Move Earth

A
Utility

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

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 spell that reshapes dirt, sand, or clay into trenches, walls, and hills for slow
battlefield control

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

See all Battlefield Shaping spells →
 with
renewed focus

Move Earth is a Action Economy spell. Action Economy spells grant you more choices on future turns.

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.

2024 Rules
Level & School
6th-level transmutation
Casting Time
Action
Range
120 feet
Components
V, S, M (an miniature showel)
Duration
Concentration, up to 2 hours
Classes
Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard

Choose an area of terrain no larger than 40 feet on a side within range. You can reshape dirt, sand, or clay in the area in any manner you choose for the duration. You can raise or lower the area's elevation, create or fill in a trench, erect or flatten a wall, or form a pillar. The extent of any such changes can't exceed half the area's largest dimension. For example, if you affect a 40-foot square, you can create a pillar up to 20 feet high, raise or lower the square's elevation by up to 20 feet, dig a trench up to 20 feet deep, and so on. It takes 10 minutes for these changes to complete. Because the terrain's transformation occurs slowly, creatures in the area can't usually be trapped or injured by the ground's movement. At the end of every 10 minutes you spend concentrating on the spell, you can choose a new area of terrain to affect within range. This spell can't manipulate natural stone or stone construction. Rocks and structures shift to accommodate the new terrain. If the way you shape the terrain would make a structure unstable, it might collapse.

Similarly, this spell doesn't directly affect plant growth. The moved earth carries any plants along with it.

2014 Rules
Level & School
6th-level transmutation
Casting Time
Action
Range
120 feet
Components
V, S, M (an iron blade and a small bag containing a mixture of soils-clay, loam, and sand)
Duration
Concentration, 2 hours
Classes
Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard

Choose an area of terrain no larger than 40 feet on a side within range. You can reshape dirt, sand, or clay in the area in any manner you choose for the duration. You can raise or lower the area's elevation, create or fill in a trench, erect or flatten a wall, or form a pillar. The extent of any such changes can't exceed half the area's largest dimension. So, if you affect a 40-foot square, you can create a pillar up to 20 feet high, raise or lower the square's elevation by up to 20 feet, dig a trench up to 20 feet deep, and so on. It takes 10 minutes for these changes to complete.

At the end of every 10 minutes you spend concentrating on the spell, you can choose a new area of terrain to affect.

Because the terrain's transformation occurs slowly, creatures in the area can't usually be trapped or injured by the ground's movement.

This spell can't manipulate natural stone or stone construction. Rocks and structures shift to accommodate the new terrain. If the way you shape the terrain would make a structure unstable, it might collapse.

Similarly, this spell doesn't directly affect plant growth. The moved earth carries any plants along with it.

Move Earth 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences

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

Spells similar to Move Earth

  • Stone Shape 4th-level transmutation

    Both let a caster reshape natural ground or rock to create or alter physical features for utility and terrain control.

  • Wall of Stone 5th-level evocation

    Both create lasting changes to the battlefield by forming walls or raised features that reshape movement and cover.

  • Passwall 5th-level transmutation

    Both are used to alter solid terrain to create new passages or change how creatures traverse an area.

  • Fabricate 4th-level transmutation

    Both convert raw material into new shapes or objects, allowing the caster to repurpose terrain or materials for practical effects.

  • Hallucinatory Terrain 4th-level illusion

    Both affect the battlefield by changing how terrain is experienced or arranged, useful for manipulating travel and encounters.