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Homebrew
Stone of the Relentless Storm
(uncommon, requires attunement by a sorceror, warlock, or wizard)
This jagged gem is electric blue and roils with an inner turmoil. It forms from the sap of a magic tree destroyed by lightning, which is then cut by a skilled crafter according to arcane principles. During attunement, you hold the Stone of the Relentless Storm against your skin and it slowly absorbs into your flesh, developing outward into a spidery pattern reminiscent of a lightning scar. This stone carries one charge which renews at dawn, and you may expend its charge to cast Witch Bolt.
Whenever you cast Witch Bolt while attuned to the Stone of the Relentless Storm, you have advantage on your spell attack roll. Additionally, Witch Bolt's damage increases by +1 for every round it is sustained after the first, to a maximum of +6 beginning on the 7th round. You may target inanimate objects with Witch Bolt. Any nonmagical inanimate object of size large or smaller which is targeted for a full minute by Witch Bolt is automatically destroyed. The Stone of the Relentless Storm satisfies the material component of Witch Bolt's casting.
If you lose attunement to the Stone of the Relentless Storm, it gradually remineralizes at the sight that it was first attuned before extruding out of you with a slight fizzle.
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Not me personally. Witch bolt doesn't need a damage boost, it needs some support to keep it going for more than its initial round. I'd look for one or both of the following:
Extend the range so I don't have to be within a single move action of my target
Give me some interesting bonus action options that I can use to keep myself from getting pin-cushioned until I drop concentration
I think if the range was only for the initial ray and the only thing stopping it after that was breaking Concentration, Witch Bolt would be fine.
That would also be fine, yeah. It probably needs some kind of persistent range so you can't, like, hit someone with witch bolt and then teleport across the continent. But something like 120' or 150' after casting would be a huge improvement.
You know what, if someone is willing to spend a 7th level spell slot just to make sure Witch Bolt gets its full duration, I'd be inclined to allow them. You're still spending your Action every turn.
Druids get to do something similar with Heat Metal without a problem (or spending high level resources), by the way.
Hah. Fair point.
That's good feedback, thanks. I agree that the damage bonus doesn't seem very impactful. Extending the range seems straightforward enough. What about a static burst that did something like a DEX save against being stunned to anyone entering melee range? I'm open to other ideas
Aside from extending range I'd honestly look for things external to witch bolt. A magic item that gave me a few additional spells or abilities I can use as bonus actions or reactions to either keep the target in range or keep people from getting to me would go a long way to making it viable.
If I may be so bold as to suggest my own design, give me a couple of things like Olifex's repudiating horns, so that I have an active roll to play in keeping my force lightning going. Or something like misty step that I can fire off as a reaction to someone entering melee range or my target leaving range (but worded so that it doesn't break contact).
Be careful with adding mechanics like this. It can really come back to bite you. Suddenly your puzzle door isn't a door anymore, because your wizard used the
Witch BoltPlasma Cutter spell to cut a Large hole into it.Witch bolt is missing movement debuff. That's all it needs.
No. The damage is still poor and also not the main weakness of the spell.