll, ability check, or saving throw—forcing them to use the lower roll. Additionally, you give another creature of your choice advantage on their next attack roll, ability check, or saving throw within 1 minute (a creature cannot get this buff more than once at a time).

For a long time, the Chronurgy Magic Wizard has been seen as the strongest combination of class and subclass, in no small part due to its access to Dunamancy spells and Chronal Shift (another “reroll” feature) early in its career.

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything opened up part of its niche with Fey Touched, allowing anyone to acquire gift of alacrity (one of the standout spells from the Dunamancy list) at the relatively affordable price of a “half-feat.” Now, with Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, everyone has access to a spell that is (in many ways) a better version of Chronal Shift.

In this article we will go into everything there is to say about the spell and what it has done to the current character optimization “metagame.” We’ll often be referencing precise wording of this spell, so if you want to fact check us here is a link (you will need to have purchased the content on D&D Beyond).

Silvery barbs is a level 1 spell of the enchantment school, normally only available to Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards. The ability to cast the spell can also be obtained from several feats: Fey Touched, Magic Initiate, Aberrant Dragonmark, and the newly printed Strixhaven Initiate.

Nearly any highly optimized spellcaster will want this spell, and it is possible to obtain it with varying levels of difficulty. As mentioned above, Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards can learn it inherently as part of their class spell lists, and Fey Touched and the other feat options are available to all classes. Paladins and Warlocks (the Charisma casters) can easily learn it by picking up one more Sorcerer levels, which is already a common dip for those classes. (Mostly, we suggest Divine Soul Sorcerer when taking a Sorcerer dip, but not necessarily as a primary class.) The most effective dip to obtain silvery barbs for Clerics, Druids, and even Rangers is also likely to be Divine Soul Sorcerer, with which they can get the spell along with the other existing suite of benefits. Lastly, Artificers will be able to pick it up through a level in Wizard, which was also already a worthwhile option.

How does it work? Let’s go through a few interactions to explain what exactly happens with each.

Why the lower die?

A difference between Chronal Shift and silvery barbs is that Chronal Shift makes the target use the second roll, whereas this makes the target use the lower roll. The subtle difference here is that requiring the lower roll to be used makes sure that something that was not a critical hit cannot become one, which is a possibility with Chronal Shift. However, silvery barbs can’t also be used to make a failure into a success, which Chronal Shift can.

How does it work with advantage & disadvantage?

There are a variety of ways to imagine how this spell interacts with advantage and disadvantage, as the spell references “the d20”, whereas there are multiple dice. We will lay them out here:

1. Maybe the most sensible reading: The die which led to a success (the higher of the two for advantage, the lower for disadvantage) is rerolled, and between this die and the “silvery barbs die” the lower is used.
2. A similar reading is that the roll that led to a success is rerolled, but after the lower is used, you compare this dice with the dice that was not affected, and either choose the lower or higher depending on if you have disadvantage or advantage.
3. The Player’s Handbook says you roll a d20, and a second d20 when you have advantage or disadvantage.* This could mean that “the d20” is the first rolled d20, however this does introduce a weird mechanic where the order of d20s suddenly matters for such a roll, whereas it normally doesn’t. A roll with advantage where the first roll would’ve meant a failure will always be a failure using silvery barbs (even if the second roll was a success), as the lower result of the first roll and silvery barbs will always result in a failure. As with #2, you could say that advantage or disadvantage gets applied again instead.
4. The Player’s Handbook lays out what happens when something lets you reroll or replace the d20 when you have advantage or disadvantage, however we believe that letting is not the same thing as forcing, and thus the rule is not relevant. Though to summarize: you [the creature with advantage or disadvantage] only get to reroll or replace one of the dice, and you choose which.* This would mean the spell does nothing when the target has advantage, as they would choose to replace the lower die, not changing the result.

*These can be found on page 173, or here on D&D Beyond.

We choose to go with the first interpretation, as it feels like the most natural one. What this means is that the spell provides the same benefits whether the initial roll is at advantage, disadvantage, or done normally, as in all cases the creature has originally succeeded. While you will more often use this on a creature with advantage (as they succeed more), the only thing affecting the outcome is the likelihood for them to succeed on a new roll (which is the same in all 3 scenarios). However, we are no authority figure, so make sure to check with your table how this is ruled. Perhaps this confusion might eventually lead to an update in errata or the Sage Advice Compendium.

Does it bypass Legendary Resistance?

No. A success granted through a Legendary Resistance is not affected by a roll, it just happens, so having them reroll their saving throw won’t open up the chance for them to fail. They have made the saving throw into a success, and it is still the same saving throw. This has now been clarified in Sage Advice.

