Illusion • Phantasmal Terror • Fear Magic
Weird
Weird turns a crowd’s worst nightmares against them. In modern D&D, its psychic damage and frightened condition are resolved by Wisdom saves. Older d20 editions use a deadly mass phantasmal-killer effect and an independent Fortitude save. Never mix the two.
Weird at a Glance
| 5.5e / 2024 | 9th-level Illusion, Warlock and Wizard; 10d10 initial Psychic damage on a failed Wisdom save |
|---|---|
| 5e / 2014 | 9th-level Illusion, Wizard; frightened targets risk 4d10 Psychic damage at the end of their turns |
| Pathfinder 1e | Sorcerer/Wizard 9; mass phantasmal killer, Will disbelief then Fortitude partial |
| D&D 3.5e | Sorcerer/Wizard 9; mass phantasmal killer, Will disbelief then Fortitude partial |
| Legacy Witch archive | Preserved at Witch 9 in the historical archive, not added to default Pathfinder or 2024 Witch lists |
Spell Rules by Edition
Weird — 5.5e / 2024
| Level | 9th-level Illusion |
|---|---|
| Classes | Warlock, Wizard |
| Casting Time | Action |
| Range | 120 feet |
| Area | 30-foot-radius Sphere |
| Components | V, S |
| Duration | Concentration, up to 1 minute |
| Saving Throw | Wisdom |
Each creature of your choice in the sphere makes a Wisdom saving throw. Failure: 10d10 Psychic damage and the Frightened condition for the spell’s duration. Success: half the initial damage, with no Frightened condition. A Frightened target repeats its Wisdom save at the end of each turn: it suffers 5d10 Psychic damage on a failure, or ends the spell on itself on success.
Counterplay: maintaining concentration is essential; protections and immunity against being Frightened must be adjudicated under 2024 rules rather than the older death-effect rules. 2024 Weird rules.
Weird — 5e / 2014
| Level | 9th-level Illusion |
|---|---|
| Classes | Wizard |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Range | 120 feet |
| Area | 30-foot-radius sphere |
| Components | V, S |
| Duration | Concentration, up to 1 minute |
| Saving Throw | Wisdom |
Creatures in the area make a Wisdom save. A failure frightens the target. At the end of each frightened creature’s turns it repeats the Wisdom save: failure inflicts 4d10 Psychic damage, while success ends the effect on that creature. Unlike 2024, there is no immediate 10d10 damage roll on the initial save.
Weird — Pathfinder 1e
| School | Illusion (Phantasm) [fear, mind-affecting] |
|---|---|
| Level | Sorcerer/Wizard 9 |
| Components | V, S |
| Casting Time | 1 standard action |
| Range | Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) |
| Targets | Any number of creatures, no two more than 30 feet apart |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw | Will disbelief, then Fortitude partial |
| Spell Resistance | Yes |
As Phantasmal Killer, except affecting multiple creatures. A victim who fails its disbelief save confronts an imagined terrifying assailant. A failed Fortitude save can prove fatal; even a successful Fortitude save causes 3d6 damage, 1 round of stun, and 1d4 Strength damage. Creatures that resist the mind-affecting, fear or illusion mechanism use Pathfinder’s immunities and countermeasures.
Weird — D&D 3.5e
| School | Illusion (Phantasm) [Fear, Mind-Affecting] |
|---|---|
| Level | Sorcerer/Wizard 9 |
| Components | V, S |
| Casting Time | 1 standard action |
| Range | Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) |
| Targets | Any number of creatures, none more than 30 feet from another target |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw | Will disbelief, then Fortitude partial |
| Spell Resistance | Yes |
This uses the D&D 3.5e Phantasmal Killer procedure on several targets. A victim who survives its Fortitude save still takes 3d6 damage, is stunned for 1 round and takes 1d4 temporary Strength damage. Unlike 2024 and 2014, it is not an ongoing concentration spell.
The historical spell text is retained below. D&D 3.5 Weird rules.
What Changed?
2024: heavy initial psychic damage and a recurring 5d10 threat; 2014: 4d10 on failed end-of-turn saves without initial damage; PF1e / 3.5e: instantaneous phantasmal terror, Fortitude saves, and an explicit risk of death.
Using Weird in Play
Players: cast against groups where controlling space or disrupting concentration is worthwhile; favour enemies without strong Wisdom defences. GM: give each affected creature a frightening vision that fits its story without rewriting the saving throw or letting hallucinations physically act. Fear immunity, perception, illusion disbelief, Counterspell and Dispel Magic differ by edition.
Related Magic
Rules Sources and Licensing
2024 Weird follows SRD 5.2.1 under CC BY 4.0. The 2014 rules follow SRD 5.1. PF1e follows the Core Rulebook and 3.5e the 3.5 SRD, using OGL v1.0a. The old 3.5e details are preserved below, not silently blended with modern variants.
Mythical Context
Morpheus appears to dreamers in the form of someone they recognise, making dream and apparent reality difficult to distinguish. Weird turns such phantasms against several victims at once, with each confronted by a personal nightmare. See the Metropolitan Museum’s Morpheus and Alcyone image.
Historical Context
Papyrus Chester Beatty III, dating to about 1220 BCE, preserves Egyptian methods for interpreting dreams. It demonstrates how older societies recorded and classified nightmares and visions; it does not establish spells that produce shared lethal hallucinations. See the British Museum’s Chester Beatty Dream Book.
Legacy D&D 3.5e Original Spell Text
This material is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
Illusion (Phantasm) [Fear, Mind-Affecting]
Level Sorcerer/Wizard 9
Targets Any number of creatures, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart
- This spell functions like phantasmal killer, except it can affect more than one creature. Only the affected creatures see the phantasmal creatures attacking them, though you see the attackers as shadowy shapes.
- If a subject’s Fortitude save succeeds, it still takes 3d6 points of damage and is stunned for 1 round. The subject also takes 1d4 points of temporary Strength damage.
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