Contact Other Plane

A
Utility

Contact Other Plane is a Utility spell. Utility spells solve problems outside of combat or provide unique situational advantages.

See all Utility spells →
spell that seeks
otherworldly answers

Contact Other Plane is a Information spell. Information spells provide ways to transmit, perceive, detect, or reveal hidden or unknown information.

See all Information spells →
,
but the risky mind-link can punish failure with a brutal
catastrophic backlash

Contact Other Plane is a Save or Suck spell. Save or Suck spells fall entirely flat if the target succeeds on a saving throw.

See all Save or Suck spells →
.

2024 Rules

Level & School
5th-level divination
Casting Time
1 minute or Ritual
Range
Self
Components
V
Duration
1 minute
Classes
Warlock, Wizard

You mentally contact a demigod, the spirit of a long-dead sage, or some other knowledgeable entity from another plane. Contacting this otherworldly intelligence can break your mind. When you cast this spell, make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a successful save, you can ask the entity up to five questions. You must ask your questions before the spell ends. The DM answers each question with one word, such as "yes," "no," "maybe," "never," "irrelevant," or "unclear" (if the entity doesn't know the answer to the question). If a one-word answer would be misleading, the DM might instead offer a short phrase as an answer. On a failed save, you take 6d6 Psychic damage and have the Incapacitated condition until you finish a Long Rest. A Greater Restoration spell cast on you ends this effect.

2014 Rules

Level & School
5th-level divination
Casting Time
1 minute
Range
Self
Components
V
Duration
1 minute
Classes
Warlock, Wizard

You mentally contact a demigod, the spirit of a long-dead sage, or some other mysterious entity from another plane. Contacting this extraplanar intelligence can strain or even break your mind. When you cast this spell, make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, you take 6d6 psychic damage and are insane until you finish a long rest. While insane, you can't take actions, can't understand what other creatures say, can't read, and speak only in gibberish. A greater restoration spell cast on you ends this effect.

On a successful save, you can ask the entity up to five questions. You must ask your questions before the spell ends. The GM answers each question with one word, such as "yes," "no," "maybe," "never," "irrelevant," or "unclear" (if the entity doesn't know the answer to the question). If a one-word answer would be misleading, the GM might instead offer a short phrase as an answer.

Contact Other Plane 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences

It gained the Ritual tag. On a failed save, the mind-affecting penalty changed from being insane to having the Incapacitated condition until you finish a Long Rest, while the 6d6 psychic damage stays the same.

Contact Other Plane popularity

Contact Other Plane is one of the most popular level 5 spells in the game. Choosing it adds a D&D staple to your spellbook.

Spells similar to Contact Other Plane

  • Commune 5th-level divination

    A level 5 divination ritual that lets you ask a powerful otherworldly being questions for direct information, matching the same core purpose.

  • Scrying 5th-level divination

    Provides long-range divination and factual answers and can be resisted, so it fills the same investigatory niche with a similar risk/interaction dynamic.

  • Legend Lore 5th-level divination

    Also a level 5 information-focused divination that surfaces obscure knowledge about people, places, or items in a single use.

  • Dream 5th-level illusion

    Lets you contact and communicate with distant or otherworldly intelligences via an extended ritual-like effect, making it a thematic cousin for contacting minds.

  • Commune with Nature 5th-level divination

    A level 5 divination that grants deep, specific knowledge about the surrounding environment, representing another high-level spell cast to gain facts.

Contact Other Plane is featured in