Spells

Template:Up to date See: List of all spells

Spells are magical energies from the multiverse conjured by spellcasters (Wizard, Sorcerer, Druid, Warlock, etc.) through experience, knowledge, or innate ability to create magical Effects, deal damage to enemies, or heal their allies.

All spellcasters are proficient with Spell Attacks. When they make an Attack Roll with a Spell, they roll against the target's Armour Class (or AC):

d20 + Proficiency Bonus + Spellcasting Ability Modifier

Spells which do not invoke an Attack Roll often require the target to roll a Saving Throw against the spellcaster's spellcasting Difficulty Class (or DC):

8 + Proficiency Bonus + Spellcasting Ability Modifier

Spell Slots

Spell Slots are the spellcasters' Resource used to cast Spells. Once Spell Slots are depleted, they can only be regained through a Long Rest, with the following notable exceptions:

Certain classes like Wizard and some Druid subclasses have the ability to regain a small number of Spell Slots once per Long Rest.
Wild Magic Barbarians have access to the Bolstering Magic feature, allowing them to recover a few low level spell slots of an ally. Should they multiclass into a spellcasting class they could also do this for themselves.
Certain items, such as the Pearl of Power Amulet or Spellcrux Amulet, also allow for the recovery of spell slots, but each can only be used once per Long Rest.
The Arcane Cultivation line of Elixirs allow for the user to gain an additional corresponding spell slot. This functionally regains them a spell slot per elixir drank if the user is not at full capacity for that spell slot level.
Warlocks, with their Pact Magic spellcasting feature, only need to take a Short Rest to fully regain their Spell Slots.

Spell Slot Levels

A spell's level represents the power of a given spell, as well as its difficulty to be cast. Each Spell Level has a corresponding Spell Slot Level that is required be spent : Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and so on.

Cantrips are "level 0" spells. They do not consume any spell slots and are effectively an infinite resource.

Due to their unique mechanics, the spell slots of a Warlock are colored differently, like so:

A spell's level occasionally has mechanical impact outside of the spell slot level required for its use: Wizards need to spend more gold to learn a higher level spell, Counterspell is harder to use against a spell of a higher level. A couple of subclass features for Wizards also scale off of the spell slot level used (Arcane Ward, Grim Harvest)

Upcasting

Upcasting refers to when a spellcaster chooses to use a higher level spell slot to cast a lower level spell. Many spells gain additional damage dice, a larger area of effect, allow for more targets, or other effects when upcast, but some spells gain no additional benefit other than the fact they are treated as a higher level spell. Warlock spells are always upcast to their highest known spell level.

Spell Slot Amount

ESL	Spell Slots per Spell Level
ESL
1	2	-	-	-	-	-
2	3	-	-	-	-	-
3	4	2	-	-	-	-
4	4	3	-	-	-	-
5	4	3	2	-	-	-
6	4	3	3	-	-	-
7	4	3	3	1	-	-
8	4	3	3	2	-	-
9	4	3	3	3	1	-
10	4	3	3	3	2	-
11	4	3	3	3	2	1
12	4	3	3	3	2	1

The total amount of spell slots a spellcaster would get is dependent upon their Effective Spellcaster Level (ESL). For full spellcasters ( Bards, Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards) this is exactly their class level (A level 5 wizard has an Effective Spellcaster Level of 5); "Half-spellcasters" ( Rangers and Paladins), are not considered spellcasters until class level 2, at which point their ESL is their class level halved. "One-third-spellcasters" ( Arcane Tricksters and Eldritch Knights) are all subclasses that can only be taken at class level three, their ESL is their class level divided by three. For the purpose of determining Spell Slot Distribution the ESL is rounded up when no multiclassing of multiple spellcaster classes is involved.

When multiple spellcaster classes are chosen for a character, the character's ESL is instead the ESL of every individual spellcasting class that the character has, each rounded down, and then summed up. As an example, a level 1 cleric/level 3 paladin/level 3 ranger character would have an ESL of 3, because:1 + round_down(1.5) + round_down(1.5) = 1 + 1 + 1 = 3

Because of the differing rounding between non-multiclass and multiclass characters, a peculiar edge case exists when a "partial spellcaster" multiclasses into another "partial spellcaster" class. To illustrate this consider a level 3 paladin that picks up a level of ranger. Both of these classes are "half-spellcasters". A level 3 pure paladin has an ESL of 2, due to the rounding up. But when they multiclass into another "half-spellcasters" class, one may assume this character would lose an ESL by leveling up, as the rule now requires rounding down. However, as mentioned earlier, "partial spellcasters" classes are not considered spellcasters until they get to ESL 1 without rounding. So a level 3 paladin/level 1 ranger still has an ESL of 2. In short, due to how the rule is written, a character will never lose ESL by leveling up, no matter what.

