Detect Evil and Good
2024 Rules
- Level & School
- 1st-level divination
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range
- Self (30-foot radius)
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Concentration, 10 minutes
- Classes
- Cleric, Paladin
- Source
- Player's Handbook (2024)
For the duration, you sense the location of any Aberration, Celestial, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, or Undead within 30 feet of yourself. You also sense whether the Hallow spell is active there and, if so, where.
The spell is blocked by 1 foot of stone, dirt, or wood; 1 inch of metal; or a thin sheet of lead.
2014 Rules
- Level & School
- 1st-level divination
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range
- Self
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Concentration, 10 minutes
- Classes
- Cleric, Paladin
- Source
- Player's Handbook (2014)
For the duration, you know if there is an aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, or undead within 30 feet of you, as well as where the creature is located. Similarly, you know if there is a place or object within 30 feet of you that has been magically consecrated or desecrated.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Detect Evil and Good 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences
Detect Evil and Good popularity
How popular is Detect Evil and Good? It is a commonly found spell in the game, but is chosen less than other options when available. This spell may be situational for many spellbooks.
- Top 50% of all 5e spells
- Bottom 50% picked level 1 Cleric spell
- Bottom 50% of all level 1 spells
- Bottom 25% picked level 1 Paladin spell
Spells similar to Detect Evil and Good
Arcane Eye 4th-level divination
Arcane Eye is a longer-range divination that provides positional information for investigation purposes, similar in function though different in form.
Players prefer Arcane Eye over Detect Evil and Good
Detect Magic 1st-level divination
It’s the same-level divination that you cast on yourself, lasts up to ten minutes with concentration, and lets you sense specific supernatural auras around you.
Players prefer Detect Magic over Detect Evil and Good
Detect Poison and Disease 1st-level divination
This is another first-level self-focused sensing spell that uses concentration to reveal nearby harmful or unnatural conditions.
Players prefer Detect Evil and Good over Detect Poison and Disease
Locate Creature 4th-level divination
It’s a divination that specifically finds a creature’s location, making it a stronger-range analogue for the tracking aspect of the target spell.
Players prefer Detect Evil and Good over Locate Creature
Protection from Evil and Good 1st-level abjuration
Although defensive rather than purely informational, it targets the same types of creatures and shares a cleric/paladin thematic overlap and similar duration.
Players prefer Detect Evil and Good over Protection from Evil and Good