For the duration, you know if there is an aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, or undead within 30 feet of you, as well as where the creature is located. Similarly, you know if there is a place or object within 30 feet of you that has been magically consecrated or desecrated.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
How Detect Evil and Good plays
For up to 10 minutes of concentration, you know whenever an aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend or undead is within 30 feet of you, and where it is. You also sense places and objects that have been magically consecrated or desecrated, such as an area under a Hallow spell.
The name misleads a lot of players: it doesn’t detect evil people. A murderous human bandit, a cruel noble or an evil dragon won’t show up at all, and a kindly, good-aligned celestial will. What the spell really finds is the otherworldly: the vampire hiding in the cellar, the fiend wearing a courtier’s face, the ghost behind the wall.
When to pick Detect Evil and Good
Horror and investigation adventures with undead, fiends or shapeshifting fey are where it shines. Cast it before opening the crypt or entering the haunted manor.
Clerics and paladins can prepare it only when it’s needed. Paladins should compare it with their Divine Sense feature, which is free but narrower (see below).
Know its blind spots. 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it, so it won’t see into a lead-lined coffin.
Common questions
Does Detect Evil and Good detect alignment?
No. It detects six creature types (aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends and undead) whatever their alignment. An evil human, giant or dragon doesn’t register.
Does it tell me which type of creature it is?
The spell tells you a creature of those types is there and where. Most tables also tell you which of the six types it is, since that’s what the spell is checking for.
Can it see through a disguise?
Usually. A fiend or fey that only looks human is still a fiend or fey, so it registers. A creature whose type has actually changed, for example by Polymorph, is judged by its new form.
What’s the difference between Detect Evil and Good and Divine Sense?
A paladin’s Divine Sense costs an action and a use of the feature, reaches 60 feet but stops at total cover, and only finds celestials, fiends and undead. The spell lasts up to 10 minutes, finds three more types and consecrated places, and passes through thin walls.
Is Detect Evil and Good a ritual?
No, in either the 2014 or the 2024 rules. It costs a 1st-level slot and your concentration.
Does it detect invisible creatures?
It tells you that a creature of one of those types is there and where it is, even if it’s invisible. You still can’t see it, so attacks against it have disadvantage.
The 2024 Player’s Handbook revised many spells, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new text. What changed from the 2014 version above:
Same level, casting time, range, components, duration and dice; the text is reworded for the 2024 rules glossary.
Casting time
Action
Range
Self
Components
V, S
Duration
Concentration, up to 10 minutes
School
Divination
Level
1
Classes
Cleric, Paladin
Tags
concentration
For the duration, you sense the location of any Aberration, Celestial, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, or Undead within 30 feet of yourself. You also sense whether the Hallow spell is active there and, if so, where.
The spell is blocked by 1 foot of stone, dirt, or wood; 1 inch of metal; or a thin sheet of lead.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