Once the Effective Spellcaster Level is known, one can consult the appended table to find out their character's spell slot distribution.

The number of spell slot for each level across ESL has no clear pattern, but when a spell level opens up does have an identifiable pattern. The maximum spell level a spellcaster has access to is their ESL halved and then rounded up.

Warlocks are unique in this regard. Their spell slots are all of uniform level, matching the highest spell slot available of a normal full spellcaster class until spell level 5, which is the highest level spell slot warlocks can have. They also simply gain a spell slot at class level 1,2, and 11.

Concentration

Main page: Concentration

Concentration is another type of resource a spellcaster has. Certain spells require the caster to continuously put focus into the spell in order to maintain its effects. Such spells are called Concentration spells, and this requirement will be clearly labeled with the Concentration tag in the spell's description. The caster may still do other actions while concentrating, but are at risk of losing said concentration under certain circumstances. If the caster loses Concentration, the spell ends prematurely. A caster can only concentrate on one spell at a time - said spell will be shown on top of/next to the caster's portrait and in the list of conditions the spellcaster has.

Ways a caster can lose Concentration while concentrating includes:

Failing a Concentration Constitution Saving Throw. Said Saving Throw occurs every time a concentrating caster takes damage. The DC of this Saving Throw is either 10 or half the number of damage taken, whichever is higher.
Being affected by Conditions such as Downed, Sleeping, Rage, etc. If this happens Concentration is dropped without recourse.
The caster can also voluntarily end the Concentration effect. Either by casting another Concentration Spell, or by manually ending Concentration.
- Unlike most actions, the manual ending of concentration can be done at anytime, even amidst someone else's turn. For players this is done via the x button on the concentrated spell's icon next to the caster's main portrait.

Due to the impact of many Concentration spells, it is very beneficial for a spellcaster to acquire an Advantage or bonuses for their Concentration Constitution Saving Throws, but this is rather difficult to come by:

The War caster Feat grants Advantage on Concentration Saving Throws.

The Resilient(Constitution) Feat Grants a +1 to a character's Constitution score as well as granting Proficiency in all Constitution Saving Throws.
Transmuter's Stone(Constitution), a Transmutation School Wizard subclass feature, grants the holder of said stone Proficiency in all Constitution Saving Throws.
Arcane Ward, an Abjuration School Wizard subclass feature, reduces all incoming damage. When the damage is reduced to 0, no Concentration Saving Throws take place.
Bless and Resistance each grant a 1d4 bonus to all Saving Throws. Both are concentration spells themselves, so the casters of these spells are themselves at risk of dropping these spells when taking damage.
Gaseous Form grants Advantage on all Constitution saving throws but also sets the target's Constitution score to 10, and is itself again a concentration spell.
Warding Bond grants its target a +1 bonus to all Saving Throws, and persists until long rest and does not require concentration. However it requires the caster of warding bond to take all damage their target does.

Spellcasting Ability and Proficiency

Every class, even non-spellcasters, has an ability specifically designated to represent their ability to cast spells. This ability would be that class's Spellcasting Ability, the Ability Score Modifier of said Spellcasting Ability is directly added to the difficulty for which the spellcaster's targets face when trying to mitigate the effects of most spells from said spellcaster. This added difficulty-to-resist is more simply known as the spellcaster's Spellcasting Ability Modifier.

Non-spellcasters typically only cast spells by using magical items (which include scrolls), regardless, all characters get to add their Proficiency Bonus to their spell's difficulty-to-resist, in a similar fashion to their Spellcasting Ability Modifier.

For more details, see the Saving Throw and Attack Roll pages for a comprehensive explanation of how the Spellcasting Ability Modifier and Proficiency Bonus is applied.

Each class uses a different Ability Score Modifier for spellcasting:

Intelligence (INT): Wizards, Fighters*^†, and Rogues*^†.
Wisdom (WIS): Clerics, Rangers, Druids, and Monks*.
Charisma (CHA): Bards, Paladins, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Barbarians*.

*Non-spellcasters

^†These classes, while normally non-spellcasters, have the option of becoming spellcasters by specializing into specific subclasses ( Arcane Tricksters and Eldritch Knights)

Note: Some spells designate a specific Spellcasting Ability regardless of the class casting them. This is most commonly a result of spells obtained via racial features.

