Spell Reference
Wish
Wish is reality altered by a single act of will. It can reproduce lesser magic with extraordinary freedom, impose effects few other spells can match, or reach beyond defined limits into consequences that no formula can make completely safe.
Wish Mechanics
Quick Ruling
The safest current use of Wish is duplicating another spell of level 8 or lower. That use avoids Wish stress entirely. The spell’s other defined effects and any attempt to reshape reality beyond them trigger the stress rules.
Choose the rules set in play. The three versions below are kept separate because their costs, spell-duplication limits, item-creation rules, resurrection options and consequences are not interchangeable.
Wish — 5.5e / 2024
Available to: Sorcerer, Wizard.
Defined Effects
- Spell Duplication Duplicate any spell of level 8 or lower without meeting that spell’s casting requirements.
- Object Creation Create one nonmagical object worth no more than 25,000 GP. No dimension can exceed 300 feet, and it appears in an unoccupied space you can see on the ground.
- Instant Health You and as many as twenty visible creatures regain all Hit Points and end the effects covered by Greater Restoration in the Wish description.
- Resistance Grant as many as ten visible creatures Resistance to one chosen damage type. The Resistance is permanent.
- Spell Immunity Grant as many as ten visible creatures immunity to one chosen spell or other magical effect for 8 hours.
- Sudden Learning Replace one of your feats with another feat for which you qualify. A feat cannot be replaced if another feat or feature depends on it as a prerequisite.
- Roll Redo Force a reroll of a die roll made within the last round. You may impose Advantage or Disadvantage on that reroll and then choose whether the original or new result applies.
- Reshape Reality State a desired effect beyond the defined options. The DM determines what reality can actually sustain and how the wording, scale and consequences resolve.
Rulings and Edge Cases
Do the printed alternative effects avoid stress?
No. Object Creation, Instant Health, Resistance, Spell Immunity, Sudden Learning and Roll Redo all count as uses other than spell duplication and therefore trigger Wish stress.
Can Wish create a magic item?
Not through Object Creation. That effect explicitly creates a nonmagical object. A request for a magic item therefore falls outside the defined safe effects and belongs under Reshape Reality, where the DM decides whether it succeeds and what consequences follow.
Is permanent Resistance dispellable?
The Resistance effect is instantaneous and expressly permanent rather than a continuing duration. Ordinary dispelling therefore does not function as a routine switch that removes it.
Can Sudden Learning replace any feat?
The replacement feat must be one for which you are eligible. You also cannot remove a feat that acts as a prerequisite for one of your other feats or features.
Can Roll Redo affect a Critical Hit or failed save?
Yes, provided the relevant roll occurred within the last round. The result can be rerolled with Advantage or Disadvantage, and the caster decides whether reality keeps the original result or the reroll.
Does the DM automatically twist every Wish?
No. The broad latitude and unforeseen-consequence language belongs to Reshape Reality. The spell’s defined effects already state what they do and should be resolved according to those rules.
How large can Reshape Reality become?
There is no universal numerical ceiling. The spell specifically warns that effects with community-, region- or world-scale consequences can attract powerful opposition. Attempts to affect gods or the structure of the multiverse can provoke intervention or simply fail.
Wish — Pathfinder 1e
Range, target, effect, area, duration and saving throw: see the effect being produced. Some listed uses allow saves or Spell Resistance where specified.
Spell Duplication
| Duplicated spell | Maximum level |
|---|---|
| Sorcerer/Wizard spell not from an opposition school | 8th |
| Spell from another class list not from an opposition school | 7th |
| Sorcerer/Wizard spell from an opposition school | 7th |
| Spell from another class list and an opposition school | 6th |
A duplicated spell uses its normal saving throw and Spell Resistance rules, but its save DC is calculated as a 9th-level spell. If the duplicated spell requires a material component costing more than 10,000 gp, that component must be supplied in addition to Wish’s 25,000 gp diamond.
