Geas

A
Control

Geas is a Control spell. Control spells restrict enemy options through debuffs or denial effects.

See all Control spells →
 spell that compels a creature to obey your command, using
social pressure

Geas is a Social Influence spell. Social Influence spells create ways to communicate, persuade, and alter behavior.

See all Social Influence spells →
 and a punishing
save-or-suck

Geas 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 →
 curse.

2024 Rules
Level & School
5th-level enchantment
Casting Time
1 minute
Range
60 feet
Components
V
Duration
30 days
Classes
Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Wizard

You give a verbal command to a creature that you can see within range, ordering it to carry out some service or refrain from an action or a course of activity as you decide. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have the Charmed condition for the duration. The target automatically succeeds if it can't understand your command.

While Charmed, the creature takes 5d10 Psychic damage if it acts in a manner directly counter to your command. It takes this damage no more than once each day.

You can issue any command you choose, short of an activity that would result in certain death. Should you issue a suicidal command, the spell ends.

A Remove Curse, Greater Restoration, or Wish spell ends this spell.

Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. If you use a level 7 or 8 spell slot, the duration is 365 days. If you use a level 9 spell slot, the spell lasts until it is ended by one of the spells mentioned above.

2014 Rules
Level & School
5th-level enchantment
Casting Time
1 minute
Range
60 feet
Components
V
Duration
30 days
Classes
Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Wizard

You place a magical command on a creature that you can see within range, forcing it to carry out some service or refrain from some action or course of activity as you decide. If the creature can understand you, it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by you for the duration. While the creature is charmed by you, it takes 5d10 psychic damage each time it acts in a manner directly counter to your instructions, but no more than once each day. A creature that can't understand you is unaffected by the spell.

You can issue any command you choose, short of an activity that would result in certain death. Should you issue a suicidal command, the spell ends.

You can end the spell early by using an action to dismiss it. A remove curse, greater restoration, or wish spell also ends it.

Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th or 8th level, the duration is 1 year. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 9th level, the spell lasts until it is ended by one of the spells mentioned above.

Geas 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences

Effectively the same spell. The 2024 version is reworded but functions identically.

Geas popularity

Geas is one of the rarest level 5 spells in the game. Choosing it will set you apart from all other casters.

Spells similar to Geas

  • Planar Binding 5th-level abjuration

    It’s the same spell level and creates a long-lasting magical compulsion on a single creature that can be ended by specific magic, making it mechanically and thematically very close.

  • Mass Suggestion 6th-level enchantment

    This spell is a higher-level version of giving creatures long-duration verbal orders that they must resist, mirroring Geas’s command-and-obey design on a larger scale.

  • Suggestion 2nd-level enchantment

    Suggestion is the lower-level core of Geas’s idea: a spoken command that a target must resist, so it shares the same use case and social-manipulation feel.

  • Modify Memory 5th-level enchantment

    It’s the same spell level and manipulates a creature’s mind for long-term social control, making it a close analogue in tone and strategic application.

  • Dominate Person 5th-level enchantment

    Although concentration-based and shorter, it directly seizes control of a humanoid’s actions, which overlaps strongly with Geas’s purpose of forcing behavior.