When you cast this spell, you inscribe a glyph that later unleashes a magical effect. You inscribe it either on a surface (such as a table or a section of floor or wall) or within an object that can be closed (such as a book, a scroll, or a treasure chest) to conceal the glyph. The glyph can cover an area no larger than 10 feet in diameter. If the surface or object is moved more than 10 feet from where you cast this spell, the glyph is broken, and the spell ends without being triggered.
The glyph is nearly invisible and requires a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to be found.
You decide what triggers the glyph when you cast the spell. For glyphs inscribed on a surface, the most typical triggers include touching or standing on the glyph, removing another object covering the glyph, approaching within a certain distance of the glyph, or manipulating the object on which the glyph is inscribed. For glyphs inscribed within an object, the most common triggers include opening that object, approaching within a certain distance of the object, or seeing or reading the glyph. Once a glyph is triggered, this spell ends.
You can further refine the trigger so the spell activates only under certain circumstances or according to physical characteristics (such as height or weight), creature kind (for example, the ward could be set to affect aberrations or drow), or alignment. You can also set conditions for creatures that don’t trigger the glyph, such as those who say a certain password.
When you inscribe the glyph, choose explosive runes or a spell glyph.
Explosive Runes. When triggered, the glyph erupts with magical energy in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on the glyph. The sphere spreads around corners. Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 5d8 acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage on a failed saving throw (your choice when you create the glyph), or half as much damage on a successful one.
Spell Glyph. You can store a prepared spell of 3rd level or lower in the glyph by casting it as part of creating the glyph. The spell must target a single creature or an area. The spell being stored has no immediate effect when cast in this way. When the glyph is triggered, the stored spell is cast. If the spell has a target, it targets the creature that triggered the glyph. If the spell affects an area, the area is centered on that creature. If the spell summons hostile creatures or creates harmful objects or traps, they appear as close as possible to the intruder and attack it. If the spell requires concentration, it lasts until the end of its full duration.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage of an explosive runes glyph increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 3rd. If you create a spell glyph, you can store any spell of up to the same level as the slot you use for the glyph of warding.
* - (incense and powdered diamond worth at least 200 gp, which the spell consumes)
When was this updated not to be limited to damaging effects?
It was clarified in 2016: http://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/PH-Errata.pdf
The wording was always a little ambiguous; it was just one line of introductory text that said "you inscribe a glyph that harms other creatures" but never fully explained it as a limitation. Since the errata says it "clarifies" the first sentence, I think the implication is it was never meant to have that limitation; it was just flavor describing the most common use of the spell.
Anyway, it's a pretty sweet spell. I do wish there were a couple sentences narrowing down the triggers a bit more; it gives some examples of "the most typical triggers" but doesn't really put any limit on it.
Interesting that they would do that in 5th edition, every other edition states its a harmful effect. It also doesn't state that you can't put multiple glyphs on the same object where other editions say you can't. Seems a little OP now for a 3rd level spell. You could just cast all your buffs in a spell book before you go to sleep and be ready the next day without losing a spell since it also breaks the rule of concentration. This will be my new favorite spell lol!
Are you really prepared to spend 200gp worth of diamond dust multiple times per day? Also, best be careful since you can't move your spellbook more than 10 feet from where it was when you cast the spell.
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On the 200 GP per cast thing, yeah that really makes it prohibitively expensive to do more than every once in awhile,
But no on the spellbook thing you said...
I am assuming you're referring to the bit that says:
So you can take your spellbook anywhere after its cast and the glyph wont go away unless for some insane reason you are actually putting the glyph in your spell book as a trap or something. This would be pretty situational as, once you do it, you would be without a spellbook if you wanna leave that 10 ft radius but keep the spell in effect.
The thing that you cannot "move more than 10 feet from where you cast the spell" is whatever item or surface you cast the glyph on.
Ah. I had misinterpreted your comment, I think (I believe I thought the OP was implying that the spells would be cast into your book). Thanks for clearing that up.
I don't really see many uses for this spell with the current ruleset. The fact that the glyph ends if it is 10ft radius from you really hurts this spell badly. What's the point in creating an explosion if you have to remain in the same range as the explosion for it to go off? It would be really cool if you could Gylph an item, scroll, or book and give it to an NPC and they take it home and set off the glyph when they go to open it. However sadly without house rule this spell doesn't reach it's full potential.
I mean I see that it can be useful to say, store your spells as glyphs ahead of time and carry the items on you then you can save some spell slots by making these gylphs during a rest.
I've been trying to figure out how to apply either this spell or the Symbol spell to create some sort of Turing machine or personal computer. Both spells have complicated conditionals built directly in, so logic gates don't need to be constructed from scratch. Symbol actually allows for eight different effects, so the system could even be octal instead of binary. It could be contained in a book, and opening the cover "boots it up," with several complicated systems of glyphs on each page.
For example, glyph 23-i has: If any page 22 glyph releases a fear effect, then release stun (triggers a chain of other glyphs as a procedure). Else if glyph 22-o = discord & glyph 21-o = fear, then cast minor illusion to display a home screen.
The problem I see is both spells have a duration of until dispelled or triggered, which renders all of its components one-time use. Tremendous roadblock right there...
Anrui its disenchanted if it moves 10ft from where you cast it, not 10ft from you. You can't carry it with you (far) but you can get out of range before it blows. It's designed to be a geolocked magic trap.
