Divination cantrip (concentration) · 2024 version below
You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to one ability check of its choice. It can roll the die before or after making the ability check. The spell then ends.
You touch a willing creature, and once in the next minute it can add a d4 to one ability check, deciding before or after it rolls. That’s about +2.5 on average, for free, as often as you like, which is why nearly every cleric and druid takes it.
It only helps ability checks: skills, tool checks, Strength checks to break a door, Dexterity checks for initiative. It does nothing for attack rolls or saving throws. It also takes your action and your concentration, so it’s mostly an out-of-combat spell. Cast it before the lock gets picked, the cliff gets climbed or the guard gets persuaded.
Yes. You’re a willing creature you can touch.
Yes, because initiative is a Dexterity check. You have to cast it in the minute before the fight starts, so it works when you know combat is coming, like before kicking in a door.
Yes, the spell lets it roll before or after the ability check. Most tables ask you to decide before the DM says whether the check succeeded.
No. The effects of the same spell don’t combine. Guidance does stack with a different bonus, like a bard’s Bardic Inspiration.
The rules allow it; it’s a cantrip. It has verbal and somatic components, though, so casting it in the middle of a conversation is obvious to everyone present, and many DMs only allow it when there’s time to cast it.
No. Use Resistance for a saving throw, or Bless for attacks and saves.
| Spell | How it compares |
|---|---|
| Resistance | The same spell for saving throws: touch, concentration, one d4 on one save. Less useful because you rarely know a save is coming. |
| Bless | 1st level: a d4 on every attack roll and saving throw for up to three creatures for a minute. The combat version. |
| Enhance Ability | 2nd level: advantage on every check with one ability for up to an hour. For a long infiltration or a day of climbing. |
| Class | First available | Spellcasting ability |
|---|---|---|
| Cleric spells | 1st level (cantrip) | Wisdom |
| Druid spells | 1st level (cantrip) | Wisdom |
The 2024 Player’s Handbook revised many spells, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new text. What changed from the 2014 version above:
You touch a willing creature and choose a skill. Until the spell ends, the creature adds 1d4 to any ability check using the chosen skill.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
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