Teleport 5e D&D Guide

Teleport is a well-known 7th-level utility spell. It belongs to the Bard, Sorcerer, and Wizard spell lists as well as other subclasses.

Teleport is the bread and butter of any late-game party, allowing players to quickly move between points of interest. It is one of the most useful spells in the whole of D&D.

The Player’s Handbook description specifies:

Teleport 5e

7th-level Conjuration

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 10 feet

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

Upon casting Teleport, you and up to eight willing creatures of your choosing, or a single object, are transported to a destination you selected.

Whether the creatures or object is teleported will be determined if you can see them within the spell’s range.

Note: If you are trying to target an object, it must be capable of fitting entirely into a 10-foot cube, and it cannot be carried or held by an unwilling creature.

The Destination

A chosen destination must be known to you and fall under the same plane of existence you are currently on.

Your familiarity with the destination will determine whether you arrive there successfully. The DM then rolls a d100 and will proceed to consult the table.

Familiarity Descriptions

“Permanent circle” refers to a permanent Teleportation Circle whose sigil you have memorized.

“Associated object” means you possess a chosen object taken from the desired location within the last six months.

Examples include; a book taken from a wizard’s library, bed linen belonging to a royal suite, or a chunk of marble obtained from a lich’s secret tomb.

“Very familiar” refers to a place you have been to often, a place you have studied carefully, or a place you see when casting the spell.

“Seen casually” is a place you have seen more than once but with which you aren’t familiar.

“Viewed once” is a place you have only seen once, usually through using magic.

“Description” refers to a place whose location and appearance have been described by someone or something else, most commonly from a map or someone explaining where you should head.

“False destination” is a place that never or no longer exists. Maybe you tried to scry an enemy’s sanctum but instead saw an illusion, or you are attempting to teleport to a previous familiar location that no longer exists.

Different Outcomes

• On Target – You and your chosen group (or the targetted object) appear where you intended to.
• Off Target – You and your chosen group (or the targetted object) appear at a random distance from the destination in a random direction. The distance off target is 1d10 x 1d10 percent of the overall distance traveled.

For example, if you had tried to travel 120 miles, landing off target and rolling a 5 and 3 on the two d10s, you would be off your target by 15 percent or 18 miles.

The DM will randomly determine the direction off the target by rolling a d8 and designating one as north, two as northeast, three as east, and continuing around the points of a compass.

If you wanted to teleport to a coastal town and wound up 18 miles out in the vast sea, you could be in big trouble.

• Similar Area – You and your chosen group (or the targetted object) will wind up in a different area that is either visibly or thematically similar to the targetted area.

Suppose you were heading to your home laboratory. In that case, you might end up inside another wizard’s laboratory or caught inside an alchemical supply shop containing many similar tools and implements found in laboratories.

Generally, you will appear in the closest similar place, but since the spell doesn’t have a range limit, you could potentially end up anywhere on your plane.

• Mishap – The spell’s unpredictable magic might result in a difficult journey for unexpecting members. Each teleporting creature (or targetted object) will take 3d10 force damage.

The DM then rerolls on the table, seeing where your party will wind up (it is possible for multiple mishaps to occur, which each time deal the same amount of damage).

Is Teleport Good in 5e?

Teleport is one of the most used spells in D&D for a reason. It grants players the freedom to travel through their campaign with minimum restrictions and even less hassle (most of the time).

Advantages of Teleport

One Component

Teleport has the advantage of using only a Verbal component to cast it.

Players require no extra materials, which take GP or time. They can also cast Teleport in certain conditions, like being Restrained.

Unlimited Range

Even though Teleport has a range of 10 feet, there is no limit to how far you can teleport.

Your party could be halfway across the world, fighting monsters while the other half is busy researching your next great enemy.

The possibilities of Teleport are endless, especially on the large worlds found in D&D.

Disadvantages of Teleport

High-Level

Teleport is a 7th-level spell, meaning all full caster classes must be level 13 to cast Teleport.

Half-casters and third-caster classes will have different expectations; however, they must also be around level 13.

Optimizing Teleport

Never Backtrack

After visiting an area, players become familiar with it. Players could easily choose to teleport there if another quest were to pop up in the area.

It also works if players want to split up or scout two areas relating to the campaign or a normal quest. Ultimately, it makes travel less of a drag, especially when the late game comes around.

Final Thoughts

It doesn’t matter in which reality teleporting is used; it will always be helpful to people traveling long distances.

In D&D, Teleport only makes things easier for a party, especially when they know the area well.

Just hope it doesn’t fail; nobody would be impressed…except for the DM; I’m sure he’ll laugh himself to death.