Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Spells List

Welcome to the comprehensive guide for D&D 5th Edition spells! This tool provides an organized overview of the magic available to spellcasters in your adventures. Understanding spells is crucial for any magic-wielding character, offering a vast array of effects from devastating attacks to crucial support and utility.

How Spells Work

In D&D 5e, spells are magical effects that characters can create. Each spell has specific rules for its use:

• Spell Level: Spells range from 0 (cantrips) to 9th level. Higher-level spells are generally more powerful. Your character level determines the highest spell level you can cast.
• Cantrips (0-Level Spells): These are simple but powerful spells that can be cast at will, without expending a spell slot or needing preparation (once learned). They often scale in power as your character levels up. Examples include Fire Bolt, Eldritch Blast, Guidance, and Minor Illusion.
• Spell Slots: To cast a leveled spell, you must expend a spell slot of the spell's level or higher. You have a limited number of spell slots, which are replenished after a rest.
• Casting Time: Most spells require one action, but some can be cast as a bonus action (e.g., Healing Word), a reaction (e.g., Shield, Counterspell), or over several minutes or hours (often for rituals).
• Range: This indicates how far from the caster a spell's effect can originate. Some spells require touch, others have a distance in feet, and some affect only the caster ("Self").
• Components: Spells may require Verbal (V - incantations), Somatic (S - gestures), or Material (M - physical objects) components. If a spell requires material components with a gold cost, you must have them, or a spellcasting focus can often substitute for those without a cost.
• Duration: A spell's duration specifies how long its effects last. This can be instantaneous, a set number of rounds/minutes/hours, or require "Concentration."
• Concentration: Many powerful spells require you to maintain concentration to sustain their effects. If you take damage, you must make a Constitution saving throw to avoid losing concentration. You can only concentrate on one spell at a time.
• Upcasting: When you cast a spell using a spell slot of a higher level than the spell, it can have a more potent effect, as detailed in the spell's description.
• Rituals: Some spells have the "ritual" tag. If you have the ritual casting feature, you can cast these spells without expending a spell slot, though it takes 10 minutes longer than normal.

Schools of Magic

All spells belong to one of eight schools of magic, categorizing their nature and effects.

• Abjuration: Protective spells that shield, block, or banish, such as Shield or Counterspell.
• Conjuration: Spells that summon creatures or objects, or teleport them, like Mage Hand or Misty Step.
• Divination: Spells that reveal information, predict the future, or expose secrets, such as Detect Magic or Identify.
• Enchantment: Spells that influence or control minds, affecting emotions or behavior, including Charm Person or Hold Person.
• Evocation: Spells that manipulate magical energy to create effects like blasts of fire, light, or force, such as Fireball or Magic Missile.
• Illusion: Spells that create false images, sounds, or other sensory deceptions, like Minor Illusion or Silent Image.
• Necromancy: Spells that manipulate life and death, healing or harming living beings, or raising the dead, such as Animate Dead or Inflict Wounds.
• Transmutation: Spells that alter the physical properties of creatures or objects, like Alter Self or Fly.

Popular and Versatile Spells

While thousands of spells exist, some are particularly iconic or universally useful:

• Cantrips: Eldritch Blast (Warlock damage), Guidance (skill check buff), Fire Bolt (ranged damage).
• 1st Level: Magic Missile (reliable force damage), Healing Word (bonus action heal), Shield (reaction defense), Detect Magic (utility).
• Higher Levels: Fireball (area damage), Counterspell (interrupt enemy spells), Fly (mobility), Polymorph (transformation), Wish (ultimate versatility).