Sending — 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
• •Sending in the 2024 Rules
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Answer

Sending is a 3rd-level spell for Bards, Clerics, and Wizards. You send a message of 25 words or fewer to a creature you are familiar with, at any distance. The target hears it in its mind, recognizes you if it knows you, and can answer the same way right away. If the target is on a different plane, there is a 5% chance the message doesn't arrive.

Overview

Sending is long-distance magical communication with one exchange per casting: your message and one reply. Range is unlimited, so it works across a continent or into the Nine Hells. In the 2014 rules it is an evocation spell with a duration of 1 round. The 2024 rules make it a divination with an instantaneous duration.

The spell handles the language barrier for you. In the 2014 text, any creature with an Intelligence of 1 or higher understands the meaning of your message. The target does not need to share a language with you.

What it can't do is just as important. It doesn't tell you where the target is. It gives no sight or sound beyond the words. It can't reach someone you have never met or heard of. Each casting costs a 3rd-level slot and carries 25 words, so the craft of using it is mostly the craft of writing short.

Stat Block

When NOT to Use This

• •The target is within 120 feet. The Message cantrip whispers to a creature in range for free.
• •You need a conversation, not a single exchange. Each round trip costs another 3rd-level slot.
• •You don't know who you're sending to. In 2014 the target must be a creature you are familiar with. A name alone, with no meeting, likely doesn't qualify (see Rules Notes).
• •You want to know where the target is. The reply might tell you, but only if the target chooses to say so. Scrying shows you the target and its surroundings.
• •You need to pass on a map, a long incantation, or a password longer than the word limit.

Spell Slot Efficiency

When worth the slot: Warning an ally of an ambush, calling for help, checking whether a patron is alive, or coordinating two split parties.

When NOT worth the slot: Anything you could say in person tomorrow, or anything Message could cover.

Upcasting

Sending has no "At Higher Levels" text in either edition. A higher slot gives no extra words, targets, or replies.

Pro Tips

Tip #1: Ask a question the target can answer in one breath.

Why it works: The target can reply once, immediately. "Are you safe? Where are you? Who holds you?" gets three facts back. "Tell me what happened" gets a story cut short.

This avoids the mistake of: Spending a slot on a message whose reply can't fit the format.

Tip #2: Write the message before your turn.

Why it works: Count words at the table. Numbers, names, and short sentences carry the most. "Cult attacks Greywater at dawn. Gate guards bought. Bar the north gate. Send riders to the abbey. Trust no captain." is 20 words.

This avoids the mistake of: Running out of words before the important part.

Tip #3: Use a code word to prove it's you.

Why it works: Both editions say the target recognizes you as the sender only if it knows you. Allies who might be fooled by a stranger's message can agree on a code word in advance.

This avoids the mistake of: Letting an enemy caster who knows your friends impersonate you.

Tip #4: Cast it late in the adventuring day.

Why it works: The spell has no concentration and no duration worth protecting. Waiting until the fighting is done for the day keeps your 3rd-level slots free for combat.

This avoids the mistake of: Being one 3rd-level slot short when the party needs Revivify.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Treating it as a phone call

Why it's bad: You get one message and one immediate reply. In 2014 the spell lasts 1 round, and in 2024 it is instantaneous.

Do this instead: Plan a single question, or cast it again for a second exchange.

Assuming the target must reply

Why it's bad: The target "can answer." Nothing in the text forces it to, or to tell the truth.

Do this instead: Treat silence as information. A captured ally might not be able to answer freely, and an enemy might lie.

Assuming a failed delivery is obvious

Why it's bad: The 2014 text sets a 5% chance that a cross-plane message doesn't arrive, but it doesn't say whether you learn of the failure. That is a DM ruling, not rules text. The 2024 text says you know.

Do this instead: If you are playing 2014 rules and get no answer from another plane, ask your DM whether you would know it failed.

Forgetting the material component

Why it's bad: Sending needs copper wire in both editions. It has no cost listed, so a component pouch or spellcasting focus covers it.

Do this instead: Keep a focus or pouch on hand if your character is ever stripped of gear.

Usage Tips

• •Worked example (planar risk): Each message to another plane has a 95% chance to arrive. Five messages in a row all arrive 0.95⁵ = 77% of the time, so there is about a 23% chance at least one of them is lost.
• •Worked example (word budget): "Ambush at Hollow Bridge. Twelve gnolls, one shaman. We hold the mill. Bring the cleric and arrows. Reply with your arrival time." is 22 words, with three left over.
• •Enemies use it too: The 2024 blue dragon (adult and ancient) can cast Sending once per day. A blue dragon that escapes can call its allies.
• •Related guides: Message for short-range whispers, Scrying to watch a target, Dream for a longer conversation through dreams, Commune to put questions to your deity, and Teleport to go to the person instead. Browse the full spell guide index.

