Imprisonment
Level 9 · Abjuration
- Save
- Teleport
Imprisonment (warlock and wizard) casts from a 9th-level slot in the abjuration school. Cast time: 1 Minute. Range 30 feet, components V/S/M, duration until dispelled. Material: a statuette of the target worth 5,000+ GP. Effect: You create a magical restraint to hold a creature that you can see within range.
Stat Block
- Level
- 9
- School
- Abjuration
- Casting Time
- 1 Minute
- Range / Area
- 30 feet
- Components
- V, S, M
- Duration
- Until dispelled
- Ritual
- No
- Concentration
- No
- Classes
- Warlock, Wizard
- Material
- a statuette of the target worth 5,000+ GP
Description
You create a magical restraint to hold a creature that you can see within range. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a successful save, the target is unaffected, and it is immune to this spell for the next 24 hours. On a failed save, the target is imprisoned. While imprisoned, the target doesn't need to breathe, eat, or drink, and it doesn't age. Divination spells can't locate or perceive the imprisoned target, and the target can't teleport. Until the spell ends, the target is also affected by one of the following effects of your choice:
- Burial: The target is entombed beneath the earth in a hollow globe of magical force that is just large enough to contain the target. Nothing can pass into or out of the globe.
- Chaining: Chains firmly rooted in the ground hold the target in place. The target has the Restrained condition and can't be moved by any means.
- Hedged Prison: The target is trapped in a demiplane that is warded against teleportation and planar travel. The demiplane is your choice of a labyrinth, a cage, a tower, or the like.
- Minimus Containment: The target becomes 1 inch tall and is trapped inside an indestructible gemstone or a similar object. Light can pass through the gemstone (allowing the target to see out and other creatures to see in), but nothing else can pass through by any means.
- Slumber: The target has the Unconscious condition and can't be awoken.
When you cast the spell, specify a trigger that will end it. The trigger can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose, but the DM must agree that it has a high likelihood of happening within the next decade. The trigger must be an observable action, such as someone making a particular offering at the temple of your god, saving your true love, or defeating a specific monster.
Dispel Magic spell can end the spell only if it is cast with a level 9 spell slot, targeting either the prison or the component used to create it.
5e (2014) vs 2024 changes
This spell has both a 5e (2014) and 2024 Player's Handbook version. Doungim shows the current 2024 stat block above. Differences between editions typically affect components, range, or scaling — check both source books for the table.
Doungim Lore
School Fit
Abjurations are built around the word no. They raise wards, they break enchantments, they push attackers out of reach. Imprisonment reads as Abjuration the moment a player sees what it does — the spell ends, prevents, or absorbs an effect that would otherwise land. Top-tier slots like the one Imprisonment uses are deployed once or twice per campaign arc, not per session.
Class Fit
- Warlock: Tier 1 Warlocks have a single slot; tier 2 have two. Imprisonment only earns its known-spell slot if the build casts it most short rests. The 30-foot range on Imprisonment leaves room for the caster to stay in the back line.
- Wizard: Once Imprisonment is in the spellbook the cost is gold-and-ritual-time at acquisition; from then on the daily prep decision is free. 30 feet is enough range that Imprisonment doesn't pull the caster forward.
Related Spells
Frequently Asked Questions about Imprisonment
- What level spell is Imprisonment?
- Imprisonment sits at level 9 in the Abjuration school of magic, prepared by Warlock, Wizard.
- What save does Imprisonment require?
- Imprisonment calls for a Wisdom save against the caster's DC. Success conditions are described in the spell text.
- What is the range of Imprisonment?
- From the caster's position, Imprisonment reaches 30 feet.
- How long does Imprisonment last?
- The duration on Imprisonment is until dispelled, with no concentration required.
- What components and casting time does Imprisonment need?
- the cast needs V, S, M. Material component: a statuette of the target worth 5,000+ GP; the casting time is 1 minute (not a standard Action).