Can it be used with Sorcerer’s Twinned Spell Metamagic or the School of Enchantment Wizard’s Split Enchantment?

No and yes, respectively. Silvery barbs debuffs one creature, and can buff another, with the emphasis on can. You can decide to only target one creature and debuff them. To be eligible for Twinned Spell Metamagic, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell’s current level, and as such silvery barbs is ineligible. However, Split Enchantment just requires the spell to only target one creature, so if you forgo buffing someone, you can use Split Enchantment to debuff two creatures at once.

Does it work with Order Domain Cleric’s Voice of Authority and Graviturgy Magic Wizard’s Gravity Well?

Yes. You fulfill the requirements for both of these features to supposedly affect the creature you buff. However, neither interaction should be taken as the main reason to play (or in the case of Order Domain, dip) these subclasses. 

Order Cleric’s ability to use silvery barbs to get an ally to attack a creature with advantage using your ally’s reaction means that your ally cannot use the buff on a saving throw, which will be the better use of the buff in many scenarios. Offering the party Rogue the chance to make an off-turn reaction attack with advantage will certainly endear you to them, and is by itself not bad, but the combo has many costs. You lose out on the potential for someone to have advantage on a save, and additionally have the opportunity cost of 1 level in Order Domain Cleric. As far as 1 level Cleric dips go, Peace, Forge, and Life Domains remain superior options due to their subclass features. Bards and Wizards may want to dip into other classes for Constitution save proficiency—is the Voice of Authority and silvery barbs interaction worth giving up that dip, or if you choose to make an additional dip, delaying spell progression even more? If dipping Order Domain Cleric is already a sunk cost for you, it is a decent combo by itself, providing a concrete and tangible increase to the damage output of your martial allies. On the whole, however, we would rate this dip for silvery barbs users as just alright—you are playing a full caster, you have better things to do than buffing a weapon user. 

The Graviturgy Magic subclass, however, is already strong enough that the ability to use their Gravity Well feature on a willing ally with silvery barbs to move them does not notably shift our opinion on it. Their access to dunamancy spells and good set of class features already made them one of the best Wizard subclasses after Chronurgy, which still remains the top dog.

Does it work on initiative?

No. While rolling initiative is done by making a Dexterity check, this is not a check you can succeed or fail, and thus it cannot be a trigger for the spell.

Can you use this on your turn?

Yes, usually. If you have used your bonus action to cast a spell, you cannot cast any other spells on your turn, except for a cantrip. However, if you have cast an action spell of level one or higher, which you are normally doing, such a clause does not exist, allowing us to cast silvery barbs on our turn. This does mean that you cannot combine Quickened Spell Metamagic with your own silvery barbs.

How does it work with stacking modifiers?

Quite well. Features like College of Eloquence Bard’s Unsettling Words or mind sliver state they subtract a number from a creature’s next saving throw. Silvery barbs doesn’t force a reroll of a save, but a reroll of a d20, and as such this reduction would still apply. This is some fantastic synergy, which can make an effective saving throw DC all the higher. You might say that this is overkill, but you only use silvery barbs on a success anyway.

How does it work with sequential castings?

There are two questions to be answered here:

1. Can multiple silvery barbs be used on one target for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw?

Yes, you can. The rules on Combining Magical Effects (Dungeons Master’s Guide p. 252), Combining Magical Effects (Player’s Handbook p. 205), Combining Different Effects (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything p. 5) all outline that only one effect of the same name, or spell, applies while their durations overlap. The duration of this spell is instantaneous, and as such your party can direct multiple castings of this spell at one target.

2. Can you wait for one of them to fail to do its job (the target still succeeding) to use yours?

This one is… dicey. There are two interpretations that differ. Either a success being “unchanged” is a new success and thus a trigger, or it is the “same” success as the original. We believe that the latter is the case, and as such you would be able to cast multiple silvery barbs, but they would need to be used simultaneously, after which the person controlling the creature whose turn it is gets to decide in which order they happen (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything p. 77). Therefore, the spell would have to be announced multiple times, but if the trigger condition is no longer met (the target has already failed) once it is someone’s turn, they cannot cast the spell, and no spell slot is used. This is because a reaction spell can only be used when the condition is met, which is a creature succeeding (Player’s Handbook p. 202). For the former interpretation, one caster can cast silvery barbs and the second can wait to see if the creature succeeds, then cast their own silvery barbs.