Prepared Spells

Prepared Spells are Spells that must be prepared beforehand in order to be cast, this can only be done outside of combat. Spellcasters that primarily utilize this type of spells are known as Prepared Spellcasters. This includes:

These spellcasters will need to anticipate which spells would be useful in advance. In exchange, these classes will have access to every class-level-appropriate spell in their Spell List.

Uniquely, Wizards are prepared casters that can only choose a subset of eligible spells to be learnt on leveling up, but are allowed to learn more spells by transcribing scrolls.

The number of Prepared Spells each class can have at a time is equal to (Spellcasting Ability Modifier + Class Level) (Minimum of 1)

For this purpose a Paladin's class level is halved and rounded down.

Known Spells

Known Spells are spells permanently memorized by a spellcaster, meaning these Spells are functionally Always Prepared. Spellcasters that primarily utilizes this type of spells are known as Spontaneous Spellcasters. This includes:

These spellcasters will not need to worry about spell preparation. In exchange, they can only learn a subset of their class's Spell List.

Spontaneous Spellcasters have access to the Replacement Spell feature, which allows them to swap a known spell each time they level up.

Additionally, Spells granted by Races or by certain Subclasses (such as Cleric Domains) are considered "inherent" and are Always Prepared. This happens even if the character in question has a class that is normally a Prepared Spellcaster.

Ritual Spells

When a Ritual Spell is cast outside of combat, they do not consume spell slots and are effectively free to cast. They consume spell slots as normal in-combat.

All Spells

Cantrips

Cantrips are Spells that do not cost Spell Slots to cast.

Level 1 Spells

Level 1 Spells are Spells that consume Level 1 Spell Slots when cast.

Level 2 Spells

Level 2 Spells are Spells that consume Level 2 Spell Slots when cast.

Level 3 Spells

Level 3 Spells are Spells that consume Level 3 Spell Slots when cast.

Level 4 Spells

Level 4 Spells are Spells that consume Level 4 Spell Slots when cast.

Level 5 Spells

Level 5 Spells are Spells that consume Level 5 Spell Slots when cast.

Level 6 Spells

Level 6 Spells are Spells that consume Level 6 Spell Slots when cast.

Level 9 Spells

These are special spells only available to Non-Player Characters or unlockable through unique quests.

Special NPC Spells

These are special spells only available to Non-Player Characters.

Finger of Death

Special Item Spells

These are special spells granted by equipping certain magic items.