Rules Notes

• •The message is 25 words or fewer. The 2014 text says "twenty-five words or less."
• •2014 target: "a creature with which you are familiar." The text doesn't define familiar. Whether a creature you've only heard described counts is a DM ruling, not rules text. The 2024 version settles it: a creature you have met, or one described to you by someone who has met it.
• •The target hears the message in its mind and recognizes you if it knows you.
• •The target can answer "in a like manner immediately." The text doesn't give a separate word count for the reply. Holding it to the same 25 words is a reasonable reading, but it is a DM ruling, not rules text.
• •2014: creatures with Intelligence 1 or higher understand the meaning. That covers almost everything with a mind, including beasts. Understanding a message doesn't mean a beast can answer usefully.
• •On another plane, there is a 5% chance the message doesn't arrive. The roll applies only across planes, never on the same plane.
• •No concentration, no attack roll, no saving throw. The target can't resist receiving the message in 2014.

Synergies

• •Scrying: Scry first to see the target, then send a message that fits what you saw.
• •Teleport: Send to confirm the destination is safe before the party arrives.
• •Animal messengers and couriers: Sending reaches the target directly, but a physical courier can carry a map or an item. Use both when the content won't fit in 25 words.

Anti-Patterns

• •Casting it mid-combat to ask for help that can't arrive in time.
• •Sending to a creature you know only by name.
• •Writing 40 words and asking the DM which 25 get through.

Tactical Modules

• •Split party: Two groups each carry a Sending caster. A message at a set time each day keeps both groups informed.
• •Hostage check: Send to a kidnapped ally. Any reply tells you they are alive. Their words might tell you more.
• •False orders: If you know an enemy lieutenant, you can send it a message. If it doesn't know you, it won't recognize you as the sender. Whether it believes you is up to the DM.

Countermeasures

• •Threat: The target is on another plane. Response: Accept the 5% loss risk, or send twice. Fallback: Plane Shift to the target's plane first.
• •Threat: An enemy sends you a fake message. Response: Use a pre-arranged code word. Fallback: Send back to the supposed sender to confirm.
• •Threat (2024): The target blocks you for 8 hours. Response: Ask a different caster who knows the target to send. Fallback: Travel or wait out the 8 hours.

Sending in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 Player's Handbook keeps Sending as a 3rd-level spell for Bards, Clerics, and Wizards, with unlimited range, a 25-word limit, and an immediate reply. Several details changed.

• •School and duration: Divination instead of evocation. Duration is Instantaneous instead of 1 round.
• •Who you can reach: A creature you have met, or a creature described to you by someone who has met it. This replaces "a creature with which you are familiar."
• •Understanding: The 2014 Intelligence 1 threshold is gone. The 2024 text says the spell enables targets to understand the meaning of your message.
• •Failed delivery: The 5% cross-plane failure remains, and now you know if the delivery fails.
• •Blocking: After receiving a message, a creature can block you from reaching it with this spell for 8 hours. If you try during that time, you learn you are blocked and the spell fails.
• •Material: "A copper wire" instead of "a short piece of fine copper wire."

The 2024 SRD also includes Sending Stones, an uncommon pair of stones. While you touch one, you can cast Sending from it, targeting the bearer of the other stone. The stones can't be used again until the next dawn.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many words can you send with Sending in 5e?

25 words or fewer. The target can reply right away in a like manner. The text doesn't give a separate limit for the reply, so the reply length is a DM ruling, not rules text.

What is the range of Sending in 5e?

Unlimited. It works at any distance and even across planes. A message to a creature on a different plane has a 5% chance of not arriving.

Can you use Sending on someone you've never met?

In the 2014 rules the target must be a creature you are familiar with, which the text doesn't define, so it's up to your DM. In the 2024 rules you can reach a creature you have met or one described to you by someone who has met it.

Does the target need to speak your language for Sending?

No. In 2014 any creature with an Intelligence of 1 or higher understands the meaning of the message. In 2024 the spell lets targets understand the meaning, with no Intelligence threshold.

Does Sending tell you where the target is?

No. You get only the message and whatever the target says back. Use Scrying or similar magic to locate someone.

Does Sending require concentration?

No. It lasts 1 round in the 2014 rules and is instantaneous in the 2024 rules.

Can the target refuse a Sending message?

In 2014, no. The target hears the message, though it doesn't have to answer. In 2024 it still hears your first message, but it can then block you from sending to it again for 8 hours.

Can you cast Sending at a higher level?

You can, but nothing improves. Neither edition gives Sending extra words, targets, or replies at higher slot levels.

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.