Fog Cloud

Fog Cloud fills an area with dense fog, hiding creatures and cutting off clear sightlines. A gateway disappears into white; the far end of a bridge becomes impossible to judge. The fog can cover a crossing, screen a rescue or conceal a withdrawal, but it hides allies and enemies alike.

It deals no damage and allows no saving throw. In D&D 2024 and 2014 it is a 1st-level spell requiring Concentration; in Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e it is normally 2nd level and lasts without Concentration. Wind disperses it differently in each ruleset.

Fog Cloud at a Glance

Main effect: Obscures sight across a 20-foot-radius area. No damage or saving throw.
D&D 2024 / 2014: 1st-level Conjuration; Action; range 120 feet; V, S; Concentration, up to 1 hour.
Pathfinder / 3.5e: Usually 2nd level; standard action; medium range; V, S; 10 minutes per caster level. Uses concealment and miss chances.
Key limitation: Fog blocks sight, not movement or sound. It provides no physical cover and does not automatically hide a creature’s location.

Spell Rules by Edition

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

Fog Cloud — D&D 2024

Level and school: 1st-level Conjuration
Spell lists: Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard
Casting time: 1 Action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
Area: 20-foot-radius Sphere
Attack / save: None

Create a Sphere of fog around a point within range. Its area is Heavily Obscured. The cloud persists for the duration unless a strong wind, including one produced by Gust of Wind, disperses it.

Higher-level slots: Add 20 feet to the radius for every slot level above 1st; a 2nd-level slot produces a 40-foot radius.

D&D 2024 spell reference. Additional class access depends on the character’s features.

Fog Cloud — D&D 2014

Create fog around a point within range. It spreads around corners and makes its area heavily obscured. It remains for the duration unless wind of at least 10 mph disperses it: moderate wind is sufficient in this edition.

Higher-level slots: Each slot level above 1st adds 20 feet to the fog’s radius.

D&D 2014 spell reference. Subclass features can grant additional access.

Fog Cloud — Pathfinder 1e

School: Conjuration (creation)
Level: Arcanist 2, Druid 2, Hunter 2, Magus 2, Shaman 2, Sorcerer 2, Summoner (unchained) 2, Witch 2, Wizard 2
Casting time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S
Range: Medium (100 feet + 10 feet per caster level)
Effect: Fog spreads in a 20-foot radius
Duration: 10 minutes per caster level
Saving throw: None
Spell resistance: No

Fog blocks sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. Targets within 5 feet have concealment (20% miss chance). More distant targets have total concealment (50% miss chance); sight alone cannot establish their location.

Wind: Moderate wind (11 mph or faster) clears the fog in 4 rounds; strong wind (21 mph or faster) clears it in 1 round. The spell does not function underwater. Maintaining Concentration is not required, and it has no spell-slot upcasting rule.

Pathfinder rules and class access; Core Rulebook reference. Open Game Content under the Open Game License v1.0a.

Fog Cloud — D&D 3.5e

School: Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Druid 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2, Water domain 2
Components: V, S
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 feet + 10 feet per caster level)
Effect: Fog spreads in a 20-foot radius, 20 feet high
Duration: 10 minutes per caster level
Saving throw: None
Spell resistance: No

A bank of fog billows out from the point you designate. The fog obscures all sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. A creature within 5 feet has concealment (attacks have a 20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker can’t use sight to locate the target).

A moderate wind (11+ mph) disperses the fog in 4 rounds; a strong wind (21+ mph) disperses the fog in 1 round. The spell does not function underwater.

Revised 3.5 SRD. This material is Open Game Content, licensed for public use under the Open Game License v1.0a. The spell requires no ongoing Concentration and has no spell-slot upcasting rule.

What Changed Between Editions?

2024 versus 2014: Both use Heavily Obscured, Concentration and the same slot scaling. The 2024 spell specifies strong wind; 2014 explicitly allows moderate wind at 10 mph. The 2014 text also expressly says the fog spreads around corners.
Pathfinder and 3.5e: The basic spell is 2nd level, its range increases with caster level, and its duration is 10 minutes per level without ongoing Concentration. Concealment uses 20% or 50% miss chances. Moderate and strong wind clear it over 4 rounds or 1 round respectively.
Geometry: The fifth-edition cloud is a sphere. The 3.5e effect explicitly includes a 20-foot height; Pathfinder’s standard effect line gives a 20-foot radius without that height.

