Did your party just find some Dust of Disappearance? Loreify records your session and writes the recap, including every magic item, NPC and loot drop your party picked up.
Dust of Disappearance 5e: Mass Invisibility in a Packet, Enemies Included
Dust of Disappearance in 5e is an uncommon, single-use wondrous item with no attunement. Throw it into the air (an action in 2014, a Utilize action in 2024) and you and every creature and object within 10 feet of you turn invisible for 2d4 minutes, with no Concentration. A creature stays invisible until it attacks or casts a spell; in 2024, dealing damage ends it too. The verdict: a strong escape or infiltration tool for a party standing close together, and a nasty surprise if an enemy is standing next to you when you throw it.
Ten sessions from now, will anyone remember who's carrying the Dust of Disappearance? Loreify turns your session audio into notes, NPC lists and quotes in 5-10 minutes.
Dust of Disappearance Rules Text
The 2014 card (SRD 5.1), then the 2024 card (SRD 5.2.1):
Dust of Disappearance
2014 rules
Wondrous item, uncommon
UncommonNo attunement
Found in a small packet, this powder resembles very fine sand. There is enough of it for one use. When you use an action to throw the dust into the air, you and each creature and object within 10 feet of you become invisible for 2d4 minutes. The duration is the same for all subjects, and the dust is consumed when its magic takes effect. If a creature affected by the dust attacks or casts a spell, the invisibility ends for that creature.
This powder resembles fine sand. There is enough of it for one use. When you take a Utilize action to throw the dust into the air, you and each creature and object within a 10-foot Emanation originating from you have the Invisible condition for 2d4 minutes. The duration is the same for all subjects, and the dust is consumed when its magic takes effect. Immediately after an affected creature makes an attack roll, deals damage, or casts a spell, the Invisible condition ends for that creature.
Everyone within 10 feet, including you. The text says "each creature and object", with no choice of targets. Allies, enemies, the prisoner you're escorting, the chest you were looting and the door you came through all vanish. In 2024 the area is a 10-foot Emanation from you, and the text names you as a subject, so you're always included.
On a grid, 10 feet covers every square within two squares of you. Bunch the party up before throwing it.
DM ruling: the subjects are fixed when the dust is thrown. A creature that walks into the area a round later doesn't turn invisible, and one that walks out stays invisible.
How long it lasts
Roll 2d4 minutes once; every subject gets the same duration. That's 2 to 8 minutes, 5 on average, or 20 to 80 rounds. There's no Concentration to break and no way to extend it.
What ends it
Action
2014
2024
Making an attack
Ends it
Ends it, immediately after the attack roll
Casting any spell
Ends it
Ends it, immediately after casting
Dealing damage without an attack roll
Not mentioned
Ends it
Grappling or shoving
Ends it (the 2014 SRD calls both a special melee attack)
Doesn't end it (2024 grapples and shoves force a saving throw and deal no damage)
Each creature's invisibility ends separately. The rogue who stabs the guard becomes visible; the rest of the party stays hidden.
In 2024, "immediately after" means the attack that ends it is still made while Invisible, so it gets Advantage. The 2014 text just says the invisibility ends if the creature attacks. DM ruling: in 2014 too, the attack that breaks it gets the advantage from being unseen, then the invisibility ends.
What invisible means
In 2014, an invisible creature is impossible to see without magic or a special sense, attack rolls against it have disadvantage, and its own attacks have advantage. Noise and tracks can still give away its location. In 2024 the Invisible condition gives the same attack benefits, makes you immune to effects that need to see you, and grants Advantage on Initiative if you're Invisible when combat starts. Equipment you carry is concealed too.
Invisible isn't silent. Guards who hear footsteps can still guess where you are and attack at Disadvantage, or cast Faerie Fire, which outlines creatures that fail the save so they can't benefit from being invisible.
