Illusory Dragon
2014 Rules
- Level & School
- 8th-level illusion
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range
- 120 feet
- Components
- S
- Duration
- Concentration, 1 minute
- Classes
- Wizard
- Source
- Xanathar's Guide to Everything
By gathering threads of shadow material from the Shadowfell, you create a Huge shadowy dragon in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. The illusion lasts for the spell's duration and occupies its space, as if it were a creature.
When the illusion appears, any of your enemies that can see it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of it for 1 minute. If a frightened creature ends its turn in a location where it doesn't have line of sight to the illusion, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.
As a bonus action on your turn, you can move the illusion up to 60 feet. At any point during its movement, you can cause it to exhale a blast of energy in a 60-foot cone originating from its space. When you create the dragon, choose a damage type: acid, cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, or poison. Each creature in the cone must make an Intelligence saving throw, taking 7d6 damage of the chosen damage type on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
The illusion is tangible because of the shadow stuff used to create it, but attacks miss it automatically, it succeeds on all saving throws, and it is immune to all damage and conditions. A creature that uses an action to examine the dragon can determine that it is an illusion by succeeding on an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the creature can see through it and has advantage on saving throws against its breath.
Illusory Dragon 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences
Illusory Dragon is currently only available in the 2014 edition.
Illusory Dragon popularity
How popular is Illusory Dragon? It is a seldom seen spell in the game, but is often chosen over other options when available. This spell could be a valuable addition for spellbooks.
- Top 50% picked level 8 Wizard spell
- Bottom 50% of all level 8 spells
- Bottom 25% of all 5e spells
Read about how this popularity data is calculated.
Spells similar to Illusory Dragon
Hypnotic Pattern 3rd-level illusion
Like the target, it’s a wizard illusion that can neutralize several foes at once with a saving throw against a mind-affecting effect.
Players prefer Hypnotic Pattern over Illusory Dragon
Fear 3rd-level illusion
Both can open by terrifying a group of creatures and are meant to swing a fight through panic and positioning.
Players prefer Fear over Illusory Dragon
Phantasmal Killer 4th-level illusion
This is a single-target illusion that punishes a creature with dread and recurring mental damage, which lines up well with the target’s theme.
Players prefer Phantasmal Killer over Illusory Dragon
Weird 9th-level illusion
It’s another high-level illusion that hits multiple enemies with fear and psychic-style harm over a wide area.
Players prefer Illusory Dragon over Weird
Major Image 3rd-level illusion
It shares the same school and the same deceptive battlefield trickery, even though it leans more toward misdirection than raw damage.
Players prefer Illusory Dragon over Major Image