Mage Hand is a conjuration cantrip for Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. It creates a floating spectral hand within 30 feet that lasts 1 minute. As an action, you can move the hand up to 30 feet and use it on an object. It can open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour out a vial. It can't attack, activate magic items, or carry more than 10 pounds.
Mage Hand is a conjuration cantrip that gives you a floating hand you control from a distance. Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards can take it at 1st level, and it costs no spell slot.
Its value is distance. You can pull a lever, open a chest, or pick up a key from up to 30 feet away while you stay out of reach. That makes it a safe way to test suspicious objects, open doors you don't want to stand next to, and move small items across a gap.
It has firm limits. It can't attack, can't use magic items, and can't carry more than 10 pounds. In the 2014 rules every use costs your action, so it is slow in combat. Many of its creative uses, like dropping something on a pressure plate or tipping over a candle, are DM calls. The spell text sets the baseline, and the DM decides the edge cases.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Level | 0 |
| School | Conjuration |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Range | 30 feet |
| Components | V, S |
| Material | None |
| Duration | 1 minute |
| Concentration | No |
| Ritual | No |
| Save/Attack | None |
| Classes | Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard |
| Metric | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Slot Efficiency | Free. It is a cantrip. |
| Action Economy | An action to cast, then an action for each later use (2014). Slow in combat, fine outside it. |
| Opportunity Cost | A cantrip known, for classes that learn a fixed number. No concentration. |
When worth it: Exploration and trap-heavy dungeons, or any character who wants to interact with things at a distance.
When NOT worth it: A combat-focused build with few cantrips known, where an attack cantrip would see more use.
Why it works: The hand can open an unlocked door or container, and it can be up to 30 feet from you. If a trap triggers, you are not standing next to it.
This avoids the mistake of: Walking up to every chest to open it by hand.
Why it works: The hand can carry up to 10 pounds and move 30 feet each time you use it. Keys, potions, scrolls, and rope can cross a chasm or a barred cell.
This avoids the mistake of: Assuming you need to throw an item and roll to catch it.
Why it works: The spell lets the hand stow or retrieve an item from an open container. An open chest, bag, or crate on the far side of a room is in reach.
This avoids the mistake of: Stepping into a room you suspect is trapped just to grab one item.
Why it works: Casting the spell again ends the old hand and creates a new one at a point you choose within range.
This avoids the mistake of: Spending several actions moving a hand that is in the wrong place.
Why it's bad: The spell says the hand can't attack. Punching, stabbing with a held dagger, or grappling are all out.
Do this instead: Use an attack cantrip for damage.
Why it's bad: The hand can't carry more than 10 pounds. A full backpack, a large chest, or an unconscious creature is too heavy.
Do this instead: Split the load into smaller items, or use rope and a pulley.
Why it's bad: It can only open unlocked doors and containers, and it can't activate magic items. It can't read a scroll or wave a wand.
Do this instead: Use Knock or thieves' tools for locks. Hand magic items to someone who can use them.
Why it's bad: The hand vanishes if it is ever more than 30 feet away from you. If you walk away from it, it is gone.
Do this instead: Keep your own movement in mind. Stay within 30 feet of where the hand is working.
Why it's bad: In the 2014 text, casting takes your action and controlling the hand takes another action. Read strictly, you can't use it until your next turn.
Do this instead: Cast it before you need it. Some DMs let the first use happen as part of the casting. Ask.
The 2024 Player's Handbook keeps Mage Hand as a conjuration cantrip for Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. The range, 1-minute duration, 30-foot leash, 10-pound limit, and the list of things it can and can't do are the same.
The big change is timing. In 2024, when you cast the spell, you can use the hand right away to manipulate an object, open a door or container, stow or retrieve an item, or pour out a vial. On your later turns, controlling it again takes a Magic action, and each use moves it up to 30 feet. That removes the 2014 problem of spending two turns to get one use. The 2014 line about dismissing it as an action is gone.
Mage Hand can manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, and pour the contents out of a vial. It can move up to 30 feet each time you use it. It can't attack, activate magic items, or carry more than 10 pounds.
Up to 10 pounds. That covers keys, potions, scrolls, a torch, a crowbar, or a 50-foot hempen rope. It can't lift a creature, a full backpack, or a heavy chest.
No. The spell text says the hand can't attack. Whether dropping an object on someone counts as an attack is a DM call, and most DMs treat it as not allowed.
No. It can only open unlocked doors and containers. A base Mage Hand can't use thieves' tools to pick a lock.
No. The base spell creates a visible spectral hand. The Arcane Trickster rogue subclass, from the Player's Handbook, gets an invisible version.
It appears within 30 feet of you and can move 30 feet each time you use it. It vanishes if it is ever more than 30 feet from you, so it works within a 30-foot radius around you.
No. The hand can't activate magic items. It can carry a magic item that weighs 10 pounds or less, but it can't use it.
Yes, for exploration. It lets you open doors and chests and move small items from a safe distance for free. It does little in combat, so characters with few cantrips may prefer an attack cantrip.
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.
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