Spirit Guardians — 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
• •Spirit Guardians in the 2024 Rules
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Answer

Spirit Guardians is a 3rd-level conjuration spell for Clerics. Spirits fill a 15-foot radius around you for up to 10 minutes (concentration). Enemies in the area have their speed halved. An enemy that enters the area for the first time on a turn, or starts its turn there, makes a Wisdom save. It takes 3d8 radiant damage (necrotic if you are evil) on a failure, or half on a success. Each slot level above 3rd adds 1d8.

Overview

Spirit Guardians is a 3rd-level conjuration spell that turns the space around a Cleric into a damaging zone. Clerics can cast it from 5th level. It moves with you, lasts up to 10 minutes, and hurts every enemy that stays near you or walks up to you.

Each trigger deals 3d8 damage, 13.5 on average on a failed Wisdom save. The area is 30 feet across, so in a crowded melee it often hits several enemies every round. Those enemies also move at half speed inside it, which makes it hard for them to reach your back line or to get away from you.

You choose which creatures are unaffected when you cast it, so your allies are safe. The cost is concentration and position. You have to be near the enemy, which means you will be hit, and every hit forces a concentration save. A Cleric in heavy armor with a shield is built for exactly this.

Stat Block

When NOT to Use This

• •The enemies are at range and won't come to you. The spell only affects the 15-foot radius around you.
• •You are fragile and can't afford to be in melee for several rounds.
• •The enemies have strong Wisdom saves. Many casters and some outsiders pass often.
• •You are already concentrating on something the party needs more.

Spell Slot Efficiency

When worth the slot: Melee-heavy fights against several enemies, especially groups that will close on you anyway.

When NOT worth the slot: Ranged enemies who keep their distance, or a single target you could handle with one spell.

Upcasting

The save column is the true average with half damage rounded down.

Pro Tips

Tip #1: Cast it before the fight if you can.

Why it works: It lasts up to 10 minutes. If you know a fight is behind the next door, cast it first. You start the fight with the area already up and your action free.

This avoids the mistake of: Spending your first combat turn on the casting.

Tip #2: Walk into the enemy group.

Why it works: The area moves with you. Each enemy that starts its turn inside it must save. Standing in the middle of a group catches the most creatures.

This avoids the mistake of: Standing at the edge of a fight where only one enemy is inside the radius.

Tip #3: Take the Dodge action when you can afford to.

Why it works: Once the spell is up, it keeps working without your action. Dodging gives attackers disadvantage, which protects your concentration.

This avoids the mistake of: Casting a cantrip and losing the whole spell to the next hit.

Tip #4: Add Spiritual Weapon on the next turn (2014).

Why it works: In the 2014 rules Spiritual Weapon has no concentration. Cast Spirit Guardians with your action on one turn, then Spiritual Weapon with your bonus action and a cantrip with your action on the next.

This avoids the mistake of: Trying to cast both on the same turn, which the 2014 bonus-action rule doesn't allow.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Forgetting to designate allies

Why it's bad: When you cast the spell, you choose which creatures you can see are unaffected. Anyone you don't choose, including an ally you couldn't see, is affected.

Do this instead: Name your allies when you cast it. An invisible ally you can't see can't be excluded.

Expecting damage when you walk up to a creature (2014)

Why it's bad: The 2014 text triggers when a creature enters the area or starts its turn there. It doesn't say what happens when the area moves onto a creature. Many tables rule that this is not the creature entering. Others rule that it is.

Do this instead: Ask your DM. The 2024 version settles it in your favor.

Forgetting the speed penalty

Why it's bad: Affected creatures move at half speed in the area. That limits their escape and their approach to your allies.

Do this instead: Track it. It is a real control effect, not just damage.

Rolling damage once for everyone

Why it's bad: In the 2014 rules, creatures trigger the spell on their own turns, so each trigger is a separate damage roll.

Do this instead: Roll 3d8 each time a creature triggers it. Under the 2024 rules, if you move the area onto several creatures at once, the general rule for damaging several targets at the same time suggests one roll for all of them. Confirm with your DM.

Usage Tips

• •Worked example: A 5th-level cleric with 16 Wisdom has a spell save DC of 14 (8 + 3 proficiency + 3 Wisdom). A zombie from the 2014 SRD (Wisdom save +0, 22 hit points) needs a 14 or higher, so it fails 65% of the time. Each trigger deals 0.65 × 13.5 + 0.35 × 6.5, about 11 damage on average.
• •Undead bonus: A zombie's Undead Fortitude can keep it at 1 hit point, but not when the damage is radiant. A good or neutral cleric's spirits deal radiant damage, so the zombie just drops.
• •Over three rounds: Four zombies (22 hit points each) that start every turn in the area take about 33 damage each over three triggers. Each zombie is destroyed within three triggers about 92% of the time (about 52% within two), and you never spent another action.
• •Roll the damage with the dice roller, or compare totals in the damage calculator.
• •Keeping concentration is the whole game. The concentration rules explain the Constitution save after each hit.
• •Related guides: Spiritual Weapon, Bless, Death Ward, and Fireball for comparison with a one-shot area spell. Browse the full spell guide index.

