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Guards and Wards D&D 2014

Revised in 2024 The D&D 2024 version differs. Read the D&D 2024 version.

Level
6th
School
Abjuration
Casting time
10min
Range
Touch
Components
V/S/M (burning incense, a small measure of brimstone and oil, a knotted string, a small amount of umber hulk blood, and a small silver rod worth at least 10 gp)
Material
burning incense, a small measure of brimstone and oil, a knotted string, a small amount of umber hulk blood, and a small silver rod worth at least 10 gp
Duration
24 hours
Classes
Bard, Wizard

You create a ward that protects up to 2,500 square feet of floor space (an area 50 feet square, or one hundred 5-foot squares or twenty-five 10-foot squares). The warded area can be up to 20 feet tall, and shaped as you desire. You can ward several stories of a stronghold by dividing the area among them, as long as you can walk into each contiguous area while you are casting the spell. When you cast this spell, you can specify individuals that are unaffected by any or all of the effects that you choose. You can also specify a password that, when spoken aloud, makes the speaker immune to these effects. Guards and wards creates the following effects within the warded area. Corridors. Fog fills all the warded corridors, making them heavily obscured. In addition, at each intersection or branching passage offering a choice of direction, there is a 50 percent chance that a creature other than you will believe it is going in the opposite direction from the one it chooses. Doors. All doors in the warded area are magically locked, as if sealed by an arcane lock spell. In addition, you can cover up to ten doors with an illusion (equivalent to the illusory object function of the minor illusion spell) to make them appear as plain sections of wall. Stairs. Webs fill all stairs in the warded area from top to bottom, as the web spell. These strands regrow in 10 minutes if they are burned or torn away while guards and wards lasts. Other Spell Effect. You can place your choice of one of the following magical effects within the warded area of the stronghold. • Place dancing lights in four corridors. You can designate a simple program that the lights repeat as long as guards and wards lasts. • Place magic mouth in two locations. • Place stinking cloud in two locations. The vapors appear in the places you designate; they return within 10 minutes if dispersed by wind while guards and wards lasts. • Place a constant gust of wind in one corridor or room. • Place a suggestion in one location. You select an area of up to 5 feet square, and any creature that enters or passes through the area receives the suggestion mentally. The whole warded area radiates magic. A dispel magic cast on a specific effect, if successful, removes only that effect. You can create a permanently guarded and warded structure by casting this spell there every day for one year.

SRD 5.1, p.151 · CC BY 4.0

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Licence and attribution

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 ("SRD 5.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. RollQuest has adapted this material: it is reorganised into rules data, and some entries are reworded, abridged or corrected.

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. RollQuest has adapted this material: it is reorganised into rules data, and some entries are reworded, abridged or corrected.

Dungeons & Dragons and D&D are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC. RollQuest is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast. Both notices are also on the SRD licences page.