Wall of Fire
Wall of Fire creates an opaque barrier that burns creatures crossing it or standing near its dangerous side. Use it to split a corridor, screen a retreat or block a bridge. Damage, wall size and saving throws differ between editions.
Wall of Fire at a Glance
| D&D 2024 and 2014 | 4th-level Evocation; one Action; 120 feet; Concentration up to 1 minute; 5d8 Fire damage and a Dexterity save when the wall first appears |
|---|---|
| Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e | Evocation [fire]; standard action; medium range; Concentration plus 1 round per caster level; heat radiates on one side, and crossing burns creatures directly |
| Cleric access | The spell is not on the general fifth-edition Cleric spell list; a subclass such as Light Domain can explicitly grant it |
Spell Rules by Edition
Wall of Fire — D&D 2024
4th-level Evocation. Casting time: Action. Range: 120 feet. Components: V, S and M (a piece of charcoal). Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute. Druid, Sorcerer and Wizard; other classes only through explicit features or subclass spell lists.
You can place an opaque wall on solid ground as a straight barrier up to 60 feet long, 20 feet high and 1 foot thick, or as a ring up to 20 feet across. Creatures caught in its space on creation make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d8 Fire damage on failure or half on success. Select which side of the wall radiates damaging heat. Creatures that finish their turn within 10 feet of that side or inside the wall, or that first enter the wall during a turn, take 5d8 Fire damage. The other side does not radiate heat.
A spell slot above 4th increases that damage by 1d8 per additional slot level. Use the 2024 spell’s own conditions and save timing rather than 3.5e heat bands.
Wall of Fire — D&D 2014
4th-level Evocation. Casting time: one Action. Range: 120 feet. Components: V, S and M (a small piece of phosphorus). Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute. Common class spell lists: Druid, Sorcerer and Wizard. The 2014 Light Domain grants it as a domain spell.
The wall may be a 60-foot-long straight curtain or a circular barrier 20 feet in diameter, with height up to 20 feet. When it forms, creatures occupying the wall’s space make a Dexterity save against the initial 5d8 fire damage, halving that damage on success. Choose one side to radiate 5d8 damage into a 10-foot band; a creature also suffers the damage when it enters the wall for the first time on a turn or finishes its turn there. The other side is not heated.
For a slot above 4th, increase the spell’s damage by 1d8 for each slot level higher. The major listed material-component distinction from 2024 is phosphorus rather than charcoal.
Wall of Fire — Pathfinder 1e
Published Pathfinder 1e Evocation [fire]. Druid 5, Sorcerer/Wizard 4. Standard action; V, S, M/DF (a piece of phosphorus); medium range (100 feet plus 10 feet per caster level); duration Concentration plus 1 round per caster level, no saving throw; spell resistance applies.
A wall or ring grows with caster level (up to 20 feet of length per level, or ring radius up to 5 feet per two levels) and rises up to 20 feet. One side radiates 2d4 fire damage within 10 feet, or 1d4 beyond that up to 20 feet. Passage through the wall inflicts 2d6 + caster level fire damage (maximum +20); Undead take double the listed fire damage. Heat also applies on creation and each of your turns. Sufficient cold damage can extinguish an affected section.
These are not fifth-edition 5d8/Dexterity-save rules. Consult the Pathfinder Core Rulebook text for fine details.
Wall of Fire — D&D 3.5e
An immobile, blazing curtain of shimmering violet fire springs into existence.
This material is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
Evocation [Fire]
Level Druid 5, Fire 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 4
Components V, S, M/DF
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect Opaque sheet of flame up to 20 ft. long/level or a ring of fire with a radius of up to 5 ft. per two levels; either form 20 ft. high
Duration Concentration + 1 round/level
Saving Throw None
Spell Resistance Yes
One side of the wall, selected by you, sends forth waves of heat, dealing 2d4 points of fire damage to creatures within 10 feet and 1d4 points of fire damage to those past 10 feet but within 20 feet. The wall deals this damage when it appears and on your turn each round to all creatures in the area. In addition, the wall deals 2d6 points of fire damage +1 point of fire damage per caster level (maximum +20) to any creature passing through it. The wall deals double damage to undead creatures.
If you evoke the wall so that it appears where creatures are, each creature takes damage as if passing through the wall. If any 5-foot length of wall takes 20 points of cold damage or more in 1 round, that length goes out. (Do not divide cold damage by 4, as normal for objects.)
Wall of fire can be made permanent with a permanency spell. A permanent wall of fire that is extinguished by cold damage becomes inactive for 10 minutes, then reforms at normal strength.
Arcane Material Component A small piece of phosphorus.
D&D 3.5e SRD. Open Game Content under the Open Game License v1.0a.
What Changes Between Editions?
In modern D&D the wall is a fixed-sized battlefield obstruction with a Dexterity save against damage at creation and repeated damage from a dangerous side. In Pathfinder and 3.5e, the wall scales with caster level and radiates two heat bands; passing through it causes a separate fire burst, with particular danger to Undead. Choosing which system applies before initiative avoids accidental overpowered combinations.
In a Campaign
Use the wall to split a corridor, cover a retreat or force a choice at a bridge. A referee should mark the dangerous side clearly, ask whether a creature enters or merely ends its turn near the barrier, and remember the spell blocks sight. Burning away a barricade does not make the wall itself mobile.
Related: Light Domain · Sun Domain · Scorching Ray.
Sources and Licensing
D&D 2024 Basic Rules · D&D 2014 Basic Rules · Pathfinder 1e · 3.5e SRD.
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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