Dust of Disappearance: 2014 vs 2024
2014 (SRD 5.1)
2024 (SRD 5.2.1)
Rarity / attunement
Uncommon, no attunement
Uncommon, no attunement
Throwing it
An action
A Utilize action
Area
Within 10 feet of you
A 10-foot Emanation from you
Effect
Become invisible
The Invisible condition
Duration
2d4 minutes, same for all
Same
Ends on
Attacking or casting a spell
Making an attack roll, dealing damage or casting a spell
Value
No price in the SRD
200 GP (uncommon consumable)
What changed at the table:
•Dealing damage ends it in 2024. Pushing a boulder onto a guard, lighting oil or triggering a trap that hurts someone breaks the effect for the creature responsible. In 2014 only attacks and spells did.
•Grappling no longer ends it in 2024. A 2024 grapple forces a saving throw instead of using an attack roll and deals no damage, so an invisible character can grab a guard and stay unseen.
•The 2024 Invisible condition is stronger at the start of a fight. If combat starts while you're still Invisible, you roll Initiative with Advantage.
Is Dust of Disappearance Worth It?
As an emergency exit, yes. Compare the other ways to make a party invisible:
The dust's advantages: no spell slot, no caster required, no Concentration, and it covers a whole party at once. Its weaknesses: only minutes, one use, and no control over who's included.
Best uses:
•Retreat. Throw it when the fight is lost and walk out. Everyone close enough vanishes at the same moment.
•Slipping past a checkpoint. Five or so minutes is enough to cross a courtyard or a gate.
•Hiding loot or a hostage. Objects within range vanish too.
When it's a trap: in melee with enemies adjacent. They vanish with you, and now your party is fighting invisible foes at Disadvantage.
Dust of Disappearance for DMs
Placement. A packet in a thief's kit, a spy's satchel or a smuggler's cache. A single-use item gives the party one escape without changing every session.
What it changes. One encounter. Plan for the party to use it to skip a fight or run from one. If they throw it with your monsters inside the area, play the invisible monsters honestly: they get the same benefits.
The lookalike. Dust of Sneezing and Choking looks identical, and the Identify spell reports it as Dust of Disappearance. Thrown, it forces you and every creature within 30 feet to make a DC 15 Constitution save or become Incapacitated and start suffocating (2014: only creatures that need to breathe; 2024: Constructs, Elementals, Oozes, Plants and Undead succeed automatically). Mixing a packet of each into one hoard is fair, and the item text backs you up.
Pricing. The 2024 SRD values uncommon items at 400 GP and halves that for consumables, so 200 GP a packet. The 2014 SRD has no magic item prices; any 2014 figure comes from the Dungeon Master's Guide, not the SRD. The rarity calculator and the uncommon item list help when stocking a shop.
Hooks.
•A tavern brawl ends when someone throws dust and the whole room goes invisible, including the purse they stole.
•A noble buys a packet to sneak out of her own wedding. She needs the party close enough to vanish with her.
•A spy's packet was swapped. The party finds out which dust it really was only when it's thrown.
Who used the dust, and who it caught, is the kind of detail that's gone a week later. Loreify records the session and writes up what happened.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Dust of Disappearance last?
2d4 minutes, rolled once and the same for every creature and object affected. A creature's invisibility ends early if it attacks or casts a spell, or in 2024 if it deals damage.
Does Dust of Disappearance affect enemies?
Yes. It affects you and every creature and object within 10 feet, with no choice of targets. Enemies standing that close turn invisible too.
Does Dust of Disappearance require concentration?
No. It's a magic item, not a spell, and the text has no Concentration requirement. Nothing ends it early except attacking, casting a spell or (in 2024) dealing damage.
Can you tell Dust of Disappearance from Dust of Sneezing and Choking?
Not with Identify. Dust of Sneezing and Choking looks the same, and the spell reports it as Dust of Disappearance. You find out when you throw it.
How much is Dust of Disappearance worth?
200 GP under the 2024 SRD: an uncommon item is worth 400 GP, halved for a consumable. The 2014 SRD gives no prices.
Item text: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Analysis, rulings and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.