2nd-level illusion (concentration, ritual) · 2024 version below
For the duration, no sound can be created within or pass through a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point you choose within range. Any creature or object entirely inside the sphere is immune to thunder damage, and creatures are deafened while entirely inside it.
Casting a spell that includes a verbal component is impossible there.
For up to 10 minutes while you concentrate, no sound can be made inside or pass through a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point within 120 feet. Creatures entirely inside are deafened, anything entirely inside is immune to thunder damage, and nobody in the sphere can cast a spell with a verbal component.
Most spells have a verbal component, so a caster standing in Silence is left with the few that don’t. The sphere doesn’t move, though, so an enemy caster who walks out of it can cast normally again. It works best on casters who can’t easily leave: surrounded by your fighters, stuck on a narrow ledge or held by a grapple.
Only spells without a verbal component. Spells that need just somatic or material components, like Counterspell, still work.
Yes. Silence only stops spells cast by someone inside the sphere. You can target a creature in it with anything, as long as its effect isn’t thunder damage, which creatures entirely inside are immune to.
Yes, up to 10 minutes. It’s also a ritual, so a cleric who has it prepared or a bard who knows it can cast it in 10 extra minutes without a spell slot. Rangers can’t cast rituals under the 2014 rules.
No. It’s centered on a point you choose and stays there. Casters inside can walk out of it.
Anyone inside can’t cast them, and anything entirely inside is immune to thunder damage, so a creature in the sphere takes no damage from them either.
| Spell | How it compares |
|---|---|
| Counterspell | 3rd-level reaction that stops one spell. Silence stops a caster’s verbal spells for as long as it stays in the sphere. |
| Darkness | 2nd level: a 15-foot sphere darkvision can’t see through. It stops spells that need sight instead of spells that need speech. |
| Pass without Trace | 2nd level: +10 to Stealth for the party. Silence hides sound; this hides everything else. |
| Thunderwave | 1st level thunder damage that Silence blocks completely. Casting it inside the sphere is impossible, too. |
| Class | First available | Spellcasting ability |
|---|---|---|
| Bard spells | 3rd character level | Charisma |
| Cleric spells | 3rd character level | Wisdom |
| Ranger spells | 5th character level | 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:
Same level, casting time, range, components, duration and dice; the text is reworded for the 2024 rules glossary.
For the duration, no sound can be created within or pass through a 20-foot-radius Sphere centered on a point you choose within range. Any creature or object entirely inside the Sphere has Immunity to Thunder damage, and creatures have the Deafened condition while entirely inside it. Casting a spell that includes a Verbal component is impossible there.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
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