Guards and Wards 5e spell

6th-level abjuration · 2024 version below

Casting time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (Burning incense, a small measure of brimstone and oil, a knotted string, a small amount of umber hulk blood, and a small silver rod worth at least 10 gp)
Duration: 24 hours
School: Abjuration
Level: 6

You create a ward that protects up to 2,500 square feet of floor space (an area 50 feet square, or one hundred 5-foot squares or twenty-five 10-foot squares). The warded area can be up to 20 feet tall, and shaped as you desire. You can ward several stories of a stronghold by dividing the area among them, as long as you can walk into each contiguous area while you are casting the spell.

When you cast this spell, you can specify individuals that are unaffected by any or all of the effects that you choose. You can also specify a password that, when spoken aloud, makes the speaker immune to these effects.

Guards and wards creates the following effects within the warded area.

Corridors. Fog fills all the warded corridors, making them heavily obscured. In addition, at each intersection or branching passage offering a choice of direction, there is a 50 percent chance that a creature other than you will believe it is going in the opposite direction from the one it chooses.

Doors. All doors in the warded area are magically locked, as if sealed by an arcane lock spell. In addition, you can cover up to ten doors with an illusion (equivalent to the illusory object function of the minor illusion spell) to make them appear as plain sections of wall.

Stairs. Webs fill all stairs in the warded area from top to bottom, as the web spell. These strands regrow in 10 minutes if they are burned or torn away while guards and wards lasts.

Other Spell Effect. You can place your choice of one of the following magical effects within the warded area of the stronghold.

Place dancing lights in four corridors. You can designate a simple program that the lights repeat as long as guards and wards lasts.
Place magic mouth in two locations.
Place stinking cloud in two locations. The vapors appear in the places you designate; they return within 10 minutes if dispersed by wind while guards and wards lasts.
Place a constant gust of wind in one corridor or room.
Place a suggestion in one location. You select an area of up to 5 feet square, and any creature that enters or passes through the area receives the suggestion mentally.

The whole warded area radiates magic. A dispel magic cast on a specific effect, if successful, removes only that effect.

You can create a permanently guarded and warded structure by casting this spell there every day for one year.

Classes that can cast Guards and Wards

Class	First available	Spellcasting ability
Bard spells	11th character level	Charisma
Wizard spells	11th character level	Intelligence

Guards and Wards in the 2024 rules

The 2024 Player’s Handbook revised many spells, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new text. What changed from the 2014 version above:

Casting time: 10 minutes → 1 hour.

Casting time: 1 hour
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a silver rod worth 10+ GP)
Duration: 24 hours
School: Abjuration
Level: 6
Classes: Bard, Wizard

You create a ward that protects up to 2,500 square feet of floor space. The warded area can be up to 20 feet tall, and you shape it as one 50-foot square, one hundred 5-foot squares that are contiguous, or twenty-five 10-foot squares that are contiguous.

When you cast this spell, you can specify individuals that are unaffected by the spell's effects. You can also specify a password that, when spoken aloud within 5 feet of the warded area, makes the speaker immune to its effects.

The spell creates the effects below within the warded area. Dispel Magic has no effect on Guards and Wards itself, but each of the following effects can be dispelled. If all four are dispelled, Guards and Wards ends. If you cast the spell every day for 365 days on the same area, the spell thereafter lasts until all its effects are dispelled.

Corridors. Fog fills all the warded corridors, making them Heavily Obscured. In addition, at each intersection or branching passage offering a choice of direction, there is a 50 percent chance that a creature other than you believes it is going in the opposite direction from the one it chooses.

Doors. All doors in the warded area are magically locked, as if sealed by the Arcane Lock spell. In addition, you can cover up to ten doors with an illusion to make them appear as plain sections of wall.

Stairs. Webs fill all stairs in the warded area from top to bottom, as in the Web spell. These strands regrow in 10 minutes if they are destroyed while Guards and Wards lasts.

Other Spell Effect. Place one of the following magical effects within the warded area: • Dancing Lights in four corridors, with a simple program that the lights repeat as long as Guards and Wards lasts • Magic Mouth in two locations • Stinking Cloud in two locations (the vapors return within 10 minutes if dispersed while Guards and Wards lasts) • Gust of Wind in one corridor or room (the wind blows continuously while the spell lasts) • Suggestion in one 5-foot square; any creature that enters that square receives the suggestion mentally

2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.

Other 6th-level abjuration spells

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