Globe of Invulnerability — Complete D&D 5e Spell Guide

Table of Contents

• •Quick Answer
• •Overview
• •Stat Block
• •When NOT to Use This
• •Spell Slot Efficiency
• •Pro Tips
• •Common Mistakes to Avoid
• •Usage Tips
• •Rules Notes
• •Synergies
• •Anti-Patterns
• •Tactical Modules
• •Countermeasures
• •Globe of Invulnerability in the 2024 Rules
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Answer

Globe of Invulnerability is a 6th-level abjuration spell for Sorcerers and Wizards. An immobile barrier fills a 10-foot radius around you for up to 1 minute (concentration). Any spell of 5th level or lower cast from outside the barrier has no effect on creatures or objects inside it, even if it was cast with a higher-level slot, and the inside is cut out of such spells' areas. Each slot level above 6th raises the blocked level by one.

Overview

Globe of Invulnerability shuts off low-level magic coming from outside. Inside the barrier, a Fireball centered on you does nothing to you, Hold Monster can't paralyze you, and Counterspell aimed at you from across the room fizzles. Enemy casters can still target you; the spell just has no effect.

It does nothing else. It doesn't stop arrows, swords, breath weapons, or monster abilities that aren't spells. It doesn't block spells cast from inside it, by you or by enemies who walk in. And it doesn't move: if you step out, the globe stays where you cast it.

That makes it a specialist tool. Against an enemy spellcaster whose best spells are 5th level or lower, it can shut down their whole offense for a minute. Against a dragon or a giant, it does nothing. Two SRD stat blocks prepare it in the 2014 rules: the lich and the archmage. If you're a DM running either, this page also covers what your players can do about it.

Stat Block

When NOT to Use This

• •The enemies are martial or monstrous. Swords, claws, and breath weapons ignore the globe.
• •Your party needs to move. The barrier is immobile.
• •Your allies need healing from someone outside. The globe blocks friendly spells from outside too.
• •Enemy casters have 6th-level spells or higher. Those get through.
• •You're already concentrating on something better.

Spell Slot Efficiency

When worth the slot: A fight against enemy mages, cultists, or priests whose spells top out at 5th level, or an enemy known to rely on Fireball, Cone of Cold, or Hold Monster.

When NOT worth the slot: Mixed fights where most of the damage comes from weapons or monster attacks.

Upcasting

A 9th-level spell, like Wish or Power Word Kill, always gets through.

Pro Tips

Tip #1: Gather the party inside.

Why it works: The barrier protects everything within 10 feet of where you cast it, not just you. Allies who stand inside are shielded from enemy area spells cast from outside.

This avoids the mistake of: Protecting only yourself while the enemy Fireball hits everyone else.

Tip #2: Cast your own spells from inside.

Why it works: The globe only restricts spells cast from outside. Your spells, and your allies', cast from inside work normally, including against targets outside.

This avoids the mistake of: Thinking the globe walls you in.

Tip #3: Use it against counterspells.

Why it works: A Counterspell cast from outside the globe targets a creature inside it, so it has no effect. In the 2014 rules this holds even when it's cast with a higher-level slot.

This avoids the mistake of: Losing your big spell to an enemy Counterspell.

Tip #4: Hold your position.

Why it works: The barrier can't move. Fight from a spot that doesn't need to change, like a doorway or a corner, and let enemies come to you.

This avoids the mistake of: Casting it in the middle of an open room and then needing to run.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Thinking it blocks weapons

Why it's bad: The spell only stops spells cast from outside. Nothing in the text stops creatures, weapons, or non-spell abilities from crossing it.

Do this instead: Keep your fighter close, and cast it when the threat is magic.

Thinking it moves with you

Why it's bad: The barrier is immobile. If you walk out, you lose its protection, though the spell keeps running while you concentrate.

Do this instead: Cast it where you plan to stay.

Forgetting about friendly spells

Why it's bad: A Healing Word or Bless cast from outside has no effect on creatures inside.

Do this instead: Put your healer inside the globe, or have them step in to cast.

Thinking upcast spells beat it (2014)

Why it's bad: In the 2014 text, a spell of 5th level or lower is blocked "even if the spell is cast using a higher level spell slot." A Fireball cast with a 6th-level slot is still blocked.

Do this instead: Use spells whose base level is 6th or higher. Under the 2024 rules, upcasting does work (see below).

Usage Tips

• •Worked example: the 2014 lich. A lich casts Globe of Invulnerability. From outside, the party's Fireball, Banishment, Counterspell, and Cone of Cold all do nothing to it. Disintegrate (6th) and Finger of Death (7th) still work.
• •Breaking concentration: Concentration is the weak point, but the lich has a +10 Constitution save. Any hit for 21 damage or less sets the DC at 10, which it always makes. A 30-damage hit sets DC 15: it needs a 5 or higher, so it keeps the globe 80% of the time. Remember the 2014 lich is immune to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, so it takes magic weapons to hurt it at all.
• •Walking in has a price: Party casters can step inside the 10-foot radius and cast freely. That puts them within 10 feet of the lich, in range of its Frightening Gaze and its 20-foot Disrupt Life, neither of which is a spell.
• •The 2014 archmage: Its stat block casts Stoneskin before combat. Stoneskin needs concentration, so if the archmage casts Globe of Invulnerability, Stoneskin ends and the archmage loses its resistance to nonmagical weapon damage.
• •Magic items: The Staff of Power can cast Globe of Invulnerability for 6 charges in both editions.
• •Related guides: Dispel Magic, Antimagic Field, Fireball, and the concentration rules. Browse the full spell guide index.

