Glyph of Warding

Category: Baldur’s Gate Spells

Level 3 Abjuration spell available to Bards, Clerics, and Wizards. A trap you draw on the floor that goes off when an enemy walks over it. Seven variants, it is not Concentration, and it sits there until it is triggered. This is the pre-combat spell.

Spell description: Inscribe a circle of arcane glyphs on the ground. When stepped on by an enemy, the selected magical effect will trigger.

Spell properties

  • Range: 9m (30ft)
  • Area: 4m (13ft) radius
  • Duration: Until triggered or Long Rest
  • Save: DEX save
  • Damage: Varies by variant
  • Conditions applied: Varies by variant
  • Cost: Action + Spell Slot
  • Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

See each individual variant. Upcasting increases the damage of the elemental glyphs.

How to obtain Glyph of Warding

  • Bard, Cleric, Wizard at Class level 5

Source item: Scroll of Glyph of Warding

GLYPH OF WARDING

Level 3 Abjuration Spell

Inscribe a circle of arcane glyphs on the ground. When stepped on by an enemy, the selected magical effect will trigger.

Range: 9m (30ft) Save: DEX save AoE: 4m (13ft) Radius Duration: Until triggered
Action Level 3 Spell Slot

Glyph of Warding spell variants

You choose the glyph when you cast it. All seven trigger the same way, on an enemy stepping into the area, and all seven persist until triggered or until you Long Rest.

1. Glyph of Warding: Fire

GLYPH OF WARDING: FIRE

Level 3 Abjuration Spell

The glyph erupts in Fire damage when an enemy steps on it. Creatures in the area must make a Dexterity Saving Throw.

On save: The creature takes half damage.

Range: 9m (30ft) Save: DEX save AoE: 4m (13ft) Radius
Action Level 3 Spell Slot

2. Glyph of Warding: Cold

GLYPH OF WARDING: COLD

Level 3 Abjuration Spell

The glyph erupts in Cold damage when an enemy steps on it. Creatures in the area must make a Dexterity Saving Throw.

On save: The creature takes half damage.

Range: 9m (30ft) Save: DEX save AoE: 4m (13ft) Radius
Action Level 3 Spell Slot

3. Glyph of Warding: Lightning

GLYPH OF WARDING: LIGHTNING

Level 3 Abjuration Spell

The glyph erupts in Lightning damage when an enemy steps on it. Creatures in the area must make a Dexterity Saving Throw.

On save: The creature takes half damage.

Range: 9m (30ft) Save: DEX save AoE: 4m (13ft) Radius
Action Level 3 Spell Slot

4. Glyph of Warding: Thunder

GLYPH OF WARDING: THUNDER

Level 3 Abjuration Spell

The glyph erupts in Thunder damage when an enemy steps on it. Creatures in the area must make a Dexterity Saving Throw.

On save: The creature takes half damage.

Range: 9m (30ft) Save: DEX save AoE: 4m (13ft) Radius
Action Level 3 Spell Slot

5. Glyph of Warding: Acid

GLYPH OF WARDING: ACID

Level 3 Abjuration Spell

The glyph erupts in Acid damage when an enemy steps on it. Creatures in the area must make a Dexterity Saving Throw.

On save: The creature takes half damage.

Range: 9m (30ft) Save: DEX save AoE: 4m (13ft) Radius
Action Level 3 Spell Slot

6. Glyph of Warding: Sleep

GLYPH OF WARDING: SLEEP

Level 3 Abjuration Spell

The glyph releases a cloud of soporific gas. Creatures caught in it fall asleep instead of taking damage.

Range: 9m (30ft) Save: DEX save AoE: 4m (13ft) Radius
Action Level 3 Spell Slot

7. Glyph of Warding: Explosion

GLYPH OF WARDING: EXPLOSION

Level 3 Abjuration Spell

The glyph detonates in a burst of Force damage, throwing creatures caught in the blast.

On save: The creature takes half damage.

Range: 9m (30ft) Save: DEX save AoE: 4m (13ft) Radius
Action Level 3 Spell Slot

When to cast Glyph of Warding

Cast it before the fight starts. That is the entire spell. It is not Concentration and it does not expire, so you can lay a glyph down, walk away, go and start a conversation somewhere else, and the trap is still armed when the conversation turns nasty.

Which makes it the best ambush tool in the game for any encounter you know is coming, and the game telegraphs those constantly. Lay the glyph on the floor between you and the person you are about to insult.

Sleep is the variant to take when you want the fight to be over rather than loud. An enemy that walks into a Sleep glyph is unconscious, and unconscious enemies take automatic critical hits from melee.

The elemental glyphs are for damage and the choice barely matters, so pick the type the enemy does not resist. The 4m radius is generous enough that a doorway glyph will catch two or three of them at once.

Looking for more spells? Check out our full sortable and filterable list of all BG3 spells in the database.

Browse all BG3 Spells →

Spell properties

Level
Level 3
School
Abjuration
Casting resource
Action + Spell Slot
Damage type
Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Thunder
Range
9m (30ft)
Duration
Until triggered or long rest
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Notes & sources

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Spell mechanics, descriptions and values are based on Baldur’s Gate 3 version 4.1.1.7209685 and may change with future patches. Where applicable, sources are cited within each article.

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Some or all of this work is © Larian Studios.
Some spell icons and game data are property of Larian Studios and used here under their fan content policy. Any fan-created works using content from Larian fall under: Larian Fan Content Policy and / or Baldur’s Gate 3 Fan Content Terms. Some of the icons used in these spell cards were downloaded from Sammy8932 on NexusMods.

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