All New DnD Spells in the 2024 Player’s Handbook (Deep Dive)
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Spellcasting has been a central component of Dungeons & Dragons for as long as the game has existed, with each new edition seeing new spells and features added to players’ magical repertoires. Some of these have since become iconic arcane incantations, with names like Melf’s Acid Arrow, Bigby’s Hand and Tasha’s Hideous Laughter becoming synonymous with DnD itself.
Now, fifth edition casters will be able to get their hands on 12 new DnD spells in the pages of the 2024 Player’s Handbook. This includes a range of new offensive and defensive spells across a wide range of levels and classes.
So how do these new spells stack up? Below, we conjure up all the details.
Table of Contents
- Arcane Vigor
- Befuddlement
- Drawmij’s Instant Summons
- Elementalism
- Fount of Moonlight
- Jallarzi’s Storm of Radiance
- Power Word Fortify
- Shining Smite
- Sorcerous Burst
- Starry Wisp
- Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron
- Yolande’s Regal Presence
Arcane Vigor
Level: Two
School: Abjuration
Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard
Casting Time: Bonus action
Range: Self
Components: Verbal, Somatic
Duration: Instantaneous
How It Works: Casting the spell as a bonus lets you use and then roll either one or two unused Hit Dice. You then heal hit points equal to the combined result plus your spellcasting ability modifier. If you cast this at a higher level, you can roll one extra Hit Dice for every spell slot level above second.
When to Use It: Arcane Vigor is a great option for any Wizard or Sorcerer running low on hit points who isn’t able to take a short rest, chug a healing potion or call on the services of the new 2024 DnD Cleric.
Befuddlement
Level: Eight
School: Enchantment
Classes: Bard, Druid, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: Action
Range: 150 feet
Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a key ring with no keys)
Duration: Instantaneous
How it Works: Casting this spell unleashes a psychic blast that forces any creature you can see within range to make an Intelligence saving throw. If they fail, they take 10d12 psychic damage and can’t cast spells or use magic actions for the next 30 days (if they succeed on the save they take only half damage). At the end of each 30-day period, the target repeats the save, ending its effects on a success. Heal, Greater Restoration and Wish can also end the spell.
When to Use It: On paper, Befuddlement has a lot in common with the existing 2014 DnD 5e spell Feeblemind, but packs a much more powerful psychic punch. It’s a great option to essentially stop high level magic users in their tracks and potentially the ultimate weapon against a BBEG who relies heavily on spellcasting.
Drawmij’s Instant Summons
Level: Six
School: Conjuration
Classes: Wizard
Casting time: One minute (or Ritual)
Range: Touch
Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (sapphire worth 1,000+ GP)
Duration: Until dispelled
How it Works: To cast the spell you must touch a sapphire as well as an object that weighs up to 10 lbs and whose dimensions are no longer than six feet. The object then gets a magical mark and its name is carved into the sapphire. Later, you can take a magic action to speak the object’s name and crush your sapphire. The object will then appear in your hand. Alternatively, if another creature is holding or carrying the target object, you learn who the individual is and where they are.
When to Use It: Drawmij’s Instant Summons is a great option for the new 2024 DnD Wizard if your party is transporting an important quest item, ensuring you’ll be able to retrieve it when needed or track it down if it gets stolen. Notably the spell is named after the powerful archmage Drawmij of Greyhawk fame, who was originally created by Gary Gyax as an anagram of his friend and early DnD player Jim Ward.
Elementalism
Level: Cantrip
School: Transmutation
Classes: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
Casting Time: Action
Range: 30 feet
Components: Verbal, Somatic
Duration: Instantaneous
How it Works: Casting this cantrip allows you to create any one of the following elemental effects:
- A breeze that can move cloth, dust, leaves, doors, and shutters in a five-foot cube.
- A dust or sand shroud in a five-foot square area or a single word written in a patch of dirt or sand.
