Dispel Magic: Shut Off the Power

Usable By: Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Spell Level: 3

School: Abjuration

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 120 feet

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: V, S

Choose one creature, object, or magical effect within range. Any spell of 3rd level or lower on the target ends. For each spell of 4th level or higher on the target, make an ability check using your spellcasting ability. The DC equals 10 + the spell’s level. On a successful check, the spell ends.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you automatically end the effects of a spell on the target if the spell’s level is equal to or less than the level of the spell slot you used.

Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold

There are a grouping of spells I like to consider the “hygiene” spells. These are spells that aren’t necessarily flashy, nor all that compelling from a narrative position on most, but are tools you’re regularly going to want to combat magical nonsense D&D runs rampant with. Detect Magic is the first of these, being a tool for detection I recommend to most anyone, but Dispel Magic is the poster child for hygiene spells. It's a catch all for any spell effect you need to stop.

If you have no hope of victory with your busted allied paladin getting Dominate Personed, and you need a way to mitigate it, Dispel Magic is a solution. If you come to a magically locked door, and it's all that stands between you and escaping the ravenous dragon behind you, Dispel Magic is a solution. If a spell created the effect, Dispel Magic is a way to counteract it. Even something cursed with Bestow Curse will go away with a casual Dispel Magic.

Counterspell is the reaction version of this that will often have a way higher impact in combat against spellcasters, but be literally uncastable everywhere else. Where Detect Magic shines over its counterpart Counterspell is in exploration; it’s something you can routinely use in creative ways to engage with elements of the game that few other spells and abilities do. Both tends to be good to have, especially in the highest tier of play where a single Feeblemind, Teleport, or Wish can determine the outcome of an encounter entirely on its own, but in the lower to mid tiers of play, Dispel Magic normally does both jobs well enough you don’t ever need it and Counterspell.

I’d highly recommend for DMs running games with a lot of “loosey goosey” magic that isn’t inherently tied to spells rules as written to open up Dispel Magic to work with non-spell effects, as it can be frustrating for players to come with a solution to a magical effect only for it to not work because it isn’t explicitly magic provided from the spells section in the Player’s Handbook.

Taking Dispel Magic at 5th level is a bit overkill, but finding room for it in the next few levels I’d recommend to most anyone. Dispel Magic is reliable, useful, and a way to engage with a kind of play otherwise challenging to interface with. I’d highly recommend it.

Dispel Magic FAQ:

Can Dispel Magic stop magical healing?

You can’t stop a spell like Cure Wounds with Dispel Magic, because Cure Wounds is an instantaneous effect, rather than an ongoing one. You cast the spell, the person’s wounds close, and that’s it, the spell is done, there’s no ongoing magical effect to dispel. If Healing Spirit is in play, Dispel Magic could dispel that effect, but would not undo any healing that the spirit had performed prior to the dispelling.

Can Dispel Magic render a magical potion inert?

No. While Dispel Magic can negate the effect of a potion, a potion can’t be robbed of its magic. Confirmation from Jeremy Crawford HERE.

Can Dispel Magic turn a magical item into a mundane one?

No. Dispel Magic’s purpose is to break other spells. It has no effect on the properties of a magic item. See HERE for more information.

Can Dispel Magic undo zombies created by Animate Dead?

No. Dispel Magic doesn’t affect spells with instantaneous durations.

If an enemy has cast Bane on the party, does Dispel Magic remove the Bane effect from every party member?

No. Dispel Magic only works on one target at a time. If you want to remove an effect like Bane from every party member at once, break the caster’s concentration.

Can Dispel Magic break a curse?

If an enemy has cast Bestow Curse on you, then yes, because that’s a non-instantaneous spell with an ongoing effect. But it can’t affect a cursed item, because Dispel Magic doesn’t work on magical effects that aren’t spells. A Shield of Missile attraction, for example, doesn’t place a spell effect on the wielder, and so there’s nothing to dispel.

5e Spells

Dispel Magic: Shut Off the Power

Dispel Magic FAQ: