Summary
Roleplay is one of the most fun aspects of anyDungeons & Dragonscampaign and can turn any good adventure into a great one. Spellcasting is oftentimes, an underutilized way to enhance your roleplay as a player. Typically, most DMs and players think of spellcasting primarily in the context of combat.
However, there are some truly excellent (and powerful) spells available in the 2024 Player’s Handbook that can be perfect for enhancing your roleplay, and for creating great roleplay scenarios. If you’re looking to make your roleplay more dynamic, here are the best spells to use in Dungeons & Dragons.
2
1 hour
Classes
Sorcerer, Wizard
Alter Self is a great roleplay spell that allows you to alter your physical form and appearance if you so desire. Unlike lower-level transformation spells, Alter Self can give you the ability to sprout gills or form natural weapons like claws or fangs.
What makes this such a great roleplay spell though, is the ability to make yourself look like almost any other type of creature you want, including one you are familiar with. This can give you the roleplay opportunity to attempt to emulatea familiar NPCor fellow party member.
1
10 minutes
Bard, Druid, Ranger, Warlock
This classic Dungeons & Dragons spell allows you to verbally communicate with beasts and even potentially persuade them to help you. This is a great roleplay spell for any campaign for two reasons.
First, it allows the player to roleplay an encounter with an animal, which can prove interesting depending on the type of beast they’re trying to persuade or cajole. Second, it also gives the Dungeon Master the opportunity to try to roleplay a beast like a bear, tiger, or bird. This can prove really fun for the whole table.
Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Charm Person is a great spell that often works its way into most low-level casters' spell lists. While you can, of course, use this spell in combat as well, creatures have advantage on saves against this spell if you’re actively fighting it, meaning you’ll want to prioritize using this spell in non-combat, roleplay scenarios.
Using Charm Person also gives players the roleplay opportunity to think strategically about how to use their thrall to the best of their abilities. Depending on the type of problem your party is trying to solve, charming someone with this spell can allow you to flex your creative muscles.
5
1 minute
Cleric
Commune is a relatively high-level spell that allows you to communicate withyour deity of choice, or a proxy, as a cleric. During this communion, you can ask up to three questions of your deity, though they might not necessarily have the information you seek.
However, this allows clerics to roleplay a face-to-face encounter with their god, which is always fun, and more importantly, allows the DM to roleplay a deity. These encounters are highly memorable for the whole table.
Bard, Cleric, Paladin
Zone of Truth is a highly powerful spell that’s great for interrogation sequences. If you’re trying to get information out of an enemy, hostage, or any other important NPC, Zone of Truth is always the way to go.
However, there’s also another really interesting way you can use Zone of Truth: as a mediatorfor intraparty conflict. If your party is fighting with each other, or party members are starting not to trust each other, use Zone of Truth for a compelling and highly engaging roleplay scenario, in which the party can take turns interrogating one another.
7
1 day
Bard, Wizard
Project Image is a very powerful high-level spell in which you may create an illusory copy of yourself for up to 24 hours. This spell also has a range of 500 miles, meaning you can place and control this illusion from a great distance. Of course, physical interaction with the image proves it to be illusory.
However, this is a great spell for roleplaying deception. Say you want to get information about a villain’s lair without putting yourself in danger. You can send your illusory double into the lair, perhaps even interrogating your big bad, all the while knowing you’re safe and sound up to 500 miles away.
Longtime fans of Critical Role know just how impactful a well-placed Modify Memory can be. This spell allows you to alter an NPC’s memories up to a year prior (depending on the spell level you use). Depending on how you use this spell, you can potentially turn an enemy into an ally.
Of course, you have to be careful not to make the memory you change too nonsensical. It’s up to the DM’s discretion whether the memory you create is illogical. However, walking this line makes for a great roleplay challenge for a seasoned Dungeons & Dragons player.
10 days
Bard, Warlock, Wizard
When you cast this spell, you can write on any piece of paper or other material and place an illusion on it lasting for up to ten days. This is a great way to forge scrolls of pedigree, letters of recommendation, and more. You can also use this spell to create hidden messages for specific players.
This is greatfor urban sprawl campaignsor espionage missions. Finding creative and clever ways to use this spell successfully offers up a lot of roleplay opportunities when it comes to subterfuge.
Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
This low-level spell is great in a pinch. You can almost think of Friends as a lower-level version of Charm Person, though it only lasts for a minute. While this spell won’t get you out of combat, it’s great for quick roleplay encounters.
Use a spell like Friends to get past a bouncer, guard, or security patrol quickly and easily. Or, you may use this spell to try to haggle with shopkeepers. Either way, using a spell like Friends gives you the chance to flex roleplay muscles.
8 hours
Dream is the ultimate spell for testing your roleplay prowess. By using this spell, you can enter another creature’s dream, and communicate to them, altering the very fabric of their dreamscape. While this is great for communicating messages in secret, you can also get highly creative with this spell.
Another function of the spell is to create a nightmare to inflict damage on an NPC from afar. This allows players the opportunityto get creativewith their description of how the dream appears to their target, whether terrifying or euphoric.
