Mass Reduce Person — Group Shrinking Spell Rules
Transmutation · Group size-changing magic · Legacy spell
At a signal from the mage, an entire band of scouts dwindles beneath the parapet. They are smaller and harder to strike, but the world around them has become a forest of enormous steps and doors.
At a Glance
| Spell | Mass Reduce Person |
|---|---|
| Legacy level | Sorcerer/Wizard 4 |
| Targets | One humanoid per caster level, clustered within 30 feet of one another |
| Duration | 1 minute per caster level (dismissible) |
| Primary effect | One smaller size category, Dexterity increase and smaller weapon damage |
| D&D 2024/2014 | No published mass version; Enlarge/Reduce affects one creature or qualifying object |
When the Company Vanishes
The spell is cast just outside a guarded stronghold. The group is ready to move through a narrow service passage, but reduced reach and weaker blows may prove costly if the scouts are discovered.
Each subject shrinks by one size category, halves linear dimensions and has weight divided by eight. This changes battlefield space, reach, equipment and ordinary tactics as well as the numerical modifiers. No version creates additional troops or restores Hit Points. A useful plan must account for doorways, crowded streets and the moment when the spell expires.
Rules by Edition
Mass Reduce Person — D&D 2024
No published mass spell with this name.
Published single-target alternative: Enlarge/Reduce, Level 2 Transmutation
Casting Time: Action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a pinch of powdered iron)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Target: One visible creature or qualifying unattended object
Choose the Reduce effect. The single target decreases by one size category. They have Disadvantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws, and their attacks with reduced weapons or Unarmed Strikes deal 1d4 less damage on a hit, to a minimum of 1 damage. If the target is an unwilling creature, it can make a Constitution saving throw; a success prevents the effect. Worn and carried items change size with an affected creature, while items the subject drops return to normal size.
Example: A Medium scout becomes Small and slips into a narrow access passage, but the scout also suffers Disadvantage on Strength checks. The other scouts remain at normal size.
Important: Using a higher spell slot does not add targets. A fourth-level slot still affects one target. A whole squad can be changed only by multiple castings or separate, explicitly approved campaign magic. Do not apply the +2/–2 legacy ability-score adjustments to this edition.
Mass Reduce Person — D&D 2014
No published mass spell with this name.
Published single-target alternative: Enlarge/Reduce, 2nd-level Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a pinch of powdered iron)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
The caster chooses a creature or unattended object they can see within range and applies Reduce. A creature changes by one size category, and its worn and carried gear changes with it. An unwilling creature may negate the effect with a Constitution saving throw.
The target halves its dimensions and falls to one-eighth its usual weight. It has Disadvantage on Strength checks and saving throws, and its reduced weapons deal 1d4 less damage per hit (minimum 1).
Example: A Medium scout becomes Small and slips into a narrow access passage, but the scout also suffers Disadvantage on Strength checks. The other scouts remain at normal size. As in 2024, this spell does not turn the whole patrol into smaller or larger creatures.
Higher slots: The 2014 spell has no provision granting extra targets when upcast. Casting it with a fourth-level slot does not produce the older mass variant. Its Concentration, saving throw and damage effects differ from legacy rules.
Mass Reduce Person — Pathfinder 1e
School: Transmutation
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 4
Casting Time: 1 round
Components: V, S, M (a pinch of powdered iron)
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft. per 2 caster levels)
Targets: One humanoid creature per caster level, no two more than 30 feet apart
Duration: 1 minute per caster level (dismissible)
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
Each subject shrinks by one size category, halves linear dimensions and has weight divided by eight. +2 size bonus to Dexterity; –2 size penalty to Strength; +1 size bonus on attack rolls and AC. The subjects’ speeds do not change merely because their size does.
Carried equipment shrinks with the subject, reducing appropriately sized weapon damage. Dropped and thrown items revert to their ordinary size under the legacy spell’s rules. Size-change effects of the same kind do not stack, and this spell counters and dispels Enlarge Person. A target must be a humanoid; other creature types are not automatically eligible.
Example: At caster level 9, a wizard can reduce up to nine humanoids in Close range, if no two selected targets are more than 30 feet apart. A Medium scout becomes Small, gaining Dexterity +2 and Strength –2 as well as the normal size adjustments.
Grouping: Every selected subject must be in the spell’s Close range, and the targets must also satisfy the restriction that no pair is separated by more than 30 feet. Target count is not an area radius. A reduced Tiny creature may have a reach of 0 feet, requiring it to enter a foe’s square for melee attacks under the applicable reach rules.
Mass Reduce Person — D&D 3.5e
School: Transmutation
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 4
Casting Time: 1 round
Components: V, S, M (a pinch of powdered iron)
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft. per 2 caster levels)
Targets: One humanoid creature per caster level, no two more than 30 feet apart
Duration: 1 minute per caster level (dismissible)
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
Each subject shrinks by one size category, halves linear dimensions and has weight divided by eight. +2 size bonus to Dexterity; –2 size penalty to Strength; +1 size bonus on attack rolls and AC. The subjects’ speeds do not change merely because their size does.
Carried equipment shrinks with the subject, reducing appropriately sized weapon damage. Dropped and thrown items revert to their ordinary size under the legacy spell’s rules. Size-change effects of the same kind do not stack, and this spell counters and dispels Enlarge Person. A target must be a humanoid; other creature types are not automatically eligible.
Example: At caster level 9, a wizard can reduce up to nine humanoids in Close range, if no two selected targets are more than 30 feet apart. A Medium scout becomes Small, gaining Dexterity +2 and Strength –2 as well as the normal size adjustments.
Grouping: Every selected subject must be in the spell’s Close range, and the targets must also satisfy the restriction that no pair is separated by more than 30 feet. Target count is not an area radius. A reduced Tiny creature may have a reach of 0 feet, requiring it to enter a foe’s square for melee attacks under the applicable reach rules.
Playing the Change in Size
Decide where each recipient stands when the spell begins and how they move afterward. A character who changes size cannot always fit through the same opening or wield a weapon in the same way. The group must also know how long the magic lasts. A transformation that solves one obstacle may create another on the way back.
Adventure Hooks
The Hidden Watercourse
An old culvert leads beneath a fortress. The scouts can fit only while reduced, and the witch who cast the spell warns them that it will end before the next bell.
Small at the King’s Table
A group of spies shrinks before entering an occupied great hall. Their tiny size helps them pass unseen beneath the benches, but a hunting dog has already scented them.
Related Magic
The single-target original is Reduce Person. The opposite group spell is Mass Enlarge Person. The two mass spells retain their independent published legacy rules; do not assume one is a dispel effect for every other size-changing spell in later editions.
Sources and Licensing
This legacy spell includes Open Game Content licensed under the Open Game License v1.0a, as identified by the original page. Original rules references: D&D 3.5e Mass Reduce Person and Pathfinder 1e Reduce Person, Mass. Modern rules references: D&D 2024 Enlarge/Reduce and D&D 2014 Enlarge/Reduce. The narrative encounters and examples are original.
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