by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Conjuration spell available to Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards. It fills a 4.5m sphere with blinding fog that breaks line of sight for everyone inside. The budget version of Darkness.
Spell description: Create a cloud of dense fog that Heavily Obscures and Blinds creatures within.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Area: 4.5m (15ft) radius
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Conditions applied: Heavily Obscured. Blinded.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Fog Cloud at a higher level increases the area of effect by 2m (7ft) for each spell slot level above the 1st.
How to obtain Fog Cloud
- Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 1
- Tempest Domain (Cleric) at Class level 1, as a Domain Spell
- Draconic Bloodline (Bronze, Lightning ancestry) Sorcerer at Class level 1
- Ranger at Class level 2
- Arcane Trickster (Rogue) and Eldritch Knight (Fighter) at Class level 3
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Druid, Sorcerer, or Wizard
- Source item: Hammergrim Mist Amulet
Create a cloud of dense fog that Heavily Obscures and Blinds creatures within.
When to cast Fog Cloud
Fog Cloud blinds everything inside it, which breaks line of sight for the whole area. Drop it on enemy archers and casters and they cannot see to target anyone, or drop it on your own party to retreat under cover.
It is the cheap version of Darkness, and it blinds your own side too, so it is a wall and an escape tool rather than an offensive trick. Pair it with an ally who does not rely on sight, or use it to disengage from a fight gone wrong.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Abjuration spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. A Reaction that adds +5 Armour Class the instant before you are hit and makes you immune to Magic Missile. One of the best defensive spells in the game.
Spell description: When you are about to be hit by an enemy, use your Reaction to increase your Armour Class by 5. You also take no damage from Magic Missile. These effects last until the start of your next turn.
Spell properties
- Range: Self
- Duration: 1 turn
- Conditions applied: +5 Armour Class. Immune to Magic Missile.
- Cost: Reaction + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per turn
Spell upcasting
Casting Shield at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Shield
- Sorcerer, Wizard, and The Hexblade (Warlock) at Class level 1
- Arcane Trickster (Rogue) and Eldritch Knight (Fighter) at Class level 3
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Sorcerer, Magic Initiate: Wizard
- Source items: Amulet of the Harpers, Shield of Shielding, Elegant Studded Leather
When you are about to be hit by an enemy, use your Reaction to increase your Armour Class by 5. You also take no damage from Magic Missile. These effects last until the start of your next turn.
When to cast Shield
A Reaction that adds +5 Armour Class the instant before you get hit is one of the best defensive spells in the game. That +5 often turns a hit into a miss retroactively, and it lasts until your next turn, so it can dodge several attacks from one Reaction.
It also makes you completely immune to Magic Missile, which is the one spell your Armour Class normally cannot dodge. Keep a slot in reserve on any Wizard or Sorcerer and you will save yourself from a killing blow more than once.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Necromancy spell available to Clerics. A melee touch for 3d10 Necrotic, the biggest single hit any Level 1 spell can land. A burst option for a Cleric willing to get close.
Spell description: Putrefy a creature with the Necrotic energy filling your hands.
Spell properties
- Damage: 3d10 Necrotic
- Damage type: Necrotic
- Range: Melee (1.5m)
- Attack type: Melee spell Attack Roll
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Inflict Wounds at a higher level deals an additional 1d10 Necrotic damage for each spell slot level above the 1st.
How to obtain Inflict Wounds
- Cleric at Class level 1
- Oathbreaker (Paladin) at Class level 3
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Cleric
- Source item: Blackguard’s Gauntlets
Putrefy a creature with the Necrotic energy filling your hands.
When to cast Inflict Wounds
3d10 is the biggest single hit any Level 1 spell can deal, which makes Inflict Wounds a genuine burst option for a melee-leaning Cleric. Land it and you can delete a low-health enemy or take a huge chunk out of a big one.
The problems are the range and the attack roll: you have to be in melee, and it can miss entirely, which for a fragile Cleric is a real risk. It is a gamble spell, best on a build that is already comfortable up close.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Enchantment spell available to Bards and Wizards. It leaves a creature Prone and helpless with laughter, unable to stand. A single-target hard lock for one slot.
Spell description: Inflict a creature with fits of laughter, leaving it Prone without the ability to get up. At the end of its turn or when it takes damage, the creature can try to shake off the effect.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: WIS save
- Conditions applied: Prone and incapacitated, unable to get up.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Tasha’s Hideous Laughter at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Tasha’s Hideous Laughter
- Bard, Wizard at Class level 1
- The Great Old One (Warlock) at Class level 1
- Draconic Bloodline (Copper, Acid ancestry) Sorcerer at Class level 1
- Arcane Trickster (Rogue) and Eldritch Knight (Fighter) at Class level 3
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Bard, Magic Initiate: Wizard
Inflict a creature with fits of laughter, leaving it Prone without the ability to get up. At the end of its turn or when it takes damage, the creature can try to shake off the effect.
When to cast Tasha’s Hideous Laughter
It is a single-target hard lock for one Level 1 slot. The victim is Prone and cannot stand, which means it is stuck on the floor taking Advantage attacks from your whole party while its own attacks suffer Disadvantage.
The weakness is that it can shrug off the effect whenever it takes damage, so it works best when you lock down one dangerous enemy and focus the rest of the party elsewhere. It is Concentration and a Wisdom save, so it is a control tool, not a guarantee.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Enchantment spell available to Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards. It drops the lowest-health enemies in an area with no save, and sleeping targets take automatic critical hits. Brutal in the early game.
Spell description: Put creatures up to a combined 24 Hit Points into a magical slumber. Sleeping creatures awaken if they take damage.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 2 turns
- Conditions applied: Sleeping. The creature cannot move or act.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Sleep at a higher level affects creatures with an additional 8 Hit Points for each spell slot level above the 1st.
How to obtain Sleep
- Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 1
- Knowledge Domain (Cleric) and The Archfey (Warlock) at Class level 1
- Draconic Bloodline (Brass, Fire ancestry) Sorcerer at Class level 1
- Arcane Trickster (Rogue) and Eldritch Knight (Fighter) at Class level 3
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Bard, Sorcerer, or Wizard
Put creatures up to a combined 24 Hit Points into a magical slumber. Sleeping creatures awaken if they take damage.
When to cast Sleep
Sleep has no save. It simply puts the lowest-health enemies in the area under, up to a 24 HP budget, and a sleeping creature is helpless: it cannot act, and melee attacks against it are automatic critical hits. In the early game that is devastating.
The catch is the HP budget shrinks in relative terms as enemies get tougher, and any damage wakes them, so tell your party not to poke a sleeper you want kept down. Upcast it to raise the budget and it stays relevant longer than most Level 1 spells.
Range: 18m (60ft)
AoE: 4.5m (15ft) radius
Save: WIS save 
