Glyph of Warding: The Last Ward on Home Defense

Usable By: Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Wizard

Spell Level: 3

School: Abjuration

Casting Time: 1 hour

Range: Touch

Duration: Until dispelled or triggered

Components: V, S, M (Incense and powdered diamond worth at least 200 gp, which the spell consumes)

When you cast this spell, you inscribe a glyph that harms other creatures, either upon a surface (such as a table or a section of floor or wall) or within an object that can be closed (such as a book, a scroll, or a treasure chest) to conceal the glyph. If you choose a surface, the glyph can cover an area of the surface no larger than 10 feet in diameter. If you choose an object, that object must remain in its place; if the object is moved more than 10 feet from where you cast this spell, the glyph is broken, and the spell ends without being triggered.

The glyph is nearly invisible and requires a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to be found.

You decide what triggers the glyph when you cast the spell. For glyphs inscribed on a surface, the most typical triggers include touching or standing on the glyph, removing another object covering the glyph, approaching within a certain distance of the glyph, or manipulating the object on which the glyph is inscribed. For glyphs inscribed within an object, the most common triggers include opening that object, approaching within a certain distance of the object, or seeing or reading the glyph. Once a glyph is triggered, this spell ends.

You can further refine the trigger so the spell activates only under certain circumstances or according to physical characteristics (such as height or weight), creature kind (for example, the ward could be set to affect aberrations or drow), or alignment. You can also set conditions for creatures that don’t trigger the glyph, such as those who say a certain password.

When you inscribe the glyph, choose explosive runes or a spell glyph.

Explosive Runes. When triggered, the glyph erupts with magical energy in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on the glyph. The sphere spreads around corners. Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 5d8 acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage on a failed saving throw (your choice when you create the glyph), or half as much damage on a successful one.

Spell Glyph. You can store a prepared spell of 3rd level or lower in the glyph by casting it as part of creating the glyph. The spell must target a single creature or an area. The spell being stored has no immediate effect when cast in this way. When the glyph is triggered, the stored spell is cast. If the spell has a target, it targets the creature that triggered the glyph. If the spell affects an area, the area is centered on that creature. If the spell summons hostile creatures or creates harmful objects or traps, they appear as close as possible to the intruder and attack it. If the spell requires concentration, it lasts until the end of its full duration.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage of an explosive runes glyph increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 3rd. If you create a spell glyph, you can store any spell of up to the same level as the slot you use for the glyph of warding.

Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold

Of all the traps DMs have at their disposal, by far most flexible is Glyph of Warding. If player’s aren’t actively investigating for traps, one encounter with a Glyph of Warding and they’ll never make that mistake again. It can be a somewhat frustrating effect when used in odd environments, and the context around the spell matters a lot when determining how fun it is to navigate, but if you’re a newer DM out there looking for easy traps on the fly, this is a great place to start.

For players, this is probably the only trap you could ever really want. The problem is using it practically can be challenging. When out adventuring, you won’t often be in situations where you’ll have a spare hour to set up an environment with this prior to fight; in cases where you do, it can act like a free bonus spell when the fight starts, which is pretty nice, but it costs you two spell slots if you want something better than a slightly lower damage Fireball.

If you’ve got a keep or some magnificent manor to defend, sure, this can help you feel like you’re setting traps and building your own dungeon. The reality of the majority of D&D games are they are about going places to kill people to save the world or solve some problem. You aren’t often going to be in a situation, unless you ask your DM nicely, where you’re goal is to defend a fixed point . Adventurers tend to be aggressors, and that makes this spell useless for many who’d consider it.

Sometimes you really want to be the paranoid wizard defending their tower; setting up a defense against overwhelming odds can be a great adventure on its own, but its going to be something the DM has to set up knowing everyone has ways to contribute. In that scenario, pick up Glyph of Warding (if you can afford it).

5e Spells

Glyph of Warding: The Last Ward on Home Defense