You unleash a string of insults laced with subtle enchantments at a creature you can see within range. If the target can hear you (though it need not understand you), it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 1d4 psychic damage and have disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
This spell's damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (2d4), 11th level (3d4), and 17th level (4d4).
Vicious Mockery damage by character level
Character level
Damage
Average
1st+
1d4 psychic
2.5
5th+
2d4 psychic
5
11th+
3d4 psychic
7.5
17th+
4d4 psychic
10
Averages are the dice’s expected total. Roll any row in the dice roller.
How Vicious Mockery plays
You insult a creature you can see within 60 feet. If it can hear you (it doesn’t need to understand you), it makes a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure it takes 1d4 psychic damage and has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
The damage is the lowest of any attack cantrip: 1d4, rising to 2d4 at 5th level, 3d4 at 11th and 4d4 at 17th. What you’re really buying is the debuff. Against a monster that hits hard with one big attack, disadvantage on that attack can be worth more than the damage from any other cantrip.
When to pick Vicious Mockery
Every bard should take it. It’s the only damaging cantrip on the Player’s Handbook bard list.
Aim it at the big hitter, the ogre or the giant whose single attack would drop your wizard, rather than at a creature with many small attacks.
Psychic damage is rarely resisted, which helps against creatures that shrug off fire or cold.
Look at the Wisdom save. Brutes and beasts tend to fail it; priests, dragons and many fiends tend to pass.
Common questions
Does Vicious Mockery affect every attack in a Multiattack?
No. The disadvantage applies only to the next single attack roll the creature makes before the end of its next turn. The rest of its attacks are made normally.
Does the target have to understand me?
No, only hear you. A creature that’s deafened or can’t hear is unaffected in the 2014 rules.
Does the disadvantage work on spell attacks?
Yes, on any attack roll, including a ranged or melee spell attack. It does nothing to spells that call for a saving throw, since those don’t use an attack roll.
How much damage does Vicious Mockery do?
1d4 psychic at 1st level, 2d4 at 5th, 3d4 at 11th and 4d4 at 17th, on a failed Wisdom save. A successful save means no damage and no disadvantage.
What changed in the 2024 rules?
The 2024 version deals 1d6 psychic, scaling to 4d6, and it works on any creature you can see or hear within range, with no requirement that the target hears you.
The 2024 Player’s Handbook revised many spells, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new text. What changed from the 2014 version above:
Dice in the main effect: 1d4, 2d4, 3d4, 4d4 → 1d6, 2d6, 3d6, 4d6.
Casting time
Action
Range
60 feet
Components
V
Duration
Instantaneous
School
Enchantment
Level
Cantrip
Classes
Bard
You unleash a string of insults laced with subtle enchantments at one creature you can see or hear within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 1d6 Psychic damage and have Disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
Cantrip Upgrade. The damage increases by 1d6 when you reach levels 5 (2d6), 11 (3d6), and 17 (4d6).
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