- Harmless embers and smoke of any color in a five-foot cube. These can light candles, torches, and lamps in the area, and the smell lasts for one minute.
- One cup of clean water or a spray of damp mist in a five-foot cube for one minute.
- A one-foot cube of dirt, sand, fire, smoke, mist, or water that assumes a crude shape of your choice for one hour.
When to Use It: While Elementalism isn’t exactly the most powerful spell in existence, it offers a ton of utility and roleplaying potential, bearing many of the same hallmarks of the existing Thaumaturgy cantrip. It’s a classic DnD cantrip that’s really limited only by player’s imaginations, and can be used for everything from causing a distraction and illuminating an area to tricking gullible NPCs.
Fount of Moonlight
Level: Four
School: Evocation
Classes: Bard, Druid
Casting Time: Action
Range: Self
Components: Verbal, Somatic
Duration: Up to 10 minutes (Concentration)
How it Works: After casting the spell your body emits bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an extra 20 feet. In addition, you gain resistance to Radiant damage and your melee attacks deal an extra 2d6 radiant damage. After you take damage from a creature you can see within 50 feet, you can also spend a reaction to force your attacker to make a Constitution save. They’re blinded until the end of your next turn if they fail.
When to Use It: Fount of Moonlight is a new DnD spell that particularly useful if your Bard or Druid is being hammered on in melee combat by a more powerful opponent, letting you catch them off guard and deliver an extra radiant dose of damage. Notably, it has a lot in common with the Shadow of Moil Warlock spell that first appeared in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, but instead of shadows relies on light to blind and damage opponents.
Jallarzi’s Storm of Radiance
Level: Five
School: Evocation
Classes: Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: Action
Range: 120 feet
Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a pinch of phosphorus)
Duration: Up to one minute (Concentration)
How it Works: Casting the spell conjures a cylindrical storm 40-feet high with a 10-foot radius. Creatures in the storm are blinded and deafened, and they can’t cast spells with verbal components. Additionally, every creature inside the storm must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 2d10 radiant damage and 2d10 thunder damage on a failure or half as much on a success. Any creature that enters the spell’s area for the first time or ends its turn there must also make the save once per turn. For every spell slot level above five that you use, the radiant and thunder damage both increase by 1d10.
When to Use It: Jallarzi’s Storm of Radiance is a great new area of effect spell that both incapacitates and seriously damages enemies, offering a ton of strategic potential on the battlefield, particularly for the new 2024 DnD Warlock. Notably, the spell is named after Jallarzi Sallavarian, a powerful sorceress from Greyhawk and a member of the Circle of Eight.
Power Word Fortify
Level: Seven
School: Enchantment
Classes: Bard, Cleric
Casting Time: Action
Range: 60 feet
Components: Verbal
Duration: Instantaneous
How it Works: After casting this spell up to six creatures you can see get 120 temporary hit points (equally divided between them).
When to Use It: While this spell may sound like the reverse of Power Word Kill, it’s really a less powerful version of the Mass Heal Cleric spell (although that remains a 9th level spell). That being said, the spell offers a ton of potential for the new 2024 DnD Bard, who traditionally hasn’t been able to restore a significant pool of hit points in this way.
Shining Smite
Level: Two
School: Transmutation
Classes: Paladin
Casting Time: Bonus action (taken immediately after hitting a creature with a melee weapon or unarmed strike)
Range: Self
Components: Verbal
Duration: Up to one minute (Concentration)
How it Works: When you hit with a melee weapon or unarmed strike as a bonus action you can deals an extra 2d6 radiant damage. The target also emits bright light in a five-foot radius, which means all attack rolls against it have advantage. The smite’s damage also increases by 1d6 for every spell slot used above level two.
When to Use It: Shining Smite is a solid addition for the new 2024 DnD Paladin that helps to balance the changes to the larger smite ability in the new rules. While you will have to maintain concentration in order to use it, the combination of damage bonus and advantages on attacks makes it a great tactical option for particularly challenging opponents.
