Magic • Shared Spell Reference

Command

Command turns spoken authority into a brief but absolute magical compulsion.

Choose your edition before using the spell. Its level, casting procedure, targets, effects, and limits follow the rules in the selected panel.

Command at a Glance

5.5e (2024)	Level 1
5e (2014)	Level 1
Pathfinder 1e	Level 1
D&D 3.5e	Level 1
Browse	Bard spells · Cleric spells · All spell traditions

Spell Rules

5.5e (2024)5e (2014)Pathfinder 1eD&D 3.5e

Command — 5.5e (2024)

Edition source.

Spell	Level 1 Enchantment (Bard, Cleric, Paladin)
Casting Time	Action
Range	60 feet
Components	V
Duration	Instantaneous

You speak a one-word command to a creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or follow the command on its next turn. Choose the command from these options: Approach. The target moves toward you by the shortest and most direct route, ending its turn if it moves within 5 feet of you.

Drop. The target drops whatever it is holding and then ends its turn.

Flee. The target spends its turn moving away from you by the fastest available means.

Grovel. The target has the Prone condition and then ends its turn.

Halt. On its turn, the target doesn’t move and takes no action or Bonus Action.

Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. You can affect one additional creature for each spell slot level above 1.

Command — 5e (2014)

Edition source.

Spell	1st-level enchantment
Casting Time	1 action
Range	60 feet
Components	V
Duration	1 round

You speak a one-word command to a creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or follow the command on its next turn. The spell has no effect if the target is undead, if it doesn’t understand your language, or if your command is directly harmful to it. Some typical commands and their effects follow. You might issue a command other than one described here. If you do so, the GM determines how the target behaves. If the target can’t follow your command, the spell ends.

Approach. The target moves toward you by the shortest and most direct route, ending its turn if it moves within 5 feet of you.

Drop. The target drops whatever it is holding and then ends its turn.

Flee. The target spends its turn moving away from you by the fastest available means.

Grovel. The target falls prone and then ends its turn.

Halt. The target doesn’t move and takes no actions. A flying creature stays aloft, provided that it is able to do so. If it must move to stay aloft, it flies the minimum distance needed to remain in the air.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you can affect one additional creature for each slot level above 1st. The creatures must be within 30 feet of each other when you target them.

Command — Pathfinder 1e

Edition source.

School	enchantment (compulsion) [language-dependent, mind-affecting]
Level	cleric 1
Casting Time	1 standard action
Components	V
Range	close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target	one living creature
Duration	1 round
Saving Throw	Will negates
Spell Resistance	yes

You give the subject a single command, which it obeys to the best of its ability at its earliest opportunity. You may select from the following options.

Approach: On its turn, the subject moves toward you as quickly and directly as possible for 1 round. The creature may do nothing but move during its turn, and it provokes attacks of opportunity for this movement as normal.

Drop: On its turn, the subject drops whatever it is holding. It can’t pick up any dropped item until its next turn.

Fall: On its turn, the subject falls to the ground and remains prone for 1 round. It may act normally while prone but takes any appropriate penalties.

Flee: On its turn, the subject moves away from you as quickly as possible for 1 round. It may do nothing but move during its turn, and it provokes attacks of opportunity for this movement as normal.

Halt: The subject stands in place for 1 round. It may not take any actions but is not considered helpless.

If the subject can’t carry out your command on its next turn, the spell automatically fails.

Command — D&D 3.5e

Edition source.

School	Enchantment (Compulsion) [Language-Dependent, Mind-Affecting]
Level	Clr 1
Components	V
Casting Time	1 standard action
Range	Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target	One living creature
Duration	1 round
Saving Throw	Will negates
Spell Resistance	Yes

You give the subject a single command, which it obeys to the best of its ability at its earliest opportunity. You may select from the following options.

Approach: On its turn, the subject moves toward you as quickly and directly as possible for 1 round. The creature may do nothing but move during its turn, and it provokes attacks of opportunity for this movement as normal.

Drop: On its turn, the subject drops whatever it is holding. It can’t pick up any dropped item until its next turn.

Fall: On its turn, the subject falls to the ground and remains prone for 1 round. It may act normally while prone but takes any appropriate penalties.

Flee: On its turn, the subject moves away from you as quickly as possible for 1 round. It may do nothing but move during its turn, and it provokes attacks of opportunity for this movement as normal.

Halt: The subject stands in place for 1 round. It may not take any actions but is not considered helpless.

If the subject can’t carry out your command on its next turn, the spell automatically fails.

Command in the World

Authority is already spoken aloud. Captains command formations, magistrates question witnesses, guild masters direct workshops, heralds speak before councils, household officers control access to powerful patrons, and mercenary commanders expect an order to become action. Command makes that familiar relationship between voice and obedience literally supernatural.

The spell is too brief to replace government, loyalty, persuasion, fear, or ordinary command. Its danger lies in the single decisive instant: a guard steps away from a door, a courier drops a sealed dispatch, a swordsman falls prone, an officer loses the moment in which an order needed to be given, or a standard-bearer lets the symbol of a formation strike the mud.

Courts, chancelleries, Free Imperial city councils, princely households, merchant houses, guild halls, universities, and mercenary companies therefore have reasons to take hostile enchantment seriously. The responses vary. A wealthy court might separate a known enchanter from a ruler by distance and attendants. A council may insist upon witnesses. A military commander may rely on subordinate officers able to continue issuing orders if one voice suddenly fails.

None of these practices forms a universal magical law. They are practical responses to a world in which a voice can be genuine, an order can be unlawful, and obedience can be magically manufactured.

Domenico Morone's late fifteenth-century painting King Giving an Audience. — Domenico Morone, *King Giving an Audience*, late fifteenth century. Courtauld Gallery. Public-domain reproduction. Image source and provenance .

Historical Illustration

Domenico Morone, King Giving an Audience, late fifteenth century, Courtauld Gallery. The Wikimedia Commons reproduction used above is identified as public domain.

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