Rules Notes

• •The barrier fills a 10-foot radius around you when you cast it, and it doesn't move.
• •A spell of 5th level or lower cast from outside can target creatures and objects inside, but has no effect on them.
• •The area inside is excluded from the areas of those spells.
• •2014: this holds even if the spell is cast with a higher-level slot.
• •Spells cast from inside the barrier work normally.
• •Each slot level above 6th blocks one more spell level.
• •Concentration, up to 1 minute.
• •The bead shatters when the spell ends. It has no cost, so a component pouch or focus covers it.
• •Whether a spell cast from outside before the globe went up keeps affecting a creature now inside is not addressed. That's a DM ruling, not rules text.
• •Whether Dispel Magic cast from outside can target the barrier itself is also not addressed. DM ruling, not rules text.

Synergies

• •Melee allies: A fighter standing inside the barrier is safe from enemy spells cast from outside and can still swing at anything that walks up to the edge.
• •Your own offense: Cast from inside at targets outside. Your Fireball still lands on them.
• •High-HP frontliners: Since weapons pass through, pair the globe with allies who can block melee access to you.
• •Counterspell: Your own Counterspell works out of the globe while theirs can't reach in.

Anti-Patterns

• •Casting it against a dragon. Breath weapons aren't spells.
• •Casting it, then walking out of it.
• •Leaving the healer outside.

Tactical Modules

• •Caster duel: Cast it first against an enemy wizard, then trade spells from inside.
• •Hold the ritual: Protect an ally performing a long action, like a ritual or an escape, from enemy spells.
• •Doorway fort: Cast it in a doorway so the enemy must come through to reach you and your party.

Countermeasures

These are for players facing a globe.

• •Threat: The enemy is inside a globe. Response: Use spells of 6th level or higher, or weapons. Fallback: Step inside the barrier and cast from there.
• •Threat: The caster inside keeps concentration. Response: Focus weapon damage on them to force Constitution saves. Fallback: Wait out the 1-minute duration while you reposition.
• •Threat: You can't hurt the creature inside at all. Response: Target the area outside the globe or other enemies. Fallback: Pull back and fight later.

Globe of Invulnerability in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 Player's Handbook keeps Globe of Invulnerability as a level 6 abjuration spell for Sorcerers and Wizards. It still has a 1-action casting time, concentration for up to 1 minute, a 10-foot barrier around you that doesn't move, and upcasting that blocks one more level per slot above 6. The area is now described as a 10-foot Emanation, and the material component is just a glass bead.

The important change is upcasting. The 2014 text says a 5th-level-or-lower spell is blocked "even if the spell is cast using a higher level spell slot." The 2024 text drops that phrase. Under the 2024 rules, a spell cast with a higher-level slot takes on that higher level. So a Fireball cast with a 6th-level slot is a level 6 spell and gets through a 6th-level globe. The same goes for a Counterspell cast with a 6th-level slot.

The 2024 text also says spells "can't affect anything within it," instead of "creatures or objects." The 2024 SRD lich and archmage no longer list the spell.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Globe of Invulnerability block in 5e?

Spells of 5th level or lower cast from outside the barrier. They can still target creatures and objects inside, but they have no effect, and the inside is excluded from their areas. Each slot level above 6th blocks one more spell level.

Does Globe of Invulnerability block spells cast from inside in 5e?

No. It only restricts spells cast from outside. A creature inside the globe can cast spells normally, at targets inside or outside it.

Does Globe of Invulnerability block Counterspell in 5e?

Yes, if the Counterspell is cast from outside. Counterspell targets the caster, who is inside. In the 2014 rules this holds even if Counterspell is cast at a higher level. In the 2024 rules, a Counterspell cast with a 6th-level slot or higher is high enough level to get through a 6th-level globe.

Can you upcast a spell to get through Globe of Invulnerability in 5e?

Not in the 2014 rules: the text blocks a spell of 5th level or lower even when cast with a higher slot. In the 2024 rules, yes: an upcast spell takes on the slot's level, so a Fireball cast with a 6th-level slot gets through a globe cast at 6th level.

Does Globe of Invulnerability stop weapon attacks in 5e?

No. It only affects spells. Weapons, natural attacks, breath weapons, and other non-spell abilities work normally.

Does Globe of Invulnerability move with you in 5e?

No. The barrier is immobile. If you leave it, the globe stays behind, and you lose its protection.

Can creatures walk into Globe of Invulnerability in 5e?

The spell doesn't say it blocks movement, so creatures can enter and leave. A creature that walks in and casts a spell is casting from inside, so its spell works normally.

Is Globe of Invulnerability good in 5e?

It's very strong in the right fight and useless in the wrong one. Against enemy spellcasters limited to 5th-level spells, it can shut down their offense for a minute. Against monsters that fight with claws and breath, save the slot.

Citations: SRD 5.1 (2014 rules), SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules)

Includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, licensed under CC BY 4.0.