Three classic Dungeons & Dragons spells have made their way into 5.5E courtesy of the new D&D Beyond Drops feature. Today, D&D Beyond unveiled Drops, a new compendium of releases that’s available to any D&D Beyond Hero and Master Tier subscribers. As part of the initial Drops release, D&D Beyond released five new spells, four of which are pulled from past editions of D&D. Two of these spells – Buzzing Bee, Sticks to Snakes, and Leomund’s Lamentable Belaborment – have roots in 1st edition Dungeons & Dragons.
Buzzing Bee is an updated version of Mordenkainen’s Buzzing Bee, which first appeared in the 2003 Miniatures Handbook. Mordenkainen’s Buzzing Bee, in turn, was a take on the Bee spell originally created by Gary Gygax and appeared in the original Unearthed Arcana book. The Buzzing Bee spell (like Mordenkainen’s Buzzing Bee spell) is a 1st level Conjuration spell that creates a spectral bee that follows a target around the field. While the bee is following the target, it has Disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks, Dexterity (Stealth) checks, and Constitution saving throws made to maintain Concentration. In addition, the target cannot benefit from the Invisible condition.
Meanwhile, Sticks to Snakes is a straightforward spell that transforms sticks into snakes. The spell first appeared in the AD&D Player’s Handbook and made its way into 2nd edition as well. The new version of the spell transforms up to four sticks into venomous snakes that can be controlled by the spellcaster. Sticks to Snake is now a 4th level spell, which is in line with its original spell level, but feels a bit underwhelming given that it only transforms 4 sticks into 1/8 CR creatures.
The final spell is Leomund’s Lamentable Belaborment, which appeared in the original Unearthed Arcana rulebook. This spell causes all intelligent creatures within range of the caster to engage in an all-consuming debate that they can’t turn away from. The new version of the spell charms everyone within 10 feet of a casting point and causes them to argue over a topic of the spellcaster’s choosing. For the duration, those charmed have a Speed of 0 and have the Blinded and Deafened conditions with respect to everyone except you and other targets affected by this spell. This is a 6th level spell, which is a level higher than the original spell in Unearthed Arcana.
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