Using Fog Cloud

Cross exposed ground

Place the cloud between an archer’s position and the crossing, or over the ground the party must traverse. Agree where everyone is going before visibility disappears. Fog conceals the route but does not stop arrows, close a gate or make a hidden stair safe.

Cover a withdrawal or rescue

A cloud across a bridge approach, narrow street or dock can break visual contact while companions move wounded allies. Enemies may still follow voices and footsteps, attack a suspected position or move straight through. The spell imposes no movement penalty by itself.

Deny a clear target

Fog is particularly useful against an ability that requires a target the user can see. It also affects friendly spellcasters: put the screen where it helps the party’s next action. Area effects and attacks that do not require sight can still threaten creatures inside.

Watch your footing near hazards

A ravine edge, a quay or a winding stair remains hazardous when hidden. Describe the last visible landmark and let creatures choose how to proceed. Fog itself does not force hesitation, scatter a formation or automatically make anyone fall.

Travellers on a wooded path obscured by conjured fog — Artwork created with ChatGPT.

Fog Cloud spell artwork showing dense concealing mist — Artwork created with ChatGPT.

Rules That Matter at the Table

Hidden is a separate question. A creature disappearing into fog may still be heard or tracked. Use the edition’s hiding, perception and unseen-target rules; Fog Cloud does not grant automatic stealth success.
Obscurity is not cover. The cloud supplies no armour bonus or physical barrier. Walls and other solid obstacles still determine cover.
Both sides lose sight. In fifth edition, an attacker unable to see its target usually has disadvantage, while an unseen attacker usually gains advantage. If both apply, they cancel; fog does not guarantee disadvantage on every incoming attack. A wrong guess about the target’s location still misses.
Darkvision does not clear fog. Seeing in darkness is different from seeing through opaque mist. Apply any special sense according to its own range and rules.
Wind is a practical answer. Check the threshold and dispersal time in the selected edition. Gust of Wind is a useful countermeasure.
No added poison or suffocation. This spell obscures sight; it does not create toxic smoke, deal damage or prevent breathing.

Useful Combinations

Concentration matters in D&D 2024 and 2014: a single caster cannot maintain Fog Cloud alongside another Concentration spell. The combinations below may need a second caster; check the selected edition’s spell requirements.

Silence: Hides sounds within its area as fog hides sight. Coordinate beforehand: Silence also prevents verbal spell components within its area.
Invisibility: Can conceal a companion before they enter the fog or after they emerge. It adds little to ordinary sight concealment while they are already obscured, and does not erase noise or tracks.
Pass without Trace: Supports a stealthy withdrawal; fog supplies visual concealment, while the other spell helps with stealth according to its edition. Neither makes every escape automatic. Read the D&D 3.5e version.
Illusions: A false sound can draw attention away from an exit. Visual effects from Minor Illusion, Silent Image or Major Image must be somewhere the observer can actually see them; an image buried in opaque fog cannot mislead by sight.
Spike Growth: Can punish pursuers entering dangerous ground concealed by fog. Resolve detection and damage using that spell’s own rules, and keep allies clear of the affected area.

Fog Cloud in the World

A smuggler may shroud a dockside exchange; a scout may screen a wagon crossing; a ship’s mage may hide the moment a boarding party leaves the rail. These uses make the spell valuable wherever a short break in observation matters. They also give defenders concrete responses: bells, shouted positions, a cleared route and access to wind magic.

Related cleric domains: Air · Weather. Spell access follows the domain and edition concerned.

Sources and Licensing

D&D 2024: Fog Cloud; System Reference Document 5.2.1, Wizards of the Coast LLC.
D&D 2014: Fog Cloud; System Reference Document 5.1, Wizards of the Coast LLC.
Pathfinder 1e: Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, Fog Cloud; Archives of Nethys class list.
D&D 3.5e: Revised 3.5 SRD, Fog Cloud.

The fifth-edition rules summaries include material from the System Reference Documents 5.2.1 and 5.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available from the official SRD resource, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. The summaries are reformatted and paraphrased. Pathfinder and 3.5e spell mechanics are Open Game Content under the Open Game License v1.0a. Artwork and original setting prose are not designated Open Game Content.

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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.

3.5e source licence · Pathfinder source licence