Did your party just find a Potion of Invisibility? Loreify records your session and writes the recap, including every magic item, NPC and loot drop your party picked up.
Potion of Invisibility 5e: One Hour Unseen, What Ends It, and 2024 Changes
A Potion of Invisibility makes you invisible for 1 hour, along with everything you wear and carry. It needs no Concentration. It ends early if you attack or cast a spell (2014), or if you make an attack roll, deal damage or cast a spell (2024). The 2014 SRD rates it very rare; the 2024 SRD drops it to rare, and drinking it goes from an action to a Bonus Action. It works as a scouting tool for an hour or a one-shot escape for anyone in trouble.
Ten sessions from now, will anyone remember who's carrying the Potion of Invisibility? Loreify turns your session audio into notes, NPC lists and quotes in 5-10 minutes.
Potion of Invisibility Rules Text
SRD 5.1 (2014), then SRD 5.2.1 (2024).
Potion of Invisibility
2014 rules
Potion, very rare
Very RareNo attunement
This potion's container looks empty but feels as though it holds liquid. When you drink it, you become invisible for 1 hour. Anything you wear or carry is invisible with you. The effect ends early if you attack or cast a spell.
This potion's container looks empty but feels as though it holds liquid. When you drink the potion, you have the Invisible condition for 1 hour. The effect ends early if you make an attack roll, deal damage, or cast a spell.
The two editions describe invisibility differently. See the Invisible condition guide for the full rules.
•2014: you can't be seen without magic or a special sense. For hiding, you count as heavily obscured. Noise and tracks still give away your location. Attack rolls against you have disadvantage, and yours have advantage.
•2024: the Invisible condition gives Advantage on Initiative if you're invisible when you roll it, makes you immune to effects that require the target to be seen (unless the creator can see you), conceals your equipment, and gives the same Advantage/Disadvantage on attacks. A creature that can see you ignores the attack benefits.
Neither version makes you silent. The 2014 condition says noise and tracks still reveal where you are, so you take the Hide action if you want your location to stay secret.
What ends it
The potion's own text sets the end conditions, and they differ by edition:
You...
2014
2024
Attack with a weapon or spell attack
Ends
Ends (attack roll)
Cast any spell, including a cantrip or a buff
Ends
Ends
Deal damage without an attack roll
Not listed
Ends
Grapple or shove
Ends (both are attacks in 2014)
Doesn't end (no attack roll, no damage)
Open doors, pick locks, sneak, talk
Doesn't end
Doesn't end
The grapple line comes straight from the core rules. In 2014, a grapple or shove is a special melee attack made with the Attack action, so it counts as attacking. In 2024, grapple and shove are Unarmed Strike options that use a saving throw instead of an attack roll and deal no damage, so none of the potion's triggers apply.
Activating a magic item doesn't end it unless the item has you cast a spell, as a Wand of Web does. Drinking another potion doesn't end it either.
No Concentration
The potion doesn't cast the Invisibility spell; it gives you the effect directly, and its text has no Concentration. Taking damage won't end it, and you can't lose it to a failed Constitution save. A spellcaster who drinks it could still be concentrating on a spell cast before, though casting a new one ends the invisibility.
Drinking it
One use. In 2014, drinking or giving it to someone else takes an action. In 2024, either takes a Bonus Action, so you can drink it and move away (or take the Hide action) on the same turn. Giving it to an ally makes the ally invisible, which helps when you're about to drag a downed friend out of a fight.
Potion of Invisibility: 2014 vs 2024
2014 (SRD 5.1)
2024 (SRD 5.2.1)
Rarity
Very rare
Rare
Duration
1 hour
1 hour
Drinking it
An action
A Bonus Action
Ends early if you
Attack or cast a spell
Make an attack roll, deal damage or cast a spell
Your gear
Invisible with you (stated in the item)
Concealed (part of the Invisible condition)
Value
No price in the SRD
2,000 GP (rare consumable)
What this means at the table:
•It's cheaper and easier to find in 2024. It drops from very rare to rare, and at 2,000 GP it's within reach of mid-level parties.
•A Bonus Action makes it an escape tool. In 2014, drinking it costs the action you'd use to Disengage or Dash. In 2024 you drink and still have your action.
•The 2024 Invisible condition is stronger. Advantage on Initiative and immunity to effects that require the target to be seen are new.
Is the Potion of Invisibility Worth It?
Yes, as a scouting and escape tool. As an attack setup, less so: you get Advantage on one attack, and the invisibility ends.
Good uses:
•Scouting. An hour is enough to walk through most dungeons and back. The scout can open doors and read documents without ending it.
•Escape. A caster surrounded by enemies drinks it (Bonus Action in 2024) and moves away. Attackers who can't see them have Disadvantage.
•The opening attack. Drink it before a fight, roll Initiative with Advantage (2024), and open with an attack at Advantage. For a Rogue, that's Sneak Attack.
Compare it with the SRD's other invisibility sources:
Until you end it (2014: also attacking or casting)
No
Legendary, at will
The spell is cheaper to a caster who knows it, but uses Concentration and a slot. The potion works for anyone and can't be broken by damage.
Potion of Invisibility for DMs
Where it turns up. In 2024, a rare consumable fits mid-level treasure. In 2014, very rare puts it among high-level rewards. A spy's cache, a thieves' guild vault or a dead assassin's belt are natural spots.
What it changes. An hour of invisibility lets one character bypass most guards and scout a whole area. Plan for it: guard dogs that track by scent, alarms on doors, flour on the floor. Creatures with Blindsight or Truesight see through it.
Pricing. The 2024 SRD values rare items at 4,000 GP and halves that for consumables, so 2,000 GP. The 2014 SRD has no prices. The shop price calculator handles potion shops.
At the table. Note the time the potion was drunk, and which actions end it in your edition; the grapple rule is the one that differs.
Hooks.
•A vial that looks empty sits on a murdered noble's desk. It's a used Potion of Invisibility bottle, and nobody saw the killer leave.
•A prisoner asks for "an empty bottle" as a last request. It isn't empty.
Who drank what, and what they saw while invisible, is the kind of detail that slips between sessions. Loreify records your game and writes the recap.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Potion of Invisibility last?
1 hour in both the 2014 and 2024 rules, with no Concentration. It ends early if you attack or cast a spell (2014), or make an attack roll, deal damage or cast a spell (2024).
Does a Potion of Invisibility require Concentration?
No. The potion has no Concentration requirement, so taking damage doesn't end it. Only attacking or casting a spell does (and dealing damage, in 2024).
Can you grapple while under a Potion of Invisibility?
In 2014, no: a grapple is a special melee attack, so it ends the invisibility. In 2024, yes: a grapple is an Unarmed Strike option that uses a saving throw, not an attack roll, and deals no damage.
What rarity is a Potion of Invisibility?
Very rare in the 2014 SRD and rare in the 2024 SRD.
How much is a Potion of Invisibility worth?
2,000 GP under the 2024 SRD: half the 4,000 GP value of a rare item, because it's a consumable. The 2014 SRD lists no magic item 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.