Like with Chronal Shift, the main use for this is to make features, like save-or-suck spells, with strong effects on a failed save stick more. Silvery barbs come with the upside of a 30 foot larger range versus Chronal Shift, which is often relevant as highly optimized parties typically focus on keeping enemies far away enough that they cannot attack you on their turns. A way to frame its effect for single-target spells is that you are spending your reaction and a first level spell slot to cast the spell again. It is obvious that a phantasmal force for a first level spell slot is better than for a second level spell slot, though the opportunity cost of a reaction (chiefly shield) is not inconsequential. While it is not quite that powerful on multi-target spells, the cost to re-use the effect on a single target is oftentimes worth it. This spell synergizes incredibly well with other casters in the party, not just because you can help your party’s spells stick, but if multiple people have silvery barbs you can almost guarantee an enemy to fail a saving throw.

Math-ing it Out

We can easily calculate the increase in a spell’s effectiveness after casting silvery barbs by looking at how many targets first failed the save, and how many targets failed the save after using the spell. The increase in effectiveness of your party’s spells when you have silvery barbs and you are willing to use it is the following (this is using interpretation 1 for advantage and disadvantage):

Expected # of targets who fail:

a = [# targets * original fail chance]

To see the effectiveness of having silvery barbs if the need arises, we use the probability for at least one creature to succeed on their save, so that we have someone to cast the spell on. Additionally, a creature’s likelihood to fail might be different when they originally roll compared to the roll for silvery barbs, e.g. a creature with Magic Resistance. This means having silvery barbs in your arsenal reduces the impact Magic Resistance has on monsters’ ability to escape the full brunt of your spells. Once a monster has succeeded on its initial save and you’ve used silvery barbs, Magic Resistance confers no further benefit; it has only increased the likelihood that you had to expend your reaction and an extra 1st level spell slot.

Expected # of targets who fail while planning on using silvery barbs:

b = [# targets * original fail chance + silvery barbs fail chance * (1 - original fail chance^(# targets))]

Increase in spell effectiveness:

[(b)-(a)] / (a) * 100%

Take note that these calculations use an average fail chance that is the same for each creature, which in play will likely not be the case.

If we take a 35% chance of failure for creatures without any advantage or disadvantage on their roll, something like phantasmal force becomes 1.65x as effective, and something like hypnotic pattern with 5 targets becomes 1.20x as effective. 

Its Many Uses

However, this spell is versatile, its uses don’t end here. Silvery barbs has a niche versus shield for purposes of protecting yourself against attacks, because it can prevent a critical hit whereas shield cannot. While you’re better off using a luck point (from the Lucky feat) which preserves the ability to cast shield, it should be easier to fit silvery barbs into your build than Lucky. Additionally, if your game includes a lot of fights against one creature with one attack per turn, this can make a lot of hits miss. We wouldn’t recommend using this against attacks if you are expecting more than one, as shield works until the start of your turn, whereas silvery barbs only protects you against one attack. Do note that silvery barbs does provide a small buff to an ally, however, so if your turn is coming up in the initiative order (meaning no more attacks will come your way) casting silvery barbs is preferable to shield for the buff. 

It can also be used as a pseudo-counterspell, potentially foiling an enemy counterspell attempt against an ally, for which they need to roll. Or in other words: when the counterspell was of a lower level than the ally’s. Of course, most casters will be casting counterspell at its lowest level, so a simple counterspell would stop them, no questions asked, but when this option is dried up, or you didn’t have it to begin with, it is a valid consideration, as seen below.

Silvery barbs‘ chance of foiling a successful counterspell/dispel magic ability check

Last but not least, is the secondary effect of silvery barbs, giving someone advantage on their next ability check, saving throw, or attack roll.

An average hand crossbow + Archery Fighting Style + Sharpshooter user will gain about 4.1 to 4.6 damage from advantage (as explained in our article on find familiar, under the Help action section). We wouldn’t recommend this to regularly be used for attacks, however, as advantage is quite easy to come by already. This same idea holds for ability checks. The biggest gain you can get out of this is, like with the offensive target, to affect saving throws. As an example, a DC 10 concentration saving throw with +6 to save would go from a 15% failure rate to a 2.25% failure rate. We can have trouble always using this on saving throws, however, since the advantage is always used on the next roll of any of the three categories. One interesting interaction where you can always decide how it is used is when you are casting a harmful spell that also has an ally in its area of effect. As explained before, you decide the order of simultaneous effects when it is your turn. This means that you can make enemies roll their saving throw before your ally’s, which would allow you to silvery barbs an enemy and give your ally advantage on the same spell. This is not to say that this is a reason to target allies with harmful spells, but if it was already necessary, this only makes the strategy stronger.

All in all, this spell is awesome to use, and is an incredibly resource-efficient form of control and defense when used properly.

