Enchantment • Multi-Target Influence

Mass Suggestion

Modern D&D calls this spell Mass Suggestion; PF1e and D&D 3.5e use Suggestion, Mass. All versions influence several creatures at once, but the modern spell uses a fixed group of up to twelve targets while legacy d20 scales targets with caster level.

At a Glance

2024	Mass Suggestion — Bard 6, Sorcerer 6, Wizard 6
2014	Mass Suggestion — Bard 6, Sorcerer 6, Warlock 6, Wizard 6
PF1e	Suggestion, Mass — Bard 5, Sorcerer/Wizard 6
D&D 3.5e	Suggestion, Mass — Bard 5, Sorcerer/Wizard 6
Modern targets	Up to twelve creatures
Legacy targets	One creature/level, no two more than 30 ft. apart

Choose Your Edition

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

Mass Suggestion — 5.5e / 2024

Level	6th
School	Enchantment
Casting Time	Action
Range	60 feet
Components	V, M (a snake’s tongue)
Duration	24 hours
Classes	Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard

Give a course of activity in no more than 25 words to twelve or fewer creatures you can see within range that can hear and understand you. The suggestion must sound achievable and cannot obviously deal damage to the targets or their allies.

Each target makes a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it has the Charmed condition and pursues the suggestion to the best of its ability. The effect ends for a target when it completes the task or when you or your allies damage it.

Higher-level slots: 7th level extends the duration to 10 days, 8th to 30 days, and 9th to 366 days.

Mass Suggestion — 5e / 2014

Level	6th
School	Enchantment
Casting Time	1 action
Range	60 feet
Components	V, M (a snake’s tongue and either a bit of honeycomb or a drop of sweet oil)
Duration	24 hours
Classes	Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Suggest a course of activity to up to twelve creatures that can hear and understand you. Creatures immune to being charmed are immune. The wording must make the activity sound reasonable, and obviously harmful instructions negate the effect.

Each target makes a Wisdom saving throw and follows the instruction on a failure. Damage from you or your companions ends the spell for that creature.

Higher levels: 7th level lasts 10 days, 8th level 30 days, and 9th level a year and a day.

Suggestion, Mass — Pathfinder 1e

School	Enchantment (Compulsion) [Language-Dependent, Mind-Affecting]
Level	Bard 5, Sorcerer/Wizard 6
Range	Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Targets	One creature/level, no two more than 30 ft. apart

This spell functions like Suggestion, except that it can affect several creatures. The same suggestion applies to every target.

Use the Pathfinder 1e Suggestion rules for casting time, components, duration, saving throw and spell resistance unless this mass version changes them.

Suggestion, Mass — D&D 3.5e

School	Enchantment (Compulsion) [Language-Dependent, Mind-Affecting]
Level	Bard 5, Sorcerer/Wizard 6
Range	Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Targets	One creature/level, no two more than 30 ft. apart

The 3.5e spell functions like Suggestion, except that it affects multiple creatures. Every target receives the same suggestion.

The legacy spell therefore scales by caster level rather than using the modern fixed twelve-target limit.

What Changed?

2024: explicit 25-word limit, explicit Charmed condition, simplified material component, and Warlock removed from the normal class list.
2014: one or two sentences rather than a 25-word cap; charm immunity is stated directly; Warlock still has normal access.
PF1e / 3.5e: the spell is named Suggestion, Mass, scales to one target per caster level, and uses the underlying Suggestion rules.

Using Mass Suggestion

The spell is strongest when one achievable instruction can redirect an entire group: leave the gate, abandon a search, return home, carry a message, surrender a position or perform some other non-obviously harmful task.

Modern editions reward concise wording. The targets still act according to their own capabilities and understanding, so a carefully framed instruction is more reliable than an elaborate chain of conditional commands.

Because damage from the caster’s side ends the effect for an affected creature in modern rules, coordinate the party before casting. The spell works best when allies know not to immediately attack the creatures you just influenced.

Using Mass Suggestion in Play

Mass Suggestion rewards concise instructions and coordination. Decide exactly what behaviour you want before casting, keep the wording achievable, and warn allies not to immediately damage creatures whose obedience depends on remaining unharmed. In intrigue it can disperse a crowd or redirect guards; in combat it is strongest when it removes opponents from the fight rather than merely changing who they attack.

Related Magic

Suggestion — the single-target lower-level version.
Mass Charm Monster — legacy mass charm rather than instruction.
Bard Spells — modern and legacy Bard access.
Sorcerer and Wizard Spells — modern and legacy arcane access.

← Witch Spell Lists

Sources and Licensing

D&D 2024 Basic Rules — Mass Suggestion. SRD 5.2 material is available under CC BY 4.0.
D&D 2014 Basic Rules — Mass Suggestion. SRD 5.1 material is available under CC BY 4.0.
Pathfinder 1e Core Rulebook — Suggestion, Mass. Open Game Content under OGL v1.0a.
D&D 3.5 SRD — Suggestion, Mass. Open Game Content under OGL v1.0a.

Mythical Context

Peitho personified persuasion in Greek stories and was associated with Aphrodite. A spell that turns a crowd toward a shared course of action is most unsettling when it replaces public judgement with a voice that sounds reasonable to every listener. See classical references to Peitho.

Historical Context

The London Magical Papyrus, copied in Roman-period Egypt, contains written recipes intended to attract affection or favour. It provides evidence for historical beliefs in persuasive magic, not evidence that an entire gathering could be compelled to obey a speaker. See the British Museum’s London Magical Papyrus.