A bright streak flashes from your pointing finger to a point you choose within range and then blossoms with a low roar into an explosion of flame. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
The fire spreads around corners. It ignites flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried.
At higher levels
When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.
Fireball damage by spell slot level
Spell slot level
Damage
Average
3rd
8d6 fire
28
4th
9d6 fire
31.5
5th
10d6 fire
35
6th
11d6 fire
38.5
7th
12d6 fire
42
8th
13d6 fire
45.5
9th
14d6 fire
49
Averages are the dice’s expected total. A target that succeeds on its Dexterity save takes half. Roll any row in the dice roller.
How Fireball plays
You point at a spot up to 150 feet away and everything within 20 feet of it, a ball 40 feet across, makes a Dexterity saving throw. Failures take 8d6 fire damage, 28 on average; successes take half. It doesn’t care who’s friend or foe, and it will catch you too if you drop it on your own position.
It’s the benchmark every other damage spell is measured against. At 5th level, when sorcerers and wizards first get it, it can end a fight against a pack of weaker enemies in one turn, and it stays useful for the rest of the game because it scales by 1d6 per slot level.
When to pick Fireball
Take it if you’re a sorcerer or wizard who fights groups: goblins, cultists, zombies, anything that stands in clumps. Hitting four enemies for 28 each is over 100 damage from one action.
Think twice if your party fights mostly in melee. Once your fighter and barbarian are in the middle of the enemy, there’s rarely a clean place to drop it. A School of Evocation wizard’s Sculpt Spells, or a sorcerer’s Careful Spell, fixes this.
Have a backup for fire-resistant foes. Devils, red dragons, fire elementals and many fiends shrug it off, and fire is one of the most-resisted damage types in the game.
Common questions
How big is Fireball’s area?
A 20-foot-radius sphere, so 40 feet across. On a 5-foot grid that’s roughly eight squares wide, depending on how your table lays area templates on the grid.
Does Fireball hurt allies?
Yes. Every creature in the sphere makes the save, including you and your party. Evocation wizards (Sculpt Spells) and sorcerers (Careful Spell) can protect allies from it.
What does “the fire spreads around corners” mean?
Normally an area spell can’t reach a creature behind total cover from its point of origin. Fireball ignores that: a creature within the radius is caught even if it’s around a corner from the blast. Some tables measure the 20 feet along the path the fire would take rather than in a straight line.
Do I need to see where I’m aiming?
You need a clear path to the point, but not a clear view of it. If you aim at a point behind a wall or door, the explosion happens on your side of it instead.
How much damage does Fireball do when upcast?
One more d6 per slot level above 3rd: 9d6 (about 31) at 4th level, 10d6 (35) at 5th, 11d6 (about 38) at 6th and 14d6 (49) with a 9th-level slot.
Does Fireball burn equipment?
It ignites flammable objects in the area that no one is wearing or carrying, such as curtains, hay and loose scrolls. A character’s worn or carried gear is safe.
Same level, same 8d6 and Dexterity save, but a 100-foot line. Better in corridors and against the many creatures that resist fire; much harder to line up on a crowd in the open.
The other famous 3rd-level area spell. It deals no damage but can take a whole group out of the fight. Pick it when the enemies are too tough to burn down in one go.
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
150 feet
Components
V, S, M (a ball of bat guano and sulfur)
Duration
Instantaneous
School
Evocation
Level
3
Classes
Sorcerer, Wizard
A bright streak flashes from you to a point you choose within range and then blossoms with a low roar into a fiery explosion. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius Sphere centered on that point makes a Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d6 Fire damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.
Flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried start burning.
Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. The damage increases by 1d6 for each spell slot level above 3.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
