Light is an evocation cantrip for Bards, Clerics, Sorcerers, and Wizards. You touch one object no larger than 10 feet in any dimension, and for 1 hour it sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for another 20 feet. It needs no concentration. Covering the object completely blocks the light. Casting it again ends the first one. In the 2014 rules you can also target an object held or worn by a hostile creature, which gets a Dexterity save to avoid it.
Light turns any object into a torch that never needs a free hand, never sets anything on fire, and lasts an hour. The light can be any color you want. Because it has no concentration, it runs alongside your other spells.
The radius matches a torch: 20 feet bright, 20 more dim. But a torch takes a hand and burns things. Light can go on a shield, a helmet, a spear tip, or a stone you're about to throw into a dark room.
The spell matters most for parties with members who lack darkvision. A human fighter in an unlit dungeon is effectively blinded beyond the reach of a light source. Any character with darkvision still sees only shades of gray in the dark and treats darkness as dim light, which gives disadvantage on sight-based Wisdom (Perception) checks. Bright light removes both problems inside its radius.
The 2014 version adds a combat trick: you can light up an object an enemy is holding or wearing. A creature carrying a glowing shield stands in its own bright light wherever it goes.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Level | Cantrip |
| School | Evocation |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Range | Touch |
| Components | V, M |
| Material | A firefly or phosphorescent moss. |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Concentration | No |
| Ritual | No |
| Save/Attack | DEX (only for an object held or worn by a hostile creature) |
| Classes | Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard |
| Metric | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Slot Efficiency | No slot. Cast it as often as you like. |
| Action Economy | One action, then an hour of light with no upkeep. |
| Opportunity Cost | A cantrip known. Bards start with only two, so it competes with damage and utility picks. |
When worth taking: Any campaign with dungeons, caves, or night travel, especially with party members who lack darkvision.
When NOT worth taking: A city campaign, or a party that already has Dancing Lights or Continual Flame covered.
Why it works: Covering the object with something opaque blocks the light. A lit coin in a pouch or a lit pebble in a lidded tin becomes a light you can switch off and on without recasting.
This avoids the mistake of: Recasting the spell (and spending an action) every time you need darkness for a moment.
Why it works: The person standing at the front needs to see what's coming. A glowing shield throws 20 feet of bright light ahead of the party, and the fighter still has a hand for a weapon.
This avoids the mistake of: Having a fighter drop a torch every time combat starts.
Why it works: Light an arrow, a rock, or a coin and toss it ahead. You see the room before anyone walks into it, and anything waiting there stands in bright light.
This avoids the mistake of: Walking the lit character into an ambush as the first thing the enemy sees.
Why it's bad: Sunlight Sensitivity and Sunlight Weakness trigger only in sunlight. A kobold standing in your Light spell doesn't get disadvantage, and a shadow doesn't lose anything to Sunlight Weakness.
Do this instead: Use Light for vision. If you need sunlight, the 2024 Daylight spell creates it. The 2014 Daylight creates bright light but doesn't call it sunlight.
Why it's bad: If a Darkness spell's area overlaps light created by a spell of 2nd level or lower, that light spell is dispelled. Your Light is a cantrip, so it loses.
Do this instead: Carry a mundane torch as a backup, or prepare Daylight, which dispels Darkness of 3rd level or lower.
Why it's bad: Light deals no damage and imposes no penalty on the target. It only makes the target visible.
Do this instead: Use it against hiding enemies in the dark, then attack with something else.
The 2024 Player's Handbook keeps Light as an evocation cantrip for Bards, Clerics, Sorcerers, and Wizards. It's still touch range, V and M components, 1 hour, no concentration, 20 feet of bright light and 20 feet of dim light, any color you like.
Three changes. First, you can no longer target an object worn or carried by someone else, so the hostile-creature version with a Dexterity save is gone. Second, the size limit is now "Large or smaller" instead of "no larger than 10 feet in any dimension." Third, the spell no longer mentions dismissing it as an action. It ends if you cast it again or after 1 hour, and covering the object (the text drops "completely") blocks the light.
The 2024 Darkness spell still dispels Light: if Darkness overlaps an area of Bright Light or Dim Light created by a spell of level 2 or lower, that spell is dispelled.
The object sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for another 20 feet beyond that, so 40 feet in total. That matches a torch.
No. It lasts 1 hour with no concentration, so you can keep it up while concentrating on another spell like Bless or Hold Person.
No. It targets an object. In the 2014 rules you can target an object a hostile creature is holding or wearing, such as its shield; the creature makes a Dexterity save to avoid the spell. In the 2024 rules you can't target an object worn or carried by someone else.
Not from the same caster. Casting Light again ends the previous one. Two different casters can each keep one active.
No. Light is magical light, not sunlight. Creatures with Sunlight Sensitivity or Sunlight Weakness, like kobolds, shadows, and the 2014 drow, aren't affected by it.
Yes. If any part of a Darkness spell overlaps the area lit by a spell of 2nd level or lower, that light spell is dispelled. Light is a cantrip, so Darkness dispels it in both editions.
Cover the object completely with something opaque, like a pouch or a cloak, and the light is blocked. In the 2014 rules you can also dismiss it as an action. The 2024 text drops the dismiss line, so cover it or cast the spell again on something else.
Yes, if party members lack darkvision and your campaign goes underground or travels at night. It frees a hand, lasts an hour, and costs nothing. If someone already has Dancing Lights, a damage cantrip may serve you better.
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.
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.
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