Sorcerous Burst
Level: Cantrip
School: Evocation
Classes: Sorcerer
Casting Time: Action
Range: 120 feet
Components: Verbal, Somatic
Duration: Instantaneous
How it Works: This new DnD spell lets you make a ranged attack against a target, dealing 1d8 acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, psychic or thunder damage. If you roll an eight on your damage die, you can roll an additional d8 and add it to the damage. Notably, the number of extra d8s you can add to the damage equals your spellcasting ability modifier. Additionally, the damage increases by 1d8 at levels five, 11, and 17.
When to Use It: For a simple cantrip Sorcerous Burst packs a powerful punch and is definitely a solid addition to the new 2024 DnD Sorcerer that offers even more versatility when combined with metamagic abilities.
Starry Wisp
Level: Cantrip
School: Evocation
Classes: Bard, Druid
Casting Time: Action
Range: 60 feet
Components: Verbal, Somatic
Duration: Instantaneous
How it Works: This new ranged spell attack lets you target an enemy with a blast of light, dealing 1d8 radiant damage on a hit. A creature hit by this cantrip emits dim light in a 10-foot radius and can’t become invisible until the end of your next turn. The damage also increases by 1d8 at Levels 5, 11, and 17.
When to Use It: Starry Wisp is definitely a reliable cantrip for both Bards and the new 2024 DnD Druid. While it doesn’t deal a ton of damage, its ability to illuminate key areas and reveal invisible creatures makes it a useful option for a variety of encounters.
Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron
Level: Six
School: Conjuration
Classes: Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: Action
Range: 5 feet
Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (gilded ladle worth 500+ GP)
Duration: 10 minutes
How it Works: This new 2024 DnD spell lets Wizards and Warlocks summon a cauldron full of liquid that can provide one particular type of common or uncommon potion which can be removed as a bonus action. The potion comes in a vial that vanishes once its contents are used. Notably, the cauldron can only create potions equal to your spellcasting ability modifier, and it disappears once you’ve depleted its resources. Any potions that weren’t used disappear at the same time as the cauldron.
When to Use It: Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron is a great utility spell if you’re nowhere near an alchemist and are running low on healing potions or need to quickly whip up a brew for a particular encounter or creature type (although you will have to use up a golden ladle worth 500 gold pieces). Thematically it’s also incredibly fun and captures the vibe of the legendary DnD sorceress Tasha.
Yolande’s Regal Presence
Level: Five
School: Enchantment
Classes: Bard, Wizard
Casting Time: Action
Range: Self
Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (miniature tiara)
Duration: Up to one minute (Concentration)
How it Works: After casting this spell you are surrounded by a 10-foot magical emanation. Whenever a creature enters or starts it turn in the emanation they must then make a Wisdom saving throw. If they fail they take 4d6 psychic damage, become prone and can be pushed up to 10 feet away. If the creature passes, they take only half damage.
When to Use It: Yolande’s Regal Presence offers a unique way to control the battlefield while delivering a solid amount of damage. Notably, the spell is named after the powerful elf queen Yolande of Greyhawk lore.
Final Thoughts on the New DnD Spells
The new 2024 DnD spells are a solid mix of offensive and defensive options that work well for a range of classes and augment some of the new abilities and rules. And while not every spell is likely going to resonate with players, chances are there’s at least one or two new incantations that ware worth adding to your arcane arsenal.
You can find the complete rules for the new spells in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, which is available now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.
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Cameron Nichols is a Senior Editor who lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been playing D&D since the early 90s, when he was introduced by his older brother and cut his teeth on AD&D 2nd Edition. Since then he’s played virtually every RPG he could get his nerdy little mitts on (including a weird Goth phase in the early 2000s when he rocked Vampire: The Masquerade pretty hard). His favorite D&D campaign setting is the Forgotten Realms and his favorite character to play was a Half-Orc Barbarian named Grug (who was unfortunately devoured by a gelatinous cube).
