Pass without Trace Spell — The Unfollowed Path

Pass without Trace, "The Unfollowed Path" — *Artwork created with ChatGPT.*

Pass without Trace removes the trail left by travelling creatures. In D&D 2024 and 2014 it also gives chosen creatures a +10 bonus to Stealth checks. The Pathfinder and 3.5e versions remove footprints and scent without granting that bonus. It does not make anyone invisible.

Pass without Trace at a Glance

D&D 2024 / 2014	2nd-level Abjuration; Action; Self; chosen creatures within 30 feet; Concentration, up to 1 hour; +10 to Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
Pathfinder / D&D 3.5e	1st-level Transmutation; standard action; touch one creature per caster level; 1 hour per caster level; no footprints or scent trail.
Main limitation	Creatures can still be seen. Shouting, bright lights and an open approach can reveal the party.
Damage	None.

Spell Rules by Edition

D&D 5.5e / 2024D&D 5e / 2014Pathfinder 1eD&D 3.5e

Pass without Trace — D&D 2024

Level and school: 2nd-level Abjuration
Spell lists: Druid, Ranger
Casting time: Action
Range: Self (30-foot Emanation)
Components: V, S, M (ashes from burned mistletoe)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
Attack / save: None

An aura surrounds the caster. While inside it, you and creatures you choose gain +10 to Dexterity (Stealth) checks and leave no tracks. Its benefit depends on remaining within the 30-foot Emanation. A higher-level slot adds no listed benefit.

D&D 2024 spell reference. Class features may grant additional access.

Pass without Trace — D&D 2014

Level and school: 2nd-level Abjuration
Spell lists: Druid, Ranger
Casting time: 1 action
Range: Self; chosen creatures within 30 feet, including the caster
Components: V, S, M (ashes from a burned mistletoe leaf and a sprig of spruce)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
Attack / save: None

The protected creatures gain +10 to Dexterity (Stealth) checks. They leave no tracks or other traces of their passage, and only magical means can track them. This edition has no spell-slot scaling rule.

D&D 2014 spell reference.

Pass without Trace — Pathfinder 1e

School: Transmutation
Level: Druid 1, Hunter 1, Occultist 1, Ranger 1, Shaman 1
Casting time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S, DF
Range: Touch
Targets: One creature per caster level, touched
Duration: 1 hour per caster level (dismissible)
Saving throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell resistance: Yes (harmless)

Protected creatures leave neither footprints nor a scent trail as they move. Nonmagical tracking cannot follow them. The spell grants no numerical bonus to Stealth and needs no ongoing Concentration. Caster level sets the target count and duration.

Pathfinder rules and class list. Open Game Content under the Open Game License v1.0a.

Pass without Trace — D&D 3.5e

The subject or subjects can move through any type of terrain and leave neither footprints nor Scent.

This material is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.

Transmutation

Level Druid 1, Ranger 1
Components V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Targets: One creature/level touched
Duration: 1 hour/level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

Tracking the subjects is impossible by nonmagical means.

Ongoing Concentration is not required. This version grants no numerical bonus to Hide or Move Silently checks and has no spell-slot upcasting rule.

Revised 3.5 SRD.

What Changed Between Editions?

2024 and 2014: Both give +10 to Stealth and require Concentration. The 2024 wording uses a 30-foot Emanation and says creatures leave no tracks; the 2014 text also expressly blocks nonmagical tracking and other traces of passage. Their material components differ.
Pathfinder and 3.5e: These are 1st-level touch spells. They remove footprints and scent for an hour per caster level, affect one touched creature per level and grant no Stealth bonus.

Using Pass without Trace

Cross watched ground

Choose a route with cover, agree on the pace and cast before the party approaches the patrol. A strong Stealth result still needs somewhere to hide. An open gate, a bright lantern or a silhouette on a ridge may expose the group.

Break pursuit

Snow, mud, ash and soft earth normally record a trail. This spell removes that advantage from trackers under the selected edition’s rules. It does not erase footprints made before casting or remove witnesses who saw the party leave.

Move companions together

The fifth-edition bonus helps less stealthy allies travel with a scout. Keep the party near the caster, especially around bends or during a rescue. In Pathfinder and 3.5e, count the creatures touched when the spell is cast; those versions do not use the same moving aura.

Rules That Matter at the Table

Hidden creatures still need concealment. This spell does not turn a creature invisible or automatically succeed at every hiding attempt.
Use the correct tracking protection. Fifth-edition Stealth bonuses and the legacy removal of scent are different benefits. Do not carry one edition’s extra wording into another.
Concentration limits combinations. In D&D 2024 and 2014, a single caster cannot maintain this spell and another Concentration spell together.

Related Magic

Fog Cloud screens a crossing, while Invisibility hides a companion from sight. Silence can suppress sound at a fixed point, and Darkness can break a sightline. Each has its own limits; in fifth edition, combining Concentration spells requires more than one caster.

For a dangerous trail that punishes pursuit, see the Spike Growth rules. Keep allies clear of its affected ground.

Pass without Trace in the World

Elven wardens may lead wounded travellers through occupied woodland. Goblin scouts can cross a muddy riverbank without leaving a trail, while fey envoys arrive at a sacred grove without announcing their route. Defenders still have useful choices: watch the approaches, light the open ground and question witnesses rather than relying only on tracks.

Sources and Licensing

D&D 2024 · D&D 2014 · Pathfinder 1e · D&D 3.5e.

The fifth-edition summaries include material from System Reference Documents 5.2.1 and 5.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available from the official SRD resource, under CC BY 4.0. The summaries are reformatted and paraphrased. Pathfinder and 3.5e mechanics are Open Game Content under the Open Game License v1.0a. Artwork and original setting prose are excluded from that designation.

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System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

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