The wizard extends her hand towards the oncoming bandits. A bead of flame speeds in their direction, exploding in a red-hot ball of fire. The few bandits who survive wisely choose to retreat.
The cleric prays to his god as he covers his wounded companion’s injuries with both hands. His god answers, and the damage miraculously begins to heal itself.
The druid calls to the wild, and nature responds. Vines and plants rapidly grow, quickly entwining themselves around the intruding goblins, holding them fast.
Magical energy flows unseen throughout the multiverse, unimpeded by dungeon walls or planar boundaries. Spells are formulae for manipulating reality using a combination of will and energy. Every spell must have energy to fuel its effects and a spellcaster capable of controlling the flow of energy. Spells can accomplish any number of things—harm, protection, problem-solving—all guided by a caster’s imagination.
Creating a new spell is a work of extreme creativity and intense effort, often resulting from a lifetime of study. Because of this, most casters choose their spells from established pools of knowledge.
All magic requires energy. The four circles of magic represent the four primary sources of magical energy that fuel the abilities of spellcasters. When a spellcaster produces a spell, the caster taps into one of these energies using magical training, natural abilities, personal inclinations, or innate connections with magical entities. The section below details the four circles of magic and explains their roles in spellcasting.
The Arcane Circle of magic draws its power from the manipulation of forces that govern the material world, like heat, space, and gravity. In the hands of an arcane caster, the precise combination of words and gestures can ignite oxygen into roaring flame or link two pieces of land hundreds of miles apart. Arcane magic is governed by an extensive set of rules and calculations that make it highly complex. This complexity at times makes arcane magic more closely resemble science than mystical workings. Harnessing magic from this circle requires study, precision, and a talent for perfection.
The tools that define arcane magical working are varied and often highly personal to the arcane caster. The most common tools are runes, recitation, and hand gestures, but anything that engages the senses can be used. Casting arcane magic is only limited by imagination and an understanding of the formulaic laws of magic.
The Divine Circle of magic draws its power from the connectivity that exists between beings. A divine caster can imbue a dying creature with the will to live again, channel the wrath of a divine being into a storm of fire, or miraculously restore the crops of a starving community. Whatever the specific effect, divine magic requires a connection between the will of the caster and at least one other being to function. Harnessing magic from this circle requires unwavering devotion, hyper-awareness of others, and belief in your ability to change the world.
The use of divine magic is often framed through the concept of faith, where an individual enacts the will of a mighty being known as a god. While this relationship between caster and god is the most common model, it isn’t required to fuel divine magic. The Divine Circle draws energy just as potently for a caster who devotes themselves entirely to a community’s needs, an evil coda set forth by a cult, or any other compelling source. Wherever need exists, there is the potential for divine magic. Casting divine magic is always done in the service of others, regardless of the morality of the caster.
The Primordial Circle of magic draws its power from the primal energies of nature. A primordial caster can cause a forest to sprout from barren land, spur the rapid decay of flesh, or instantly restructure their biology to transform into a beast. Primordial magic redirects the forces of nature in accordance with the spellcaster’s will. The Primordial Circle doesn’t concern itself with creating new things but rather alters the energy already present in the environment to enact startling or subtle effects. Harnessing magic from this circle requires great awareness of the environment, extensive knowledge of the building blocks of life, and deep respect for the power inherent in nature.
The use of primordial magic always requires a source. Creating a primordial magical effect can be defined by how a caster interacts with energy that is present in the environment, whether amplifying, suppressing, altering, redirecting, or encouraging. A primordial caster understands that there is a finite amount of energy in the natural universe, and this magic concerns itself with tipping the scales of balance in just the right ways to enact the spellcaster’s will. Primordial magic always draws from nature itself and can’t be accessed without placing its interests first.
The Wyrd Circle of magic draws its power from the forces that sit beyond the material world. A wyrd caster can draw unnatural energy into existence to form a mass of writhing tendrils, summon another creature from a different plane to fight on their behalf, or banish their foes to the spinning void beyond reality. Harnessing wyrd magic requires spellcasters to free their minds from normal perceptions and open themselves to the possibilities of what lies beyond the measurable universe.
