Invisibility
- Level: 2
- School: Illusion
- Class: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
- Casting Time: Action
- Range: Touch
- Components: V, S, M (an eyelash in gum arabic)
- Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
A creature you touch has the Invisible condition until the spell ends. The spell ends early immediately after the target makes an attack roll, deals damage, or casts a spell.
Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. You can target one additional creature for each spell slot level above 2.
Tactical Usage
Stealth Operations: Invisibility provides complete visual concealment for infiltration, reconnaissance, or escape scenarios. The 1-hour duration allows extended stealth operations without time pressure.
Combat Initiation: Cast before combat to gain surprise advantages, positioning benefits, or first-strike capabilities. The spell ends immediately upon attack, so plan opening moves carefully.
Escape Mechanism: Use Invisibility to break engagement and retreat from dangerous situations. The immediate concealment can prevent pursuit and allow repositioning or full withdrawal.
Spell Combinations
Misty Step Synergy: Combine with Misty Step for enhanced mobility while invisible. The bonus action teleport allows rapid repositioning without breaking invisibility until you attack.
Pass without Trace: Layer with Pass without Trace for comprehensive stealth enhancement. Invisibility handles visual detection while Pass without Trace manages auditory and tracking concerns.
Mirror Image Preparation: Cast Mirror Image before Invisibility to maintain defensive options after the invisibility ends. The duplicate images provide protection when you become visible again.
Material Component Details
Eyelash in Gum Arabic: The unusual component combination reflects the spell's focus on visual concealment. The eyelash represents sight while gum arabic provides binding properties.
Component Preparation: Gum arabic requires preparation time and specific sourcing, potentially limiting spell availability in certain regions or circumstances without advance planning.
Symbolic Meaning: The components symbolize the removal of visual presence - the eyelash (sight) dissolved in gum arabic (binding/concealment), creating thematic resonance with the spell's effects.
Creator Notes
Ending Conditions: The spell ends immediately upon attack, damage dealing, or spellcasting. This creates tactical timing considerations about when to break invisibility for maximum advantage.
Upcast Benefits: Higher-level slots affect additional creatures, making group invisibility possible for party stealth operations or mass infiltration scenarios.
Detection Limitations: Invisibility only provides visual concealment, not silence or scent masking. Smart enemies can still detect invisible creatures through other senses.
Environmental Interactions
Lighting Irrelevance: Invisibility works regardless of lighting conditions, providing concealment in both bright daylight and complete darkness equally effectively.
Terrain Interaction: Invisible creatures still interact with terrain normally, leaving footprints, disturbing vegetation, or creating environmental evidence of their passage.
Weather Effects: Rain, snow, or dust can outline invisible creatures, reducing the spell's effectiveness in certain weather conditions or dusty environments.
Common Rulings & Clarifications
Attack Immediacy: The spell ends immediately after making an attack roll, not when damage is dealt. This means even missed attacks break the invisibility.
Spell Ending: Casting any spell ends invisibility, not just offensive spells. Utility spells, healing, or even cantrips will break the concealment.
Advantage Mechanics: Invisible creatures have advantage on attack rolls while enemies have disadvantage on attacks against them, creating significant combat advantages.
Alternative Applications
Social Infiltration: Gain access to restricted areas, overhear conversations, or gather intelligence in social situations where stealth is more valuable than combat advantage.
Performance Enhancement: Creative performers can use invisibility for dramatic reveals, magical entertainment, or theatrical effects that amaze audiences.
Practical Jokes: While not tactically relevant, invisibility enables harmless pranks or social experiments that create memorable roleplay moments.
Related Spells
Greater Invisibility: Higher-level version that doesn't end on attack, allowing sustained invisible combat. Use regular Invisibility for stealth and Greater Invisibility for combat enhancement.
Pass without Trace: Provides different stealth benefits through tracking and perception penalties rather than visual concealment. Combine both for comprehensive stealth coverage.
Blur: Lower-level alternative providing concealment through visual distortion rather than complete invisibility. Choose based on resource availability and concealment needs.
Scaling Analysis
Early Levels (3-6): Invisibility provides exceptional utility when 2nd-level spell slots are significant resources. The versatility and duration make it valuable throughout these levels.
Mid Levels (7-12): Upcast versions enable group stealth operations, making the spell valuable for party coordination and mass infiltration scenarios.
High Levels (13+): While basic concealment becomes less unique, the spell remains valuable for specific situations requiring stealth over combat enhancement.
Narrative Flavor
Fading Process: The target becomes increasingly translucent as the spell takes effect, their outline wavering like heat distortion before disappearing entirely. Only the faintest shimmer remains visible to the most observant watchers.
Invisible Presence: While completely unseen, the invisible creature retains physical presence. Their breathing, heartbeat, and movements remain real even as their visual form vanishes from perception.
Revelation Moment: When the spell ends, the creature phases back into visibility with a subtle shimmer. The transition from invisible to visible creates a moment of surprise and revelation for observers.