Other Defined Uses
- Undo the harmful effects of many other spells.
- Grant a +1 inherent bonus to one ability score. Two to five Wishes cast in immediate succession can produce an inherent bonus of +2 through +5. A single ability score cannot receive more than a +5 inherent bonus, and inherent bonuses to the same score do not stack.
- Remove injuries and afflictions from as many as one creature per caster level, provided every creature is being cured of the same kind of problem.
- Revive the dead by duplicating Resurrection. If the body has been destroyed, one Wish can recreate the body and a second can restore life.
- Transport as many as one creature per caster level from anywhere on any plane to another location on any plane. Unwilling creatures may resist with a Will save and Spell Resistance.
- Undo a recent event by forcing a reroll of a roll made within the last round.
Rulings and Edge Cases
Can Pathfinder Wish create or improve a magic item?
Not as one of the core spell’s defined options. Do not import the explicit magic-item creation clause from D&D 3.5e into this version.
Can Wish create a 25,000 gp mundane object?
The Pathfinder core spell does not list the 3.5e nonmagical-item creation option either. A request of that kind goes beyond its defined effects and is subject to GM adjudication.
Can one Wish heal damage and remove poison from the whole party?
Not as two different mass effects in one casting. The affected creatures must all receive the same kind of injury or affliction removal from that use.
Can a destroyed body be restored?
Yes, but it takes two Wishes: one reconstructs the body and another restores life. The normal permanent negative level from Resurrection is not automatically avoided.
Does Undo Misfortune guarantee a better result?
No. It forces a reroll, but the new result can be as bad as or worse than the original. An unwilling affected creature receives the applicable Will save and Spell Resistance.
Mythic Wish
Casting a mythic spell normally requires the expenditure of one use of mythic power. The additional Mythic Wish options below can require further uses of mythic power as specified.
A mythic caster who knows the mythic form of Wish can use it to duplicate a mythic spell that the caster knows or has prepared. If the required mythic spell is not known or prepared, a second use of mythic power can be spent to duplicate its mythic version.
- Afflictions: additional uses of mythic power can remove additional kinds of affliction from every creature affected by the Wish.
- Reviving the dead: a second use of mythic power can prevent the permanent negative level normally caused by Resurrection.
- Alter Fate: spend a second use of mythic power to cast Mythic Wish as an immediate action before a d20 roll and choose the number that appears on the die.
- Augmented: by expending two uses of mythic power, the caster can produce a silent and stilled Mythic Wish even while helpless or otherwise unable to act, but not while unconscious.
Wish — D&D 3.5e
Spell Duplication
| Duplicated spell | Maximum level |
|---|---|
| Sorcerer/Wizard spell not from a prohibited school | 8th |
| Spell from another class list not from a prohibited school | 6th |
| Sorcerer/Wizard spell from a prohibited school | 7th |
| Spell from another class list and a prohibited school | 5th |
Duplicated spells retain their normal saving throw and Spell Resistance rules, while their save DCs are treated as those of 9th-level spells. A duplicated spell whose material component costs more than 10,000 gp still requires that component.
Other Defined Uses
- Undo harmful effects of many other spells.
- Create a nonmagical item worth up to 25,000 gp.
- Create a magic item or add new powers to an existing magic item.
- Grant a +1 inherent bonus to an ability score, with two to five successive Wishes allowing +2 through +5. The maximum inherent bonus to one ability score is +5.
- Remove injuries and afflictions from one creature per caster level, with every subject receiving the same kind of restoration.
- Revive the dead. A destroyed body requires two Wishes: one to restore the body and one to restore life.
- Move as many as one creature per caster level from anywhere on any plane to anywhere else on any plane. Unwilling targets receive a Will save and Spell Resistance.
- Undo a recent event by forcing a reroll of a roll made within the previous round.
Rulings and Edge Cases
Can Wish create a magic item?
Yes. This version explicitly permits creating a magic item or adding abilities to an existing one. Apply the special XP cost for magic-item creation or improvement.
