Imprisonment
2024 Rules
- Level & School
- 9th-level abjuration
- Casting Time
- 1 minute
- Range
- 30 feet
- Components
- V, S, M (a statuette of the target worth 5,000+ GP)
- Duration
- Until dispelled
- Classes
- Warlock, Wizard
You create a magical restraint to hold a creature that you can see within range. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a successful save, the target is unaffected, and it is immune to this spell for the next 24 hours. On a failed save, the target is imprisoned. While imprisoned, the target doesn't need to breathe, eat, or drink, and it doesn't age. Divination spells can't locate or perceive the imprisoned target, and the target can't teleport. Until the spell ends, the target is also affected by one of the following effects of your choice:
Burial. The target is entombed beneath the earth in a hollow globe of magical force that is just large enough to contain the target. Nothing can pass into or out of the globe.
Chaining. Chains firmly rooted in the ground hold the target in place. The target has the Restrained condition and can't be moved by any means.
Hedged Prison. The target is trapped in a demiplane that is warded against teleportation and planar travel. The demiplane is your choice of a labyrinth, a cage, a tower, or the like.
Minimus Containment. The target becomes 1 inch tall and is trapped inside an indestructible gemstone or a similar object. Light can pass through the gemstone (allowing the target to see out and other creatures to see in), but nothing else can pass through by any means.
Slumber. The target has the Unconscious condition and can't be awoken.
Ending the Spell. When you cast the spell, specify a trigger that will end it. The trigger can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose, but the DM must agree that it has a high likelihood of happening within the next decade. The trigger must be an observable action, such as someone making a particular offering at the temple of your god, saving your true love, or defeating a specific monster.
A Dispel Magic spell can end the spell only if it is cast with a level 9 spell slot, targeting either the prison or the component used to create it.
2014 Rules
- Level & School
- 9th-level abjuration
- Casting Time
- 1 minute
- Range
- 30 feet
- Components
- V, S, M (a vellum depiction or a carved statuette in the likeness of the target, and a special component that varies according to the version of the spell you choose, worth at least 500 gp per Hit Die of the target)
- Duration
- Until dispelled
- Classes
- Warlock, Wizard
You create a magical restraint to hold a creature that you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be bound by the spell; if it succeeds, it is immune to this spell if you cast it again. While affected by this spell, the creature doesn't need to breathe, eat, or drink, and it doesn't age. Divination spells can't locate or perceive the target.
When you cast the spell, you choose one of the following forms of imprisonment.
The special component for this version of the spell is a small mithral orb.
The special component for this version of the spell is a fine chain of precious metal.
The special component for this version of the spell is a miniature representation of the prison made from jade.
The special component for this version of the spell is a large, transparent gemstone, such as a corundum, diamond, or ruby.
A dispel magic spell can end the spell only if it is cast as a 9th-level spell, targeting either the prison or the special component used to create it.
You can use a particular special component to create only one prison at a time. If you cast the spell again using the same component, the target of the first casting is immediately freed from its binding.
Imprisonment 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences
Spells similar to Imprisonment
Forcecage 7th-level evocation
It creates an inescapable magical prison that confines a creature for a long time without requiring concentration, much like imprisoning someone in a sealed cell.
Sequester 7th-level transmutation
Sequester hides and suspends a creature or object until the spell is ended, providing long-term removal from sight and interaction similar to putting someone into a hidden prison.
Banishment 4th-level abjuration
Banishment removes a creature from the battlefield to another plane on a failed save, which mirrors the ‘take the target out of play’ aspect of imprisonment.
Maze 8th-level conjuration
Maze banishes a single creature into an extradimensional labyrinth until it escapes, offering targeted long-term containment as an alternative to direct removal.
Demiplane 8th-level conjuration
Demiplane can create a pocket space that can be used to store or imprison someone, echoing the demiplane-style containment option of the target spell.