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Potion of Speed 5e: One Minute of Haste, No Concentration
A Potion of Speed in 5e is a very rare potion that gives you the effect of the Haste spell for 1 minute, with no Concentration required. For 10 rounds your speed doubles, you gain +2 to AC and Advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and you get one extra, limited action each turn. In the 2024 rules you also skip the wave of lethargy that normally follows Haste, and you drink it as a Bonus Action instead of an action. The verdict: the safest way to get Haste on a martial character, best saved for the fight that decides the adventure.
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Potion of Speed Rules Text
Potion of Speed
2014 rules
Potion, very rare
Very RareNo attunement
When you drink this potion, you gain the effect of the haste spell for 1 minute (no concentration required). The potion's yellow fluid is streaked with black and swirls on its own.
When you drink this potion, you gain the effect of the Haste spell for 1 minute (no Concentration required) without suffering the wave of lethargy that typically occurs when the effect ends. This potion's yellow fluid is streaked with black and swirls on its own.
The potion copies the Haste spell's effect, which reads almost the same in both editions:
•Speed doubled. A 30-foot speed becomes 60.
•+2 to AC. A monster attacking at +7 against AC 18 hits on an 11 or higher, 50 percent; against AC 20 it needs a 13, 40 percent.
•Advantage on Dexterity saving throws. Useful against a dragon's breath or a Fireball.
•One extra action each turn, usable only to Attack (one attack only), Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object (2014) / Utilize (2024).
For a fighter with Extra Attack, the extra action is a third attack each turn: 10 more attacks over a minute if the fight lasts that long. Most fights end sooner, so count on 3 to 5.
No Concentration
When a wizard casts Haste on you, the spell ends if the wizard loses Concentration, and the lethargy hits you at once. The potion has no caster and no Concentration to break, so damage can't end it early. The minute simply runs out.
That also frees the party's spellcaster. Haste from a wizard costs a 3rd-level slot and their Concentration for the fight; the potion costs neither.
The lethargy: 2014 vs 2024
When Haste ends, the target can't move or take actions until after its next turn (2014), or is Incapacitated with a Speed of 0 until the end of its next turn (2024).
The 2014 potion grants the effect of the Haste spell and says nothing to exempt you from any part of it, so the lethargy comes with it. Plan for a lost turn when the minute runs out, which in a long fight can come at a bad moment. The 2024 potion adds an explicit exemption: no lethargy at all.
Drinking it
In 2014, drinking a potion takes an action, so the turn you drink is a turn without your normal attacks. In 2024, drinking a potion is a Bonus Action, and you keep your full action on the same turn. Drinking it during the first round of a fight costs little in 2024 and a whole turn in 2014.
Stacking with the Haste spell
Both SRDs' combining rule ("Combining Magical Effects" in 2014, "Combining Spell Effects" in 2024) says the same spell cast more than once doesn't combine; only the most potent effect applies. The potion grants "the effect of" Haste without anyone casting it, and neither SRD has a general stacking rule for non-spell effects, so the text doesn't settle it. DM ruling: treat the potion and a cast Haste as the same effect. You don't get two extra actions or +4 AC; the potion's benefit just keeps going if the wizard loses Concentration, though in 2014 the spell's lethargy still lands when it ends. Under this ruling your speed doubles once, not twice. Adding Boots of Speed, a different doubling effect, is covered in that guide.
Mixing potions (2024)
The 2024 SRD has a Mixing Potions rule. It names drinking one potion while still under the effect of another as one way potions mix, and mixing calls for a roll on the Potion Miscibility table. Results 36 to 90 on a d100 (55 percent) mean both work normally; a 01 causes a 4d10 Force explosion. A character who drinks a Potion of Healing mid-fight while hasted could trigger it. The 2014 SRD has no such rule.
Potion of Speed: 2014 vs 2024
2014 (SRD 5.1)
2024 (SRD 5.2.1)
Rarity / attunement
Very rare, no attunement
Very Rare, no attunement
Effect
Haste for 1 minute, no Concentration
Same
Lethargy when it ends
Not exempted (part of Haste's effect)
Explicitly none
Drinking
An action
A Bonus Action
Extra action options
Attack (one weapon attack), Dash, Disengage, Hide, Use an Object
The 2024 version is a straight upgrade: cheaper to drink and no downside when it ends. A 2014 drinker loses a turn twice, once to drink and once to the lethargy.
Is the Potion of Speed Worth It?
The best user is a martial character with several attacks a turn: a fighter, a paladin, a ranger. The extra attack and +2 AC both matter more on a character who's in melee every round. A rogue gets less from the extra attack (Sneak Attack applies once per turn) but a lot from the free Dash or Disengage.
Spellcasters gain the least. The extra action can't cast a spell, so a wizard gets doubled speed, +2 AC and Advantage on Dexterity saves.
Compare it with the alternatives:
•The Haste spell: reusable, but costs a slot and Concentration, and its lethargy hits the moment Concentration breaks.
•Boots of Speed: doubled speed and Disadvantage on Opportunity Attacks for 10 minutes a day, but no extra action or AC.
•Potion of Heroism: a rare (cheaper) potion that gives 10 temporary hit points and Bless for an hour instead of action economy.
When it's a trap: drinking it in a fight that's already won, or (in 2014) drinking it as the opening action of a short fight, which can mean spending a turn to drink and a turn lethargic in a fight of four rounds.
Potion of Speed for DMs
Where it turns up. As a very rare consumable, it belongs in high-level treasure or as the reward before a climactic fight. One potion is a single fight's worth of power, so it's a safer very rare reward than a permanent item.
What it changes. One fight. The drinker gets one extra attack a turn (50 percent more attacks for a fighter with two) and is harder to hit. In 2024 a boss can drink one as a Bonus Action and still act, which makes it a good tool for a villain's second phase.
Pricing. 20,000 GP under the 2024 SRD: very rare items are worth 40,000 GP, halved for a consumable. The 2014 SRD has no prices. The magic item rarity calculator applies the consumable rule for you.
Hooks.
•An assassin carries one vial for the escape. If the party corners her, she drinks it first.
•An alchemist offers a Potion of Speed for a rare ingredient. She's mislabelled a batch; one of the vials is a Potion of Poison.
•A courier race between rival guilds has no rule against magic. Every team wants the city's only Potion of Speed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Potion of Speed require concentration?
No. It grants the Haste effect for 1 minute with no Concentration required, in both editions, so taking damage can't end it.
Does the Potion of Speed cause lethargy?
In the 2024 rules, no: the potion says you don't suffer the wave of lethargy. The 2014 potion has no such exemption, so you lose your next turn when the minute ends.
Is drinking a Potion of Speed a bonus action?
In the 2024 rules, yes, like every potion. In the 2014 rules, drinking a potion takes an action.
Does a Potion of Speed stack with Haste?
The SRD doesn't settle it, because its combining rule only covers the same spell cast twice. As a DM ruling, treat them as the same effect: no second extra action and no +4 AC, though the potion keeps you hasted if the caster's Concentration breaks.
How much is a Potion of Speed worth?
20,000 GP under the 2024 SRD: a very rare item is worth 40,000 GP, and consumables are worth half. The 2014 SRD doesn't price magic items.
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.