Spell Properties Table

Name	Casting Time	Duration	Range / Area	Attack / Save	Damage / Effect
Cantrips
Acid Splash	Action	-	18m / 60ft  2m / 7ft (Radius)	Dexterity saving throw	Acid
Blade Ward	Action	2 turns	Self	-	-
Bone Chill	Action	1 turn	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	Necrotic
Dancing Lights	Action	-	18m / 60ft	-	-
Eldritch Blast	Action	-	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	Force
Fire Bolt	Action	-	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	Fire
Friends	Action	10 turns	9m / 30ft	Charisma saving throw	-
Guidance	Action	10 turns	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Light	Action	100 turns	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Mage Hand	Action	-	18m / 60ft	-	-
Minor Illusion	Action	-	18m / 60ft	-	-
Poison Spray	Action	-	3m / 10ft	Constitution saving throw	Poison
Produce Flame	Action	100 turns	Self	-	Fire
Ray of Frost	Action	1 turn	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	Cold
Resistance	Action	10 turns	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Sacred Flame	Action	-	18m / 60ft	Dexterity saving throw	Radiant
Shillelagh	Bonus action	10 turns	Self	-	Bludgeoning
Shocking Grasp	Action	1 turn	1.5m / 5ft	Attack roll	Lightning
Thaumaturgy	Action	10 turns	Self	-	-
Thorn Whip	Action	-	9m / 30ft	Attack roll	Piercing
True Strike	Action	2 turns	18m / 60ft	-	-
Vicious Mockery	Action	1 turn	18m / 60ft	Wisdom saving throw	Psychic
1st Level Spells
Animal Friendship	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	-	-
Armour of Agathys	Action	Until Long Rest	Self	-	Cold
Arms of Hadar	Action	1 turn	Self  3m / 10ft (Radius)	Strength saving throw	Necrotic
Bane	Action	10 turns	9m / 30ft  9m / 30ft (Radius)	Charisma saving throw	-
Bless	Action	10 turns	9m / 30ft  9m / 30ft (Radius)	-	-
Burning Hands	Action	-	Self  5m / 17ft (Cone)	Dexterity saving throw	Fire
Charm Person	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Wisdom saving throw	-
Chromatic Orb	Action	-	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	-
Colour Spray	Action	1 turn	Self  5m / 15ft (Cone)	-	-
Command	Action	1 turn	18m / 60ft	Wisdom saving throw	-
Compelled Duel	Bonus action	3 turns	9m / 30ft	Wisdom saving throw	-
Create or Destroy Water	Action	3 turns	9m / 30ft  9m / 30ft (Radius)	-	-
Cure Wounds	Action	-	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Disguise Self	Action	Until Long Rest	Self	-	-
Dissonant Whispers	Action	2 turns	18m / 60ft	Wisdom saving throw	Psychic
Divine Favour	Bonus action	3 turns	18m / 60ft	-	Radiant
Enhance Leap	Action	10 turns	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Ensnaring Strike (Melee)	Action + Bonus action	10 turns	1.5m / 5ft	Attack roll Strength saving throw	Piercing
Ensnaring Strike (Ranged)	Action + Bonus action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Attack roll Strength saving throw	Piercing
Entangle	Action	Until Long Rest	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	Strength saving throw	-
Expeditious Retreat	Bonus action	Until Long Rest	Self	-	-
Faerie Fire	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	Dexterity saving throw	-
False Life	Action	Until Long Rest	Self	-	-
Feather Fall	Bonus action	10 turns	Self  9m / 30ft (Radius)	-	-
Find Familiar	Action	-	18m / 60ft	-	-
Fog Cloud	Action	-	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	-	-
Goodberry	Action	-	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Guiding Bolt	Action	2 turns	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	Radiant
Grease	Action	1 turn	18m / 60ft  5m / 15ft (Radius)	Dexterity saving throw	-
Hail of Thorns	Action + Bonus action	-	Weapon Range  2m / 7ft (Radius)	Attack roll Dexterity saving throw	Piercing
Healing Word	Bonus action	-	18m / 60ft	-	-
Hellish Rebuke	Reaction	-	Self	Dexterity saving throw	Fire
Heroism	Action	10 turns	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Hex	Bonus action	-	18m / 60ft	-	Necrotic
Hunter's Mark	Bonus action	Until Long Rest	18m / 60ft	-	-
Inflict Wounds	Action	-	1.5m / 5ft	Attack roll	Necrotic
Longstrider	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Mage Armour	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Magic Missile	Action	-	18m / 60ft	-	Force
Protection from Evil and Good	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Ray of Sickness	Action	2 turns	18m / 60ft	Attack roll Constitution saving throw	Poison
Sanctuary	Bonus action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	-	-
Searing Smite	Action + Bonus action	10 turns	Weapon Range	Attack roll Constitution saving throw	Fire
Shield of Faith	Bonus action	Until Long Rest	18m / 60ft	-	-
Sleep	Action	2 turns	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	-	-
Speak with Animals	Action	Until Long Rest	Self	-	-
Tasha's Hideous Laughter	Action	2 turns	18m / 60ft	Wisdom saving throw	-
Thunderous Smite	Action + Bonus action	10 turns	Weapon Range	Attack roll Strength saving throw	Thunder
Thunderwave	Action	-	Self  5m / 17ft (Cube)	Constitution saving throw	Thunder
Witch Bolt	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	Lightning
Wrathful Smite	Action + Bonus action	2 turns	Weapon Range	Attack roll Wisdom saving throw	Psychic
2nd Level Spells
Aid	Action	Until Long Rest	Self  9m / 30ft (Radius)	-	-
Barkskin	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Blindness	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Constitution saving throw	-
Blur	Action	10 turns	Self	-	-