The character optimization “metagame” has certainly been shifted due to this spell. This one spell alone has forced multiple changes to our Flagship Build Series. A few things worth mentioning are:

• Dips in Divine Soul Sorcerer now have a new key decision in spell picks, no longer making absorb elements an immediate pick up through this dip for most characters. “Friendship ended with absorb elements, now silvery barbs is (sometimes) my best friend.”
• It has also led to dips in Clockwork Soul and Aberrant Mind Sorcerer becoming more appealing, as you are able to pick up the new “big 3” 1st level reaction spells (shield, absorb elements, and silvery barbs) with only one level using their expanded spell lists (with one reading of their spell swapping features). If you can swap the spell from the expanded spell list during character creation, you can get all three spells this way, but playing a character whose only learned spells at level 1 are defensive, reaction-casting-time ones is going to feel pretty terrible. This is a great starting dip if you can start your campaign at level 2 or later.
• Speaking of the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, they have now found a new niche in being the virtuoso of casting the spell using their Psionic Sorcery and potential Hexblade Warlock dips. They can’t just cast this spell cheaper than anyone else, they can do so without components. This helps to close some of the power gap between the Clockwork Soul and Aberrant Mind subclasses.
• The strength of the Bard class in lower Tiers has increased, with silvery barbs providing them with a strong new tool that also complements their single-target “save-or-suck” biased spell list.
• College of Lore Bard has become more competitive with College of Eloquence, as have other subclasses of Wizard with Chronurgy Magic. This is because silvery barbs can do a good job of replicating the previously-exclusive Unsettling Words and Chronal Shift features. However, Eloquence and Chronurgy remain top-tier because silvery barbs actually stacks with Unsettling Words and because most of Chronurgy’s strength comes from its other features and access to the dunamancy spell list.
• The Grave Domain Cleric and adamantine armor are now less desirable comparatively for their critical hit negation.
• Counterspell has become less of a must-pick spell, as reaction spells have become more abundant, spells are being printed less in NPC statistics blocks (replaced by functionally identically but un-counterable actions), and silvery barbs can fill in part of counterspell’s niche.
• Wizard’s Spell Mastery now has a powerful additional option. Silvery barbs is a very solid pick, potentially even beating out shield, as you are likely wanting to cast it more often.
• Fey Touched has a bit more complexity with a new spell that can compete with gift of alacrity. Much like with Resilient, the fact that you can only take the Fey Touched feat once means that you have a potentially big decision to make. We would, however, urge you to prioritize gift of alacrity if someone in your party doesn’t already have it, as silvery barbs is much more widely accessible, being included on 3 base class spell lists.
• Single target debuff or control spells have become stronger due to the reduction in variance of these spells silvery barbs offers. We have not recommended many of these type of spells before silvery barbs, and we are still going to be cautious about recommending only the best among them going forward. If you are already under intense resource pressure, silvery barbs does give you a new means to shoot yourself in the foot with excessive expenditure.
• Speaking of resource pressure and expenditure, this spell is disproportionately powerful in a type of game we do not typically espouse, wherein most adventuring days have a small number of combats with a small number of enemies. Silvery barbs presents an entirely new way for spellcasters to “nova.” We believe 5E is already poorly balanced for this type of game, however.  
• Lastly, reaction and spell slot management has become more skill intensive, especially in long adventuring days. You are likely going to be presented with an opportunity every round to use this spell, but you will not be able to use this spell every round (Wizard’s Spell Mastery aside). Don’t waste it!

This spell is a prominent example of power creep that benefits spellcasters to a great extent—increasing an already big gap between those who can cast spells and those who cannot. However, we do not believe that this spell “breaks the game,” as there is no “tightly balanced” 5E to be broken. It doesn’t introduce mechanics that weren’t already in the game—they could be replicated through a variety of ways. It is of important note that shield, which has been in the game since the very start is still a higher priority pick-up than this. This is not the strongest spell, or even the strongest first level spell, currently in the game. We don’t see this as ban-worthy, or “game-breaking.” However, if your game is experiencing issues due to this spell, consider changing things up for the sake of fun.

Many of us here at Tabletop Builds have been wishing Wizards of the Coast would print a new strong barb, but this was not at all what we had expected. It is always fun to see new spells or features shake up the character building metagame, adding more options and decisions to building and playing characters. Silvery barbs is maybe the most noticeable change for character-building since Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, and for good reason: it is widely accessible, strong, resource-efficient, and versatile.

What do you think about Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos in general? Do you believe other parts of the book also deserve a spotlight? Happy rolling, and enjoy this new option!