Cat’s Grace Spell — Pathfinder 1e & D&D 3.5e
Cat’s Grace — Pathfinder & D&D 3.5e
Transmutation
Level Bard 2, Druid 2, Ranger 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2
Components V, S, M
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range Touch
Target Creature touched
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance Yes
The transmuted creature becomes more graceful, agile, and coordinated. The spell grants a +4 enhancement bonus to Dexterity, adding the usual benefits to AC, Reflex saves, and other uses of the Dexterity modifier.
Material Component A pinch of cat fur.
Cat’s Grace increases Dexterity in Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e. It is a 2nd-level touch spell, lasting one minute per caster level. In fifth-edition D&D, look to Enhance Ability instead: the name and the rules have changed.
Cat’s Grace across four editions
| Edition | What to use |
|---|---|
| D&D 2024 / 5.5e | Enhance Ability: choose Dexterity to grant Advantage on Dexterity ability checks. It does not increase the ability score or provide the older fall protection. |
| D&D 2014 / 5e | Enhance Ability has a named Cat’s Grace option. It grants advantage on Dexterity checks and prevents damage from a fall of 20 feet or less while the target is not incapacitated; it does not add +4 to Dexterity. |
| Pathfinder 1e | Cat’s Grace is its own 2nd-level Transmutation spell for bard, druid, ranger and sorcerer/wizard. Touch one creature to grant a +4 enhancement bonus to Dexterity for 1 minute per caster level. Verbal, somatic and cat-fur material components; Will negates (harmless); spell resistance applies. |
| D&D 3.5e | The 2nd-level Cat’s Grace spell uses the same core +4 Dexterity enhancement, touch range, one-minute-per-level duration and cat-fur material component. Its complete legacy statistics are given above. |
Using the spell at the table
In Pathfinder and 3.5e, a +4 Dexterity bonus normally raises the creature’s Dexterity modifier by 2. That may improve Reflex saves, initiative, ranged attacks and Dexterity-based skills; any benefit to Armour Class remains subject to armour limits and other rules. Two enhancement bonuses to the same ability do not stack. Cast the spell before a hazardous climb, an ambush or a difficult escape when a few minutes of greater agility will matter.
In 2014 and 2024 D&D, Advantage on a Dexterity check is not a bonus to Dexterity itself. It can help with initiative, which is a Dexterity check, but it does not directly improve Armour Class or Dexterity saving throws. The editions should not be mixed in one character’s spell statistics.
Related magic and sources
For the corresponding modern spell, see Enhance Ability. For another legacy ability-enhancing spell, see Bull’s Strength.
Rules references: Pathfinder 1e Core Rulebook — Cat’s Grace; D&D 3.5e SRD — Cat’s Grace; D&D 2014 — Enhance Ability; D&D 2024 — Enhance Ability. The Pathfinder and 3.5e spell references contain Open Game Content under OGL v1.0a; their respective source licences and copyright notices apply. The Franz Marc illustration and its existing credit above are retained.
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