Branding Smite	Action + Bonus action	10 turns	Weapon Range	Attack roll Constitution saving throw	Radiant
Calm Emotions	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	Charisma saving throw	-
Cloud of Daggers	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft  2m / 7ft (Radius)	-	Slashing
Crown of Madness	Action	3 turns	18m / 60ft	Wisdom saving throw	-
Darkness	Action	-	18m / 60ft  5m / 17ft (Radius)	-	-
Darkvision	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Detect Thoughts	Action	Until Long Rest	Self	Wisdom saving throw	-
Enhance Ability	Action	-	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Enlarge/Reduce	Action	-	9m / 30ft	Constitution saving throw	-
Flame Blade	Bonus action	-	Self	Attack roll	Fire
Flaming Sphere	Action	-	18m / 60ft  2m / 7ft (Radius)	Dexterity saving throw	Fire
Heat Metal	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Constitution saving throw	Fire
Hold Person	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Wisdom saving throw	-
Invisibility	Action	10 turns	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Lesser Restoration	Action	-	2m / 5ft	-	-
Magic Weapon	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Melf's Acid Arrow	Action	-	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	Acid
Mirror Image	Action	10 turns	Self	-	-
Misty Step	Bonus action	-	18m / 60ft	-	-
Moonbeam	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft  1m / 3ft (Radius)	Constitution saving throw	Radiant
Pass Without Trace	Action	Until Long Rest	Self  9m / 30ft (Radius)	-	-
Phantasmal Force	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Intelligence saving throw	Psychic
Prayer of Healing	Action	-	Self  9m / 30ft (Radius)	-	-
Protection from Poison	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Ray of Enfeeblement	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	-
Scorching Ray	Action	-	18m / 60ft	Attack roll	Fire
Shatter	Action	-	18m / 60ft  3m / 10ft (Radius)	Constitution saving throw	Thunder
Silence	Action	100 turns	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	-	-
Spike Growth	Action	-	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	-	Piercing
Web	Action	1 turn	18m / 60ft	Dexterity saving throw	-
3rd Level Spells
Animate Dead	Action	Until Long Rest	3m / 10ft	-	-
Beacon of Hope	Action	10 turns	Self  9m / 30ft (Radius)	-	-
Bestow Curse	Action	-	1.5m / 5ft	Wisdom saving throw	-
Call Lightning	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft  2m / 7ft (Radius)	Dexterity saving throw	Lightning
Counterspell	Reaction	-	18m / 60ft	-	-
Daylight	Action	100 turns	18m / 60ft  15m / 50ft (Radius)	-	-
Fear	Action	3 turns	Self  9m / 30ft (Cone)	Wisdom saving throw	-
Feign Death	Action	10 turns	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Fireball	Action	-	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	Dexterity saving throw	Fire
Fly	Action	10 turns	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Gaseous Form	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Glyph of Warding	Action	Until Long Rest	9m / 30ft  4m / 13ft (Radius)	-	-
Haste	Action	10 turns	9m / 30ft	-	-
Hunger of Hadar	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	Dexterity saving throw	Cold
Hypnotic Pattern	Action	2 turns	18m / 60ft  9m / 30ft (Radius)	Wisdom saving throw	-
Mass Healing Word	Bonus action	-	Self  18m / 60ft (Radius)	-	-
Plant Growth	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	-	-
Protection from Energy	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Remove Curse	Action	-	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Revivify	Action	-	9m / 30ft  9m / 30ft (Radius)	-	-
Sleet Storm	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft  9m / 30ft (Radius)	Dexterity saving throw	-
Speak with Dead	Action	Until Long Rest	9m / 30ft	-	-
Spirit Guardians	Action	10 turns	Self  3m / 10ft (Radius)	Wisdom saving throw	Radiant
Stinking Cloud	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft  6m / 20ft (Radius)	Constitution saving throw	-
Vampiric Touch	Action	10 turns	1.5m / 5ft	Attack roll	Necrotic
4th Level Spells
Banishment	Action	2 turns	18m / 60ft	Charisma saving throw	-
Death Ward	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
5th Level Spells
Contagion	Action	Until Long Rest	1.5m / 5ft	Constitution saving throw	Poison
Dispel Evil and Good	Action	10 turns	Self	-	-
Dominate Person	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Wisdom saving throw	-
Flame Strike	Action	-	18m / 60ft	Dexterity saving throw	Fire, Radiant
Greater Restoration	Action	-	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Insect Plague	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Constitution saving throw	Piercing
Mass Cure Wounds	Action	-	18m / 60ft	-	-
Planar Binding	Action	10 turns	18m / 60ft	Wisdom saving throw	-
Seeming	Action	-	18m / 60ft	-	-
6th Level Spells
Blade Barrier	Action	1 turn	18m / 60ft	Dexterity saving throw	Slashing
Create Undead	Action	Until Long Rest	3m / 10ft	-	-
Harm	Action	-	18m / 60ft	Constitution saving throw	Necrotic
Heal	Action	-	1.5m / 5ft	-	-
Heroes' Feast	Action	Until Long Rest	18m / 60ft	-	-
Planar Ally	Action	-	18m / 60ft	-	-

Trivia

Some spells were changed from their D&D 5e counterparts. For a detailed comparison see D&D 5e Spell Changes.
There is an unused image in the game files for a D&D spell named Magic Jar. It was likely cut from the game.

External Links

Spell on the Forgotten Realms Wiki

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