Time Stop is a 9th-level transmutation spell for Sorcerers and Wizards. No time passes for anyone else while you take 1d4 + 1 turns in a row (2 to 5, average 3.5), moving and using actions as normal. The spell ends early if anything you do, or any effect you create, affects another creature or an object someone else is wearing or carrying, or if you move more than 1,000 feet from where you cast it.
Time Stop gives you extra turns, and nobody else gets to react to them. You can cast spells, drink potions, move, pick up items and set up the battlefield while every other creature stands frozen. Sorcerers and Wizards get it at 17th level with their first 9th-level slot.
The restriction shapes every use. The moment one of your actions or effects touches another creature, ally or enemy, the spell ends. You can't attack anyone, heal anyone or cast a spell that lands on anyone during the stopped turns. What you can do is prepare: buff yourself, reposition, escape, or create effects that don't affect anyone yet.
That makes Time Stop a setup spell. The classic plays are stacking protective spells on yourself, walking or teleporting out of a bad spot, and planting a Delayed Blast Fireball that grows while time is frozen. Used well, you end the stopped turns safe, buffed and positioned. Used badly, you end the spell on your first stopped turn by casting something that hits an enemy.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Level | 9 |
| School | Transmutation |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Range | Self |
| Components | V |
| Material | None |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Concentration | No |
| Ritual | No |
| Save/Attack | None |
| Classes | Sorcerer, Wizard |
| Metric | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Slot Efficiency | Depends on what you plan. With a setup ready, it is several turns of free actions. Without one, it is an expensive way to drink a potion. |
| Action Economy | One action buys 2 to 5 full turns. |
| Opportunity Cost | Your only 9th-level slot of the day. Sorcerers and Wizards never get a second one. |
When worth the slot: You need to escape, pre-buff mid-fight, or set up an effect the enemies can't respond to.
When NOT worth the slot: You have no plan beyond "do more stuff."
Time Stop is 9th level, the highest spell level, so it can't be upcast.
Why it works: You get 2 to 5 turns, each with movement and an action. Decide in advance which spells go on yourself, where you want to stand and what you want waiting when time restarts.
This avoids the mistake of: Spending the first stopped turn deciding what to do, then casting something that ends the spell.
Why it works: Spells that only affect you don't end Time Stop. Fire Shield, Mirror Image, Greater Invisibility on yourself and Fly are all fair game. Only one of them can use your concentration, so pair one concentration spell with spells that don't need it.
This avoids the mistake of: Losing a concentration spell by casting a second one during the frozen turns.
Why it works: Delayed Blast Fireball starts at 12d6 and gains 1d6 at the end of each of your turns before it detonates. It doesn't affect anyone until it explodes. Cast it on your first stopped turn and it grows with every stopped turn after that.
This avoids the mistake of: Casting a regular Fireball, which hits enemies and ends Time Stop immediately.
Why it works: Moving more than 1,000 feet ends the spell, and so does an effect that touches another creature. On your final stopped turn that doesn't matter. Cast Teleport or Dimension Door and you are gone before anyone moves.
This avoids the mistake of: Using an escape spell on your first stopped turn when you had more turns to spend.
Why it's bad: An action that affects a creature other than you ends Time Stop. That includes attacking an enemy and casting a spell that targets one. Nothing in the text cancels the action, so it still resolves, but your remaining turns are gone.
Do this instead: Save the attack for your final stopped turn, or for after time resumes.
Why it's bad: "A creature other than you" includes your friends. Healing the fallen cleric or hasting the fighter ends the spell.
Do this instead: Use the stopped turns for yourself, then help allies on your next normal turn.
Why it's bad: Objects worn or carried by someone other than you count. Stealing a wand from the lich's hand ends the spell.
Do this instead: Unattended objects are fine. Pick up the dropped sword or the item on the altar.
Why it's bad: An area spell that covers a creature affects it. Even a wall or cloud that appears in an enemy's space ends Time Stop.
Do this instead: Place areas where nobody stands yet, or use an effect like Delayed Blast Fireball that waits.
The 2024 Player's Handbook keeps Time Stop as a level 9 transmutation spell for Sorcerers and Wizards. The text is the same in substance: 1d4 + 1 turns in a row, ends if your actions or created effects affect another creature or an object it wears or carries, and ends if you move more than 1,000 feet away. The spell itself has no mechanical changes.
Some surrounding rules changed:
It stops time for everyone except you. You take 1d4 + 1 turns in a row, moving and taking actions as normal. It ends early if anything you do affects another creature or an object someone else is wearing or carrying, or if you move more than 1,000 feet from where you cast it.
1d4 + 1, so 2 to 5 turns. The average is 3.5.
You can, but attacking another creature ends the spell. Save attacks for your final stopped turn or after time resumes.
Yes. Spells that only affect you, or create effects that don't affect anyone yet, keep Time Stop going. A spell that affects another creature ends it.
No. Any effect on a creature other than you ends the spell, including healing or buffing an ally.
It grows by 1d6 at the end of each of your turns, including the stopped ones. It doesn't affect anyone until it explodes, so it doesn't end Time Stop until you detonate it.
Yes. It is cast with a verbal component as a normal action. In the 2014 rules, a Counterspell cast below 9th level needs a DC 19 spellcasting ability check. In the 2024 rules, the caster makes a Constitution save.
Sorcerers and Wizards, from 17th level, in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. The 2014 SRD archmage stat block also has it prepared.
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.
Melf's Acid Arrow (Acid Arrow) in D&D 5e: 4d4 acid plus 2d4 later, half on a miss. Damage math, upcasting, and how it compares to Scorching Ray.
Acid Splash (D&D 5e): conjuration cantrip (1 action, 60 feet) for Sorcerer, Wizard. How it works, best uses and mistakes to avoid.
Aid (D&D 5e): 2nd-level abjuration spell (1 action, 30 feet) for Cleric, Paladin. How it works, best uses and mistakes to avoid.
Alarm (D&D 5e): 1st-level abjuration spell (1 minute, 30 feet) for Ranger, Wizard. How it works, best uses and mistakes to avoid.
Wish 5e: copy any spell of 8th level or lower with no costs, or pick a listed effect and risk the stress. Safe uses, the 33% loss chance, 2024 changes.
Alter Self (D&D 5e): 2nd-level transmutation spell (1 action, Self, concentration). How it works, best uses and mistakes to avoid.
Levitate 5e: lift a creature or object up to 20 feet for 10 minutes, Con save if unwilling. Stranding melee enemies, the 500-pound limit, 2024 changes.
Message 5e: a cantrip that whispers to one creature within 120 feet, who can whisper back. What blocks it, casting through walls, and the 2024 changes.