Bard Magic • Spell Reference

Stinking Cloud Spell

Nauseating Fog and Battlefield Control

Green clouds of ink curl across a black background.
Engin_Akyurt / Pixabay — the page’s original green-ink photograph.

Stinking Cloud fills an area with obscuring, nauseating gas. Its modern action restrictions differ from the lasting Nauseated effect in Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e.

Stinking Cloud at a Glance

Bard accessLevel 3 in 2024 and 2014; absent from the standard legacy Bard lists.
RoleArea obstruction, obscured sight and action disruption.
ResistanceConstitution in modern D&D; Fortitude in the legacy games.
DurationConcentration, up to 1 minute in modern D&D; 1 round/level in legacy games.
CounterplayLeave the area, disperse it with wind or end the spell under the relevant edition’s rules.

Spell Rules by Edition

Stinking Cloud — 5.5e / 2024

Rules source: System Reference Document 5.2.1.

Level & school3rd-level Conjuration
ClassesBard, Sorcerer, Wizard
Casting timeAction
Range90 feet
Area20-foot-radius sphere
ComponentsV, S, M (a rotten egg)
DurationConcentration, up to 1 minute

A yellow, nauseating cloud fills a 20-foot-radius Sphere centred on a point within range. Its area is Heavily Obscured. The cloud remains for the duration unless a strong wind, such as Gust of Wind, disperses it.

Every creature starting its turn in the Sphere makes a Constitution saving throw. Failure gives it the Poisoned condition until the end of that turn. While Poisoned by this spell, it cannot take an action or a Bonus Action.

Stinking Cloud — 5e / 2014

Rules source: System Reference Document 5.1.

Level & school3rd-level Conjuration
ClassesBard, Sorcerer, Wizard
Casting time1 action
Range90 feet
Area20-foot-radius sphere
ComponentsV, S, M (a rotten egg or several skunk cabbage leaves)
DurationConcentration, up to 1 minute

A sphere of yellow, nauseating gas appears around a point within range, spreads around corners and makes its area heavily obscured. It lingers in the air for the duration.

A creature completely within the cloud when its turn starts makes a Constitution saving throw against poison. On failure, it spends that turn’s action retching and reeling. A creature that does not need to breathe or is immune to poison succeeds automatically.

A moderate wind of at least 10 mph disperses the cloud after 4 rounds. A strong wind of at least 20 mph disperses it after 1 round.

Stinking Cloud — Pathfinder 1e

Rules source: Archives of Nethys — Stinking Cloud.

SchoolConjuration (Creation) [Poison]
LevelArcanist 3, Bloodrager 3, Magus 3, Shaman 3, Sorcerer 3, Unchained Summoner 3, Witch 3, Wizard 3
ComponentsV, S, M (a rotten egg or cabbage leaves)
Casting time1 standard action
RangeMedium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
EffectCloud spreads in a 20-ft. radius, 20 ft. high
Duration1 round/level
Saving throwFortitude negates; see text
Spell ResistanceNo

Stinking cloud creates a bank of fog like that created by fog cloud, except that the vapors are nauseating.

  • Living creatures in the cloud become nauseated. This condition lasts as long as the creature is in the cloud and for 1d4+1 rounds after it leaves. (Roll separately for each nauseated character.) Any creature that succeeds on its save but remains in the cloud must continue to save each round on your turn.
  • Stinking cloud can be made permanent with a permanency spell. A permanent stinking cloud dispersed by wind reforms in 10 minutes.

This is a poison effect.

Inherited Fog Cloud Rules

The fog blocks sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. Creatures within 5 feet have concealment, producing a 20% miss chance; creatures farther away have total concealment, producing a 50% miss chance and preventing sight from locating them.

A moderate wind of 11+ mph disperses the fog in 4 rounds; a strong wind of 21+ mph disperses it in 1 round. It does not function underwater. These limits follow the legacy Fog Cloud effect referenced by the spell.

Rules source: Archives of Nethys — Fog Cloud.

Stinking Cloud — D&D 3.5e

Rules source: Revised System Reference Document — Stinking Cloud.