Can Wish create mundane wealth?
It can create a nonmagical item worth up to 25,000 gp. The spell does not convert that rule into permission to create an arbitrarily valuable object.
Can Wish restore XP spent on a spell?
No. Its injury-and-affliction option cannot restore XP lost through spellcasting, nor can it restore the level or Constitution loss associated with being returned from death.
Can a destroyed body be brought back?
Yes, with two Wishes: one recreates the body and the second restores life.
Does Undo Misfortune guarantee success?
No. The forced reroll may be worse than the original. An unwilling target may resist the effect where the spell specifies a Will save and Spell Resistance.
The Rules That Must Stay Separate
| Question | 5.5e / 2024 | Pathfinder 1e | D&D 3.5e |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base casting cost | No costly component | 25,000 gp diamond | Minimum 5,000 XP |
| Best unrestricted spell duplication | Any spell level 8 or lower | Sorcerer/Wizard 8th | Sorcerer/Wizard 8th |
| Other-list duplication | Included in the universal level-8 ceiling | 7th, or 6th if opposition school applies | 6th, or 5th if prohibited school applies |
| Create a nonmagical item | Yes, up to 25,000 GP with size limits | Not a defined core option | Yes, up to 25,000 gp |
| Create or improve a magic item | Not through Object Creation | Not a defined core option | Explicitly yes |
| Permanent inherent ability bonus | Not a defined option | Yes, up to +5 | Yes, up to +5 |
| Destroyed-body resurrection | Not a standalone defined option | Two Wishes | Two Wishes |
| Explicit planar transport | Not a standalone defined option | Yes | Yes |
| Feat replacement | Sudden Learning | No | No |
| Risk for defined non-duplication effects | Wish stress and 33% permanent-loss chance | 25,000 gp component already paid | XP expenditure |
Using Wish at the Table
The spell is easiest to adjudicate when the desired result is classified before the caster begins arguing about wording. First decide whether the request is simply another spell, one of Wish’s expressly defined results, or something beyond those limits.
Duplicate First
If an existing lower-level spell already produces the desired result, use that route. It gives the table a complete set of targeting, duration, saving throw and interaction rules rather than forcing a new effect to be invented.
Define the Result
For a bespoke wish, describe the desired end state rather than burying the request under pages of defensive legal language. Precision matters, but the spell remains magic rather than a contract-writing minigame.
Respect Existing Powers
A wish that rewrites kingdoms, bypasses unique cosmic protections, steals singular artifacts or overrides divine powers is not merely a larger numerical version of ordinary spellcasting. The resulting opposition may become part of the effect itself.
Record Permanent Changes
Any lasting resistance, inherent ability increase, reconstructed body, transformed possession or other permanent outcome should be written on the character or campaign record immediately. Wish is too consequential to leave to memory.
Wishes in a Mythic World
Stories about granted wishes are older than the modern fantasy spell. Their recurring danger is rarely that the supernatural power is weak. The danger is that desire is compressed into words, and words are less complete than the life the speaker is trying to change.
Medieval European tales already use the foolish or badly spent wish as a moral and comic device. Works such as The Four Wishes of Saint Martin turn supernatural opportunity into a test of judgment: what matters is not merely receiving impossible power, but recognising what a person actually wants before the chance is gone.
In the world of 1454, scholars treat Wish as the extreme edge of learned natural philosophy: not a larger fire, stronger charm or farther journey, but an attempt to make the desired state of affairs become the real one. Courts seek it, rulers fear it, and experienced magicians understand that the wording of a wish is only the beginning. Reality still contains other wills, other powers and consequences.
Historical reference: ARLIMA — Quatre souhaits Saint Martin .
Related Magic
Rules Sources and Licensing
D&D 5.5e / 2024
This work includes material derived from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC. SRD 5.2.1 is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .
Pathfinder 1e
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook — Wish
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Mythic Adventures — Mythic Wish
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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.
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