The use of wyrd magic requires a caster to become a conduit. The caster is the material anchor that calls unnatural energies into the world, then shapes those energies into the desired effect. Dealing with such bizarre forces antithetical to natural law is incredibly dangerous for a spellcaster, and tapping such powers usually requires the spellcaster to call on the assistance of beings familiar with the unfamiliar. Such spellcasters often forge pacts with extraplanar beings or invite spirits that dwell beyond the natural world into their bodies to interact with wyrd powers while shielding themselves from total ruin. Wyrd magic always breaks reality or the physical world to allow the forces from beyond to creep in.
Practitioners and sages have attempted to quantify and categorize the complexities of magic into eight universally recognized categories known as spell schools. These schools have no inherent influence on a spell, but they help identify a spell’s effect. Specific class features or character abilities
may refer to these schools. The eight schools are broadly explained in this section:
Abjuration spells are protective in nature, though some of them have aggressive uses. These spells use wards, shields, and other means of
deflection to defend their target, negate harmful effects, harm trespassers, or banish creatures to other planes of existence.
Conjuration spells restructure space, enabling objects, creatures, and other targets to be transported from place to place. Some spells summon creatures or objects to the caster's side, whereas others allow the caster to teleport to another location. Some conjurations create objects or effects out of nothing or allow for instantaneous travel to a far-flung realm of existence.
Divination spells collect information, allowing a user to glean locations, outcomes, or sensory feedback beyond the limitations of standard perception. Such spells might look like sensing the location of a hidden entrance or receiving a vision of future events.
Enchantment spells influence the minds of creatures, allowing a user to manipulate emotions or behavior. Such spells can make enemies see the caster as a friend, force creatures to take a course of action, or even control another creature like a puppet.
Evocation spells shape energy, allowing a user to channel healing, change air into roaring flame, or stir the skies into a raging storm.
Illusion spells deceive the senses, allowing a user to mask or alter the truth and create objects that seem real. They cause people to see things that are not there, to miss things that are there, to hear phantom noises, or to remember things that never happened. Some illusions create phantom images that any creature can see, but the most insidious illusions plant an image directly in the mind of a creature.
Necromancy spells manipulate the energies of life and death. Such spells can grant an extra reserve of life force, drain the life energy from another creature, create the undead, or even bring the dead back to life.
Transmutation spells change the properties of a creature, object, or environment. They can allow a user to turn lead into gold or transform an enemy into a toad. Such spells might also bolster the strength of an ally, make an object move at the caster's command, or enhance a creature's innate healing abilities to rapidly recover from injury.
Many spellcasters leave their mark on the world by individualizing their spells. Some of these unique spells have been lost to antiquity, but a few are
preserved in ancient scrolls.
Some spells, due to quirks of their origin, are considered Rare by default. In other cases, common spells might also list one or more rare versions of the spell. A rare spell is a little-known variant of an existing spell which offers a change or improvement to the spell’s functionality. It’s usually named after its creator. For instance, a rare version of the Fire Bolt cantrip, Katrina’s Hellish Fire Bolt, ignores fire resistance. The DM determines which, if any, rare spells are available to discover or research.
A rare spell can’t be chosen when selecting new spells at character creation or when gaining a level—it is obtained on a specially-scribed scroll or learned through costly Research. When a character acquires a scroll bearing a rare version of a spell, they may spend a Long Rest to learn it if it is on their spell list. Doing so destroys the scroll. Alternatively, with the DM's assistance, a player can use the Spellcraft downtime activity to invent or reinvent rare spells
For classes which only know a limited number of spells, a rare spell does not count against their number of spells known. For classes which prepare a limited number of spells, this spell must be prepared separately.
Below you will find the spells of Dungeons and Dragons and their descriptions. The pages of Master Spell List provide a comprehensive list of every spell I have collected that is potentially available in the game, while the Spells by Class and by School pages offer more curated selections.