SchoolConjuration (Creation)
LevelSorcerer/Wizard 3
ComponentsV, S, M
Casting time1 standard action
RangeMedium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
EffectCloud spreads in a 20-ft. radius, 20 ft. high
Duration1 round/level
Saving throwFortitude negates; see text
Spell ResistanceNo

Stinking cloud creates a bank of fog like that created by fog cloud, except that the vapors are nauseating.

  • Living creatures in the cloud become nauseated. This condition lasts as long as the creature is in the cloud and for 1d4+1 rounds after it leaves. (Roll separately for each nauseated character.) Any creature that succeeds on its save but remains in the cloud must continue to save each round on your turn.
  • Stinking cloud can be made permanent with a permanency spell. A permanent stinking cloud dispersed by wind reforms in 10 minutes.

Material Component A rotten egg or several skunk cabbage leaves.

Inherited Fog Cloud Rules

The fog blocks sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. Creatures within 5 feet have concealment, producing a 20% miss chance; creatures farther away have total concealment, producing a 50% miss chance and preventing sight from locating them.

A moderate wind of 11+ mph disperses the fog in 4 rounds; a strong wind of 21+ mph disperses it in 1 round. It does not function underwater. These limits follow the legacy Fog Cloud effect referenced by the spell.

Rules source: Revised System Reference Document — Fog Cloud.

What Changes by Edition?

2024A failed start-of-turn save causes Poisoned until that turn ends, with no action or Bonus Action while Poisoned this way. Strong wind disperses the cloud; this text does not give the older wind-speed schedule.
2014The save applies when a creature is completely inside at the start of its turn. Failure spends its action retching. No-breathing and poison-immune creatures automatically succeed; moderate and strong winds have explicit dispersal times.
Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5eThe cloud lasts 1 round per level. Nauseation can continue for 1d4+1 rounds after leaving. Successful saves must be repeated on the caster’s turn while the creature remains inside. Permanency and inherited Fog Cloud concealment rules apply.
Bard accessLevel 3 in both modern editions. The ordinary spell is not on the standard legacy Bard lists.

Practical Uses and Limits

Stinking Cloud combines obscured vision with an edition-specific disruption of enemy actions. Place it where enemies must stay, cross or abandon a useful position: a gate, bridge, defensive line or narrow approach.

The cloud affects qualifying creatures rather than selecting only your enemies. Plan an escape route for allies and remember that obscured sight can prevent abilities that require a visible target.

Leaving the cloud does not work the same way in every game. Modern penalties last for the stated turn; the legacy Nauseated effect has a separate 1d4+1-round tail. The fog’s duration and the victim’s lingering condition are distinct timers.

The 2024 spell omits the 2014 automatic-success clause for creatures that do not breathe. Do not carry that exemption into the revised rules. Immunity to the Poisoned condition still prevents that condition under the general rules.

Wind is a direct answer, but use the selected edition’s dispersal wording. The modern spells require Concentration; Dispel Magic and disrupting the caster are other possibilities under their own rules.

Stinking Cloud in the World of 1454

A foul cloud can empty a gatehouse, obstruct a boarding action or break the discipline of soldiers who expected a clear field of battle. Its visible presence may announce magical interference even when it leaves no direct wounds.

Guards can prepare open exits, windward positions and routes around enclosed approaches. A spellcaster must still weigh lost visibility and allied exposure against the advantage of forcing an enemy to leave a strong position.

The spell’s rotten-egg component makes its supernatural effect familiar to witnesses: a sudden bank of foul vapour where no fire, sewer or marsh should produce it. In a crowded street, panic and blocked movement can become part of the scene without adding damage to the spell.

Adventure Hooks

  • A cloud repeatedly disrupts a market gate at the precise moment a covered wagon passes through.
  • A siege engineer needs the party to approach a permanently enchanted legacy cloud, disperse it and act before it reforms.
  • A ship’s defenders must choose between a contaminated deck and abandoning the windward rail to boarders.

Rules Sources and Licensing

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

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