Choose an object that you can see within range. The object can be a door, a box, a chest, a set of manacles, a padlock, or another object that contains a mundane or magical means that prevents access.
A target that is held shut by a mundane lock or that is stuck or barred becomes unlocked, unstuck, or unbarred. If the object has multiple locks, only one of them is unlocked.
If you choose a target that is held shut with arcane lock, that spell is suppressed for 10 minutes, during which time the target can be opened and shut normally.
When you cast the spell, a loud knock, audible from as far away as 300 feet, emanates from the target object.
How Knock plays
Point at a door, chest, padlock, set of manacles or anything else held shut, within 60 feet, and one mundane lock on it opens. Stuck doors come unstuck and barred doors unbar. If it’s held by an Arcane Lock, that spell is suppressed for 10 minutes instead.
The catch is in the name. Casting it makes a loud knock that can be heard 300 feet away. Knock is the right tool when there’s no rogue, the lock is too hard to pick, or you need the door open right now, and the wrong one when you’re trying to stay quiet.
When to pick Knock
Parties without a rogue should have someone with Knock or a way to cast it. Bards, sorcerers and wizards can take it.
Wizards can leave it in the spellbook and prepare it on dungeon days. It’s rarely needed every day.
Expect company. Anything within 300 feet that hears the knock may come to see what it was, so be ready for a fight on the other side.
Common questions
Is Knock loud?
Yes. It always makes a loud knock, audible up to 300 feet away, from the object you target. There’s no quiet version.
Does Knock open every lock on a door?
No, only one. A door with three locks takes three castings, or one Knock and a rogue for the rest.
Does Knock beat Arcane Lock?
Only for a while. It suppresses Arcane Lock for 10 minutes, during which the door opens and shuts normally. After that, the lock is back.
Can Knock free someone from manacles?
Yes. Manacles are one of the objects the spell names.
Does Knock disarm traps?
No. It opens the lock, not the trap attached to it. Search before you open.
Can I cast Knock while silenced?
No. Its only component is verbal, so a gag or Silence stops it.
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
60 feet
Components
V
Duration
Instantaneous
School
Transmutation
Level
2
Classes
Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard
Choose an object that you can see within range. The object can be a door, a box, a chest, a set of manacles, a padlock, or another object that contains a mundane or magical means that prevents access.
A target that is held shut by a mundane lock or that is stuck or barred becomes unlocked, unstuck, or unbarred. If the object has multiple locks, only one of them is unlocked.
If the target is held shut by Arcane Lock, that spell is suppressed for 10 minutes, during which time the target can be opened and closed.
When you cast the spell, a loud knock, audible up to 300 feet away, emanates from the target.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
