Hallucinatory Terrain

A
Utility

Hallucinatory Terrain is a Utility spell. Utility spells solve problems outside of combat or provide unique situational advantages.

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spell that cloaks a wide stretch of land in a convincing false landscape,
reshaping the terrain

Hallucinatory Terrain is a Battlefield Shaping spell. Battlefield Shaping spells alter terrain, create obstacles, introduce hazards, and affect enemy positioning.

See all Battlefield Shaping spells →
to mislead travelers and block routes.

2024 Rules

Level & School
4th-level illusion
Casting Time
10 minutes
Range
300 feet
Components
V, S, M (a mushroom)
Duration
24 hours
Classes
Bard, Druid, Warlock, Wizard

You make natural terrain in a 150-foot Cube in range look, sound, and smell like another sort of natural terrain. Thus, open fields or a road can be made to resemble a swamp, hill, crevasse, or some other difficult or impassable terrain. A pond can be made to seem like a grassy meadow, a precipice like a gentle slope, or a rock- strewn gully like a wide and smooth road. Manufactured structures, equipment, and creatures within the area aren't changed.

The tactile characteristics of the terrain are unchanged, so creatures entering the area are likely to notice the illusion. If the difference isn't obvious by touch, a creature examining the illusion can take the Study action to make an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to disbelieve it. If a creature discerns that the terrain is illusory, the creature sees a vague image superimposed on the real terrain.

2014 Rules

Level & School
4th-level illusion
Casting Time
10 minutes
Range
300 feet
Components
V, S, M (a stone, a twig, and a bit of green plant)
Duration
24 hours
Classes
Bard, Druid, Warlock, Wizard

You make natural terrain in a 150-foot cube in range look, sound, and smell like some other sort of natural terrain. Thus, open fields or a road can be made to resemble a swamp, hill, crevasse, or some other difficult or impassable terrain. A pond can be made to seem like a grassy meadow, a precipice like a gentle slope, or a rock-strewn gully like a wide and smooth road. Manufactured structures, equipment, and creatures within the area aren't changed in appearance.

The tactile characteristics of the terrain are unchanged, so creatures entering the area are likely to see through the illusion. If the difference isn't obvious by touch, a creature carefully examining the illusion can attempt an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to disbelieve it. A creature who discerns the illusion for what it is, sees it as a vague image superimposed on the terrain.

Hallucinatory Terrain 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences

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

Hallucinatory Terrain popularity

Hallucinatory Terrain is a commonly chosen level 4 spell. Choosing it adds an established option to your spellbook.

Spells similar to Hallucinatory Terrain

  • Mirage Arcane 7th-level illusion

    It's the larger, higher‑level spell that also makes wide swaths of terrain appear as something else for a long time, so it matches the same illusionary environment niche.

  • Programmed Illusion 6th-level illusion

    Creates persistent, customizable illusions that can be set and left in place, which parallels making an area look like different natural terrain.

  • Major Image 3rd-level illusion

    Provides a versatile, sensory illusion over an area to deceive multiple creatures, functioning as a shorter‑term, lower‑level analogue to terrain illusions.

  • Silent Image 1st-level illusion

    A basic area illusion that changes what people perceive in a region, useful for the same kind of deception on a smaller scale.

  • Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum 4th-level abjuration

    Alters the properties of a bounded area for a full day, offering a utility effect on the environment with long duration like the target spell.