Rules Notes

• •Range is self. The spirits fill a 15-foot radius around you and move with you.
• •Choose unaffected creatures when you cast it. They must be creatures you can see.
• •Affected creatures have their speed halved in the area.
• •A creature triggers the save when it enters the area for the first time on a turn, or starts its turn there.
• •On a failed Wisdom save it takes 3d8 radiant damage, or necrotic if you are evil. A success halves the damage.
• •Each slot level above 3rd adds 1d8.
• •It needs concentration for up to 10 minutes.

Synergies

• •Spiritual Weapon (2014): No concentration, so both run at once.
• •Heavy armor and a shield: High AC means fewer concentration checks.
• •Bless from another caster: You can't hold it yourself while you concentrate on Spirit Guardians, but an ally's Bless adds 1d4 to your concentration saves.
• •Grapplers and shovers: Allies who keep enemies inside your area deal extra damage through your spell.

Anti-Patterns

• •Casting it and then backing away from the enemy.
• •Casting it when all the enemies are archers on a far ledge.
• •Forgetting to exclude allies, especially ones who join the fight later.

Tactical Modules

• •Pre-cast entry: Cast it outside the room, then open the door with the area already active.
• •Hold the doorway: Stand in a chokepoint. Every enemy that wants to pass must enter the area and move at half speed.
• •Protect the back line: Stand between enemies and your casters. Enemies crossing your area move slowly and take damage.

Countermeasures

• •Threat: Enemies focus attacks on you. Response: Dodge, use cover, or get help from a paladin's aura. Fallback: Recast if you have slots and the fight is still going.
• •Threat: Enemies stay at range. Response: Move toward them. Fallback: Use ranged spells instead.
• •Threat: Your spirits deal necrotic damage (evil caster) and the enemies are undead. Response: Many undead resist or are immune to necrotic damage, so check before you cast. Fallback: Use a different spell.

Spirit Guardians in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 Player's Handbook keeps Spirit Guardians as a 3rd-level conjuration spell for Clerics. It still lasts up to 10 minutes with concentration, deals 3d8 radiant or necrotic damage on a failed Wisdom save, and adds 1d8 per slot level above 3rd. The material component is now a prayer scroll.

The trigger rules changed. The area is a 15-foot Emanation that moves with you. A creature makes the save when the Emanation enters its space, when it enters the Emanation, or when it ends its turn there. A creature makes the save only once per turn. Moving the area onto enemies now clearly triggers it, but a creature that starts its turn in the area no longer triggers it at the start. It triggers at the end of that turn instead.

The pairing with Spiritual Weapon is gone. In the 2024 rules Spiritual Weapon needs concentration, so a Cleric can't run both at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Spirit Guardians work in 5e?

You surround yourself with spirits in a 15-foot radius for up to 10 minutes while you concentrate. Enemies in the area move at half speed. Each time an enemy enters the area on a turn or starts its turn there, it makes a Wisdom save, taking 3d8 radiant or necrotic damage on a failure and half on a success.

Does Spirit Guardians damage enemies when you move into them in 5e?

In the 2014 rules this is a DM call. The text triggers when a creature enters the area, and it doesn't say whether the area moving onto a creature counts. The 2024 version says yes: it triggers when the Emanation enters a creature's space.

Does Spirit Guardians hurt allies in 5e?

Not if you choose them when you cast it. You can designate any number of creatures you can see to be unaffected. An ally you didn't designate, or couldn't see, is affected like any other creature.

How much damage does Spirit Guardians do in 5e?

It deals 3d8 per trigger, 13.5 on average on a failed save and 6.5 on a success. Each slot level above 3rd adds 1d8. Every creature rolls its own save and takes its own damage roll.

Can Spirit Guardians damage the same creature twice in a round in 5e?

Yes, on different turns. In 2014, a creature takes damage at the start of its turn, and could trigger it again on another creature's turn if it is moved back into the area. In 2024 a creature makes the save at most once per turn.

Does Spirit Guardians require concentration in 5e?

Yes. It lasts up to 10 minutes with concentration. Since you need to be close to enemies, protecting that concentration with high AC and Constitution saves matters.

What damage type is Spirit Guardians in 5e?

Radiant if you are good or neutral, necrotic if you are evil. Radiant damage is resisted by few creatures, while many undead resist or are immune to necrotic damage.

Is Spirit Guardians good in 5e?

Yes. It is one of the strongest 3rd-level spells for a Cleric. It damages several enemies every round without further actions and slows them down. Its weakness is that you have to stand in the fight and keep concentration.

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.