Conjuration cantrip · 2024 version below
You extend your hand toward a creature you can see within range and project a puff of noxious gas from your palm. The creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 1d12 poison damage.
This spell's damage increases by 1d12 when you reach 5th level (2d12), 11th level (3d12), and 17th level (4d12).
| Character level | Damage | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 1st+ | 1d12 poison | 6.5 |
| 5th+ | 2d12 poison | 13 |
| 11th+ | 3d12 poison | 19.5 |
| 17th+ | 4d12 poison | 26 |
Averages are the dice’s expected total. Roll any row in the dice roller.
You puff a cloud of gas at one creature you can see within 10 feet. It makes a Constitution saving throw, and on a failure takes 1d12 poison damage. On a success it takes nothing, not even half. Like every damage cantrip, it grows with your character level: 2d12 at 5th, 3d12 at 11th and 4d12 at 17th.
On paper it’s the hardest-hitting cantrip in the Player’s Handbook: a d12 averages 6.5, against 5.5 for Fire Bolt’s d10. In practice two things drag it down. The range is only 10 feet, so a wizard or sorcerer has to stand next to the enemy to use it. And poison is the damage type monsters shrug off most often: about one in five of the monsters in the SRD, including nearly every undead, construct and fiend, is immune to it.
No. It’s all or nothing: a creature that succeeds on the Constitution save takes no damage at all.
No. Disadvantage within 5 feet of an enemy applies to ranged attack rolls, and Poison Spray uses a saving throw instead. That makes it one of the few damage cantrips a caster can use while an enemy is right next to them without a penalty.
Anything immune to poison damage, which in the SRD is about 64 of 334 monsters: most undead (skeletons, zombies, ghouls, liches), constructs (golems, animated armor), fiends (devils and most demons) and many elementals. It’s the most common damage immunity in the game.
Druids, sorcerers, warlocks and wizards in the Player’s Handbook, plus artificers. Anyone else can pick it up with the Magic Initiate feat or a race that grants a cantrip from one of those lists.
No. It only deals poison damage; it doesn’t give the poisoned condition.
Yes. The 2024 Player’s Handbook turns it into a ranged spell attack with a 30-foot range, still 1d12 poison damage. This page and the builder use the 2014 rules, where it’s a Constitution save at 10 feet.
| Spell | How it compares |
|---|---|
| Fire Bolt | 1d10 fire with a spell attack at 120 feet. A little less damage, twelve times the range, and fire is resisted far less often than poison. |
| Eldritch Blast | The warlock’s cantrip: 1d10 force at 120 feet, with extra beams at 5th, 11th and 17th level. Almost nothing resists force damage. |
| Acid Splash | 1d6 acid on a Dexterity save, at 60 feet, and it can hit two creatures standing next to each other. |
| Shocking Grasp | 1d8 lightning by touch, with advantage against metal armor, and the target can’t take reactions. The other close-range cantrip, built for getting away. |
| Produce Flame | The druid’s other damage cantrip: 1d8 fire thrown up to 30 feet, and the flame doubles as a light source. |
| Sacred Flame | The cleric’s saving-throw cantrip: 1d8 radiant on a Dexterity save at 60 feet, ignoring cover. Radiant damage is almost never resisted. |
| Class | First available | Spellcasting ability |
|---|---|---|
| Druid spells | 1st level (cantrip) | Wisdom |
| Sorcerer spells | 1st level (cantrip) | Charisma |
| Warlock spells | 1st level (cantrip) | Charisma |
| Wizard spells | 1st level (cantrip) | Intelligence |
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 spray toxic mist at a creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d12 Poison damage.
Cantrip Upgrade. The damage increases by 1d12 when you reach levels 5 (2d12), 11 (3d12), and 17 (4d12).
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
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