Spider Climb
Level 2 · Transmutation
- Concentration
Listed under transmutation, Spider Climb costs a 2nd-level slot for sorcerer, warlock, and wizard casters. Cast time: Action. Range Touch, components V/S/M, duration up to 1 hour. Material: a drop of bitumen and a spider. Marked concentration. Effect: Until the spell ends, one willing creature you touch gains the ability to move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and along ceilings, while leaving its hands free. At higher levels: You can target one additional creature for each spell slot level about 2.
Stat Block
- Level
- 2
- School
- Transmutation
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range / Area
- Touch
- Components
- V, S, M
- Duration
- up to 1 Hour
- Ritual
- No
- Concentration
- Yes
- Classes
- Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
- Material
- a drop of bitumen and a spider
Description
Until the spell ends, one willing creature you touch gains the ability to move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and along ceilings, while leaving its hands free. The target also gains a Climb Speed equal to its Speed.
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
The Transmutation tradition reshapes matter. Stone becomes mud, mud becomes stone, a humanoid becomes a tyrannosaurus. Spider Climb sits in Transmutation because the spell rewrites a property of a body, an object, or terrain. At level 2, Spider Climb sits in the mid-tier slot competition.
Class Fit
- Sorcerer: Metamagic is the angle for Spider Climb on a Sorcerer. Twin, Quicken, Subtle, Heightened, and Extended each change what the spell does at the table. Keep in mind that Spider Climb ends the moment the caster takes concentration off it for any reason.
- Warlock: Invocations cover a lot of utility a Warlock would otherwise spell-cast. Spider Climb earns its slot when invocations don't cover the same need. Damage taken while concentrating on Spider Climb forces a Con save at DC 10 or half damage, whichever is higher.
- Wizard: Once Spider Climb is in the spellbook the cost is gold-and-ritual-time at acquisition; from then on the daily prep decision is free. Spider Climb's concentration requirement makes it vulnerable to a single failed save when the caster takes damage.
Related Spells
Frequently Asked Questions about Spider Climb
- What level spell is Spider Climb?
- Spider Climb is a level 2 spell from the Transmutation school. The classes that can prepare it: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard.
- What is the range of Spider Climb?
- Touch range on Spider Climb means the caster has to make physical contact with the target.
- Is Spider Climb a concentration spell?
- Yes — Spider Climb requires concentration, lasting up to 1 hour. Casting another concentration spell ends this one; damage taken triggers a Constitution save (DC 10 or half the damage, whichever is higher) to maintain it.
- What components and casting time does Spider Climb need?
- For Spider Climb: Spider Climb requires V, S, M; on top of that, Material component: a drop of bitumen and a spider.
- Can Spider Climb be upcast?
- Yes — You can target one additional creature for each spell slot level about 2.