Wish
Level 9 · Conjuration
- Damage
- Save
- Summon
- Buff
- Debuff
Listed under conjuration, Wish costs a 9th-level slot for sorcerer and wizard casters. Cast time: Action. Range Self, components V, duration instantaneous. Effect: Wish is the mightiest spell a mortal can cast.
Stat Block
- Level
- 9
- School
- Conjuration
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range / Area
- Self
- Components
- V
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Ritual
- No
- Concentration
- No
- Classes
- Sorcerer, Wizard
- Material
- —
Description
Wish is the mightiest spell a mortal can cast. By simply speaking aloud, you can alter reality itself. The basic use of this spell is to duplicate any other spell of level 8 or lower. If you use it this way, you don't need to meet any requirements to cast that spell, including costly components. The spell simply takes effect. Alternatively, you can create one of the following effects of your choice:
You create one object of up to 25,000 GP in value that isn't a magic item. The object can be no more than 300 feet in any dimension, and it appears in an unoccupied space that you can see on the ground.
You allow yourself and up to twenty creatures that you can see to regain all Hit Points, and you end all effects on them listed in the Greater Restoration spell.
You grant up to ten creatures that you can see Resistance to one damage type that you choose. This Resistance is permanent.
You grant up to ten creatures you can see immunity to a single spell or other magical effect for 8 hours.
You replace one of your feats with another feat for which you are eligible. You lose all the benefits of the old feat and gain the benefits of the new one. You can't replace a feat that is a prerequisite for any of your other feats or features.
You undo a single recent event by forcing a reroll of any die roll made within the last round (including your last turn). Reality reshapes itself to accommodate the new result. For example, a Wish spell could undo an ally's failed saving throw or a foe's Critical Hit. You can force the reroll to be made with Advantage or Disadvantage, and you choose whether to use the reroll or the original roll.
You may wish for something not included in any of the other effects. To do so, state your wish to the GM as precisely as possible. The GM has great latitude in ruling what occurs in such an instance; the greater the wish, the greater the likelihood that something goes wrong. This spell might simply fail, the effect you desire might be achieved only in part, or you might suffer an unforeseen consequence as a result of how you worded the wish. For example, wishing that a villain were dead might propel you forward in time to a period when that villain is no longer alive, effectively removing you from the game. Similarly, wishing for a Legendary magic item or an Artifact might instantly transport you to the presence of the item's current owner. If your wish is granted and its effects have consequences for a whole community, region, or world, you are likely to attract powerful foes. If your wish would affect a god, the god's divine servants might instantly intervene to prevent it or to encourage you to craft the wish in a particular way. If your wish would undo the multiverse itself, your wish fails.
The stress of casting Wish to produce any effect other than duplicating another spell weakens you. After enduring that stress, each time you cast a spell until you finish a Long Rest, you take 1d10 Necrotic damage per level of that spell. This damage can't be reduced or prevented in any way. In addition, your Strength score becomes 3 for 2d4 days. For each of those days that you spend resting and doing nothing more than light activity, your remaining recovery time decreases by 2 days. Finally, there is a 33 percent chance that you are unable to cast Wish ever again if you suffer this stress.
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
Wish is Conjuration only in the loosest sense — it's the closest D&D has to a free-form spell. Casting Wish as a copy of any 8th-level-or-lower spell is the safe use: 1 slot, no save or attack penalty, and the effect resolves. Going beyond that — wishing for an outcome — costs 1d4+1 levels of exhaustion, a 33% chance of never casting Wish again, and a DM's interpretation of how the wish gets twisted.
Class Fit
- Sorcerer: Sorcerers reach Wish at character level 17 if they make it that far. The known-spell budget is brutal — Wish costs one of the Sorcerer's few 9th-level picks. Most Sorcerer builds use Wish to copy other non-Sorcerer spells (Simulacrum, Forcecage, Plane Shift); the safe-cast pattern saves the build's slot without the exhaustion risk.
- Wizard: Wizards add Wish to the spellbook at character level 17. The signature use is duplicating another spellcaster's signature spell — copying Simulacrum, copying Mass Heal, copying a True Polymorph. Free-form Wishes carry the table-warping risk, but most experienced parties use Wish for the safe copy-another-spell mode.
Tactical play (Doungim editorial)
Once-per-day level-9 spell. Duplicate any 8th-level-or-lower spell without normal restrictions. Free Simulacrum, free Globe of Invulnerability, free Counterspell at any slot. The original-cast Wish has no recovery stress; non-duplication wishes (custom effects) carry an exhaustion penalty.
Related Spells
Frequently Asked Questions about Wish
- What level spell is Wish?
- Wish is a level 9 spell from the Conjuration school. The classes that can prepare it: Sorcerer, Wizard.
- What is the range of Wish?
- As a self-target spell, Wish affects only the caster.
- What components and casting time does Wish need?
- To cast Wish: the components are V with a standard Action.