V, M (A snake's tongue and either a bit of honeycomb or a drop of sweet oil)
Duration
Concentration, Up to 8 hours
School
Enchantment
Level
2
Saving throw
Wisdom
You suggest a course of activity (limited to a sentence or two) and magically influence a creature you can see within range that can hear and understand you. Creatures that can't be charmed are immune to this effect. The suggestion must be worded in such a manner as to make the course of action sound reasonable. Asking the creature to stab itself, throw itself onto a spear, immolate itself, or do some other obviously harmful act ends the spell.
The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it pursues the course of action you described to the best of its ability. The suggested course of action can continue for the entire duration. If the suggested activity can be completed in a shorter time, the spell ends when the subject finishes what it was asked to do.
You can also specify conditions that will trigger a special activity during the duration. For example, you might suggest that a knight give her warhorse to the first beggar she meets. If the condition isn't met before the spell expires, the activity isn't performed.
If you or any of your companions damage the target, the spell ends.
How Suggestion plays
Choose a creature you can see within 30 feet that can hear and understand you, and suggest a course of action in a sentence or two. If it fails a Wisdom saving throw, it follows your suggestion as well as it can, for up to 8 hours while you concentrate. The spell ends early if the task is done, or if you or your companions damage the target.
The limit is that the suggestion has to sound reasonable. You can’t tell it to stab itself or jump off a cliff, but you can tell the guard captain that the prisoners have been pardoned and should be released, or tell the bandit leader that her crew would be safer back at camp. You can even set a trigger: “give your warhorse to the first beggar you meet.”
When to pick Suggestion
Bards, sorcerers, warlocks and wizards who talk their way through problems get the most from it. It ends fights before they start and opens doors that don’t have locks.
Word it well. The DM decides what’s reasonable. A suggestion that benefits the target or plays to what it already wants lands best.
In combat, remove someone. “This fight isn’t worth your life, go home” takes an enemy out of the battle as surely as killing it.
Check the target first. Creatures that can’t be charmed are immune, and so is anything that can’t understand your language.
Common questions
What counts as a reasonable suggestion?
The DM decides. The spell rules out obviously harmful acts, like stabbing itself or leaping onto a spear, and it has to sound reasonable to the target. “Leave this place and don’t come back” usually works; “kill your king” usually doesn’t.
Does Suggestion work in combat?
Yes. You can suggest an enemy stops fighting, flees or guards a door somewhere else. If you or your allies damage it afterwards, the spell ends.
Does the target know it was charmed?
The 2014 spell doesn’t say, unlike Charm Person. Many DMs let a creature realize it was manipulated if the suggestion was out of character, especially once it sees your spellcasting.
Who is immune to Suggestion?
Creatures that can’t be charmed, creatures that can’t hear you and creatures that don’t understand your language.
How long does Suggestion last?
Up to 8 hours with concentration, or until the target finishes the task. A trigger that doesn’t happen within the duration never fires.
Did the 2024 rules change Suggestion?
A little. The 2024 version limits the suggestion to 25 words, says outright that the target has the Charmed condition, and drops the option to set a trigger. It still ends if you or your allies damage the target.
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
30 feet
Components
V, M (a drop of honey)
Duration
Concentration, up to 8 hours
School
Enchantment
Level
2
Classes
Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Tags
concentration
You suggest a course of activity—described in no more than 25 words—to one creature you can see within range that can hear and understand you. The suggestion must sound achievable and not involve anything that would obviously deal damage to the target or its allies. For example, you could say, "Fetch the key to the cult's treasure vault, and give the key to me." Or you could say, "Stop fighting, leave this library peacefully, and don't return."
The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have the Charmed condition for the duration or until you or your allies deal damage to the target. The Charmed target pursues the suggestion to the best of its ability. The suggested activity can continue for the entire duration, but if the suggested activity can be completed in a shorter time, the spell ends for the target upon completing it.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