Notice that the beginning of the spell says in the first paragraph: "When you cast this spell, you inscribe a glyph that later unleashes a magical effect. You inscribe it either on a surface (such as a table or a section of floor or wall) or within an object that can be closed (such as a book, a scroll, or a treasure chest) to conceal the glyph. The glyph can cover an area no larger than 10 feet in diameter. If the surface or OBJECT is moved more than 10 feet from where you cast this spell, the glyph is broken, and the spell ends without being triggered."
Below this, a couple paragraphs down, you see Spell Glyph: "You can store a prepared spell of 3rd level or lower in the glyph by casting it as part of creating the glyph. The spell must target a single creature or an area. The spell being stored has no immediate effect when cast in this way. When the glyph is triggered, the stored spell is cast. If the spell has a target, it targets the CREATURE that triggered the glyph. IF the spell affects an area, the area is centered on that creature. "
Spell Glyph contradicts the statement in the first paragraph. If you cast Glyph of Warding as an "Explosive Runes" Variant, then yes, it must stay within the 10 feet of it's original casting, but if you cast glyph of warding on yourself, then *you* are the target, and living beings do not count as "OBJECTS" as listed specifically above, but a "TARGET", not that 10ft limited area of enchantment, thereby circumventing the first statement. You could theoretically spend the spellslots necessary for Raise Dead (by casting the Glyph at the same level as the spell, listed under "At Higher Levels") on Glyph of Warding, and cast it on yourself, and break the 10ft area limitation, and go about adventuring. Unless you are hit by a dispel magic for whatever weird ass reason someone suspect you of having magic on yourself, if you die, you get a revive without a pally or cleric nearby. Yes this is a very roundabout way of reading it, but if you read the (sorry, It might be obnoxious to look at) underlines and bold prints above in my post, you'll see that their wording more or less states that the 10ft limitation is for the Explosive Runes version of this spell, *not* the Spell Glyph version of the spell. An idea I had with this, is casting Dispel Magic or Counter-Spell on yourself with this glyph, and then the second someone hits you with a curse or negative effect, or perhaps even a fireball, the magick works to deplete the hostile spell thrown at you, and you can *STILL* move around while having this glyph on you. The only reason that the Spell Glyph would not work for something moving outside the 10ft radius, is if you cast it on an object, but it explicitly implies that as a living thing and the target of the spell glyph, "the spell has no immediate effect when cast this way". More or less, you could imprint this spell glyph onto your body pretty much like a blessed tattoo, and say "Only go off if I die" or "If I'm brought under the influencing effects of illusion magick, activate". Doing it through human-body casting circumvents the 10ft radius limit, and allows you to become a walking stored spell, you just have to be careful how you plant these spells on yourself and the wording you use to trigger them, otherwise you may unintentionally hurt yourself if you put an offensive spell on yourself without planning ahead, like "if I get struck, release the fireball", but the enemy may be right in front of you, thus hitting you with the fireball as well, just gotta think ahead. The 10ft radius limit all-in-all only applies to the Explosive Runes version of the spell, and the casting of Spell Glyph on items or objects(so no warding your spellbook, sadly) but you are perfectly free to glyph your own body, the wording of the spell defeated itself.
You still cast the glyph as normal the spell storing part of it stores the spell inside the glyph on the object or surface. The spell in the glyph must be single starget or an area effect spell.
I’ll agree it’s situational, more so than most spells. But it can be useful if you have reasonable suspicion, or the DM outright tells you, that you need to prepare to defend an area. It also serves as a good magic trap for the DM, who I honestly think would be using it more often.
and as several commentators have posted, the glyph only deactivates if the object it is inscribed on moves 10 feet from the casting location. The spellcaster themselves can move as far away as they want and the spell will still be active.
Would the damage effect from the Explosive Runes damage items inside of a container? Say glass bottles or parchment?
I'm afraid you have misunderstood, I think. Nothing in the spell description suggests that you can inscribe the glyph onto a creature, it is all objects (on the surface or within). The second paragraph you're quoting considers the spell that you store in the glyph, not the glyph itself. The spell that you store must target a creature or an area, but the glyph is still with the object that cannot be moved more than 10ft from being cast.
Soooooo...
If I have cult members inscribe a Spell Glyph of Animate Dead into their flesh while guarding a passageway, say Red Rover style, they will reanimate into killing machines when killed?
Or Summon a Greater Demon when a book is opened?
Or a Tidal Wave in a sewer when a lock is opened/picked/broken?
OH!
Or if I scribe 2 into a single book, one on each cover, I could cause Blindness and Fireball to hide its secrets?
Cool, cool, cool.
Found my new favorite spell.
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You can inscribe the glyph on an object. Living creatures are not objects. You could cast it on a corpse and have it set to trigger and reanimate at a later point in time. Say you have a bunch of corpses in a room. Paladin uses divine sense. Senses nothing. Party walks through the room, triggers the glyph, a suddenly there's a lot of undead.
Use programmed illusion, it lasts until dispelled and has no costly components. You can literally play pong if you have enough of these.
This spell fascinates me, is it possible to make a ninth level Glyph of Warding and Combo it with Wish to create one of the Optional Abilities of Wish without causing the adverse effects described in the Wish Spell. I believe it should be possible and would essentially act as a 9th Level Spell Scroll without actually being a Scroll or Costing as much as a Legendary Scroll Would. I'm aware this would be OP but in principle it would just be a condom for using a Wish Spell.
Of course you'd have to program what specific effect would take place and it would have to target a creature as the creature who triggers it but Wish does have effects that target a creature. Does this count and could I try to do this in a game according to the rules?