2025 Wizard Spells 5e Guide: Design Magic Spells with AI
How many times have you wished your spells just worked without slowing the game?
We’ve all been there, searching for the right rule, second-guessing a save, or trying to remember if that upcast adds damage or not. It breaks the flow and kills the moment.
This guide is your fix. We’ll make wizard spells 5e simple to run, easy to remember, and quick to prep. You’ll see exactly how saves work, when slots matter most, and how to create balanced new spells with Summon Worlds that your table will love.
If you want your magic sharp, your turns fast, and your players hooked, keep reading. This is how you make every spell count.
Table of Contents
Wizard Spells 5e: Everything You Need to Know in 2025
⏰Read the block in seconds
Every spell shows the same order: name, level, school, casting time, range, components, duration, then the effect. If you can scan that block fast, you can run any spell without slowing the game.
📝Components made easy
Spells list verbal (V), somatic (S), and material component (M). A focus or component pouch covers M unless the item has a gold cost or is consumed. If it lists a cost, you must bring that item. If not, your focus is fine.
⏳Casting time, actions, and your bonus action
Most spells take 1 action. Some take a bonus action or a reaction. Here’s the key limit people forget: if you cast a spell as a bonus action, the only other spell you can cast that turn is a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action. No stacking two-level spells in the same turn. Plan your turnaround around that.
⏸Concentration without pauses
Take damage while you hold a spell? Make constitution saving throws. DC = 10 or half the damage, whichever is higher. Fail, and the effect ends. Keep the number ready so play stays smooth.
🪄Levels, slots, and scaling
Spells scale when you upcast. The text will tell you what changes at a higher level. Example: fireball, each slot above 3rd means the damage increases by 1d6 per slot. Use your level spell slots wisely.
When to Call for Saving Throws in Wizard Spells
Pick the save that matches the fiction. Say what happens on success and on failure. If a target passes their saving throw, the spell text tells you if they take half, move less, or ignore the effect.
- Dexterity saving throw → dodging blasts, slipping hazards, burst AOE. (Fireball asks for Dex.)
- Constitution saving throws → holding focus, poison, strain, many aura effects. (Also used for concentration checks.)
- Strength save → shoves, pulls, grapples, forced movement. (Common for restraining zones like black tentacles.)
- Charisma saving throws → banish, planar effects, certain compulsions. (Plane shift and banishment use Charisma.)
Using Spells to Create Difficult Terrain in 5e
Control space, and you control the round. Many wizard spells turn the ground into a problem.
- Grease (1st-level) turns a 10-ft square into difficult terrain; creatures risk falling. Great for doors, stairs, and chokepoints.
- Sleet storm (3rd-level) makes a large area icy and difficult terrain; it also knocks foes prone on a failed save and breaks concentration. Strong mid-tier control.
- Evard’s black tentacles (4th-level) make the area difficult terrain, restrain on a save, and deal damage. It is hard control plus space denial.
Use these to split groups, guard retreats, or stall brutes.
Example Worldbuilding Prompt:
Why Silent Image Still Shines for Wizards
Silent image is a 1st-level illusion with casting time 1 action, range 60 feet, and duration of the spell “Concentration, up to 10 minutes.”
It creates a visual image in a 15-ft cube. No sound. No smell. Use it to fake cover, bait archers, hide an exit, or sell a bluff. It needs V, S, and a bit of fleece as a material component.
What 7th-Level Wizard Spells Bring to Your Game
At 7th level, the game tilts. You get effects that can end scenes.
- Forcecage (7th-level) locks zones with no save in many cases. It needs ruby dust worth 1,500 gp as a material component. It lasts 1 hour. Check your pack before you cast the spell.
- Plane shift (7th-level) can send a target away if you hit with a melee spell attack and they fail charisma saving throws. Great for boss control when the window opens.
Designing New Wizard Spells with Summon Worlds
Summon Worlds is built for GMs and writers. You can make spell cards, add art, chat as your wizard, and keep everything in one place. Here’s a seven-step method that stays fair and readable.
State the job in one line
What does the spell do? Keep it narrow. Example: “Freeze a small floor area so foes slip.” Now you won’t add stray riders.
Check similar effects
Look at a few printed spells in that space. Match size, range, and power. If yours looks stronger, raise the level, shorten the duration of the spell, or add a costly material component. (Good benchmarks: grease, sleet storm, black tentacles, fireball, banishment.)
Fill the block
Level, school, casting time, range, components, and duration of the spell. Say if it needs concentration.
Pick the defense that tests
Choose dexterity saving throw, constitution saving throws, strength save, or charisma saving throws. Tie it to the fiction. If a target passes their saving throw, be clear about half effect or none.
Plan the upcast
If it scales, write: “At a higher level, damage increases by 1dX per slot,” or “You can target additional creatures.” Use clean models like fireball and banishment.
Playtest in Character Chat
In Summon Worlds, chat as the wizard and as a foe. Run two rounds. If it stalls the fight, cut text. If it ends fights alone, raise level.
Add art and file it
Attach a visual with the built-in art tool. Save to a Collection with your other wizard spells and items. Keep private while you test, or publish to your profile for feedback.
2 Ready-to-Use Wizard Spell Ideas
✨Copy these into Summon Worlds. Edit your table.
Spell 1: Frost Tiles
- Level: 2
- School: Evocation
- Casting time: 1 action
- Range: 60 ft
- Components: V, S
- Duration of the spell: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You freeze a 20-ft square of floor you can see. The area is ice and creates difficult terrain. When a creature enters or starts its turn there, it makes a dexterity saving throw. On a failure, it falls prone. On a success, it stays standing.
At a higher level: The area grows by 5 ft on a side for each slot above 2nd. No damage increases.
✅Why it’s fair: Close to grease and a sleet storm. Control only. No damage.
Spell 2: Aether Yank
- Level: 3
- School: Transmutation
- Casting time: 1 action
- Range: 60 ft
- Components: V, S, material component (iron ring)
- Duration of the spell: Instant
Choose one creature you can see. The target makes a Strength save. On a failure, you pull it 15 ft in a straight line and it takes 2d8 force. On a success, it moves 5 ft toward you and takes no damage. The movement does not trigger opportunity attacks.
At a higher level: Damage increases by 1d8 and pull distance increases by 5 ft for each slot above 3rd. You can target additional creatures (one more per slot above 3rd), each within 10 ft of another target.
✅Why it’s fair: You trade big damage for position. The strength save matches the shove theme.
Wizard Spell Mistakes and How to Fix Them
- Too many riders: If your spell restrains, prones, and blinds, cut one. Or raise the level.
- Vague saves: Name the save. State success and failure. “On a success: half damage.” Clear beats clever.
- Ignoring components: If the effect is strong, add a real material component cost like Forcecage does.
- Breaking the bonus-action rule: Remember: bonus-action spell → only a cantrip with 1-action casting time for the Action.
- Forgetting upcast text: If it scales, write the higher-level line. If not, say nothing. Don’t assume the table knows.
Start Designing and Casting Smarter Spells Today
You now know how saves work, what changes when you upcast, and you’ve got two balanced spell blueprints you can use right away. With Summon Worlds, you can create, test, and share your own spells in minutes, complete with art, lore, and ready-to-play cards.
Start creating now with Summon Worlds.
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Make your magic clear. Make your turns fast. Make your table grin.
