Evocation • The breaking note

Shatter Spell

Glass bursts into scattered fragments against a black background. — A sharp resonance breaks brittle glass.

A ringing note cracks glass and turns a crowded chamber into a storm of fragments. Shatter is a level-2 Bard spell across all four editions, with sharply different rules for creatures, objects, and areas.

At a Glance

5.5e / 2024	Bard 2 • 3d8 Thunder • 10-foot-radius Sphere • Constructs save with Disadvantage
5e / 2014	Bard 2 • inorganic creatures save with disadvantage
Pathfinder 1e	Bard 2 • brittle-object area, single object, or crystalline creature
D&D 3.5e	Bard 2 • weight-limited objects or up to 10d6 sonic versus a crystalline creature
Browse	Bard class and spell catalogue • Cleric spells • Cleric class

Spell Rules by Edition

5.5e / 20245e / 2014Pathfinder 1eD&D 3.5e

Shatter — 5.5e / 2024

Bard spell level 2. Standard class lists are shown below; Cleric access in this edition depends on domain or subclass features. Edition source.

Spell	Level 2 Evocation (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard)
Casting Time	Action
Range	60 feet
Components	V, S, M (a chip of mica)
Duration	Instantaneous

A loud noise erupts from a point of your choice within range. Each creature in a 10-foot-radius Sphere centered there makes a Constitution saving throw, taking 3d8 Thunder damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. A Construct has Disadvantage on the save. A nonmagical object that isn’t being worn or carried also takes the damage if it’s in the spell’s area.

Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. The damage increases by 1d8 for each spell slot level above 2.

Shatter — 5e / 2014

Bard spell level 2. Standard class lists are shown below; Cleric access in this edition depends on domain or subclass features. Edition source.

Spell	2nd-level evocation (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard)
Casting Time	1 action
Range	60 feet
Components	V, S, M (a chip of mica)
Duration	Instantaneous

A sudden loud ringing noise, painfully intense, erupts from a point of your choice within range. Each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Constitution saving throw. A creature takes 3d8 thunder damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature made of inorganic material such as stone, crystal, or metal has disadvantage on this saving throw. A nonmagical object that isn’t being worn or carried also takes the damage if it’s in the spell’s area.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 2nd.

Shatter — Pathfinder 1e

Bard and Cleric spell level 2. Edition source.

School	evocation [sonic]
Level	Arcanist 2, Bard 2, Bloodrager 2, Cleric 2, Magus 2, Occultist 2, Oracle 2, Psychic 2, Skald 2, Sorcerer 2, Warpriest 2, Wizard 2
Casting Time	1 standard action
Components	V, S, M/DF (a chip of mica)
Range	close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Area or Target	5-ft.-radius spread; or one solid object or one crystalline creature
Duration	instantaneous
Saving Throw	Will negates (object); Will negates (object) or Fortitude half; see text
Spell Resistance	yes

Shatter creates a loud, ringing noise that breaks brittle, nonmagical objects; sunders a single solid, nonmagical object; or damages a crystalline creature.

Used as an area attack, shatter destroys nonmagical objects of crystal, glass, ceramic, or porcelain. All such unattended objects within a 5-foot radius of the point of origin are smashed into dozens of pieces by the spell. Objects weighing more than 1 pound per your level are not affected, but all other objects of the appropriate composition are shattered.

Alternatively, you can target shatter against a single solid nonmagical object, regardless of composition, weighing up to 10 pounds per caster level. Targeted against a crystalline creature (of any weight), shatter deals 1d6 points of sonic damage per caster level (maximum 10d6), with a Fortitude save for half damage.

Shatter — D&D 3.5e

Bard and Cleric spell level 2. Edition source.

School	Evocation [Sonic]
Level	Bard 2, Chaos domain 2, Cleric 2, Destruction domain 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2
Components	V, S, M/DF
Casting Time	1 standard action
Range	Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Area or Target	5-ft.-radius spread; or one solid object or one crystalline creature
Duration	Instantaneous
Saving Throw	Will negates (object); Will negates (object) or Fortitude half; see text
Spell Resistance	Yes (object)

Shatter creates a loud, ringing noise that breaks brittle, nonmagical objects; sunders a single solid, nonmagical object; or damages a crystalline creature.

Used as an area attack, shatter destroys nonmagical objects of crystal, glass, ceramic, or porcelain. All such objects within a 5-foot radius of the point of origin are smashed into dozens of pieces by the spell. Objects weighing more than 1 pound per your level are not affected, but all other objects of the appropriate composition are shattered.

Alternatively, you can target shatter against a single solid object, regardless of composition, weighing up to 10 pounds per caster level. Targeted against a crystalline creature (of any weight), shatter deals 1d6 points of sonic damage per caster level (maximum 10d6), with a Fortitude save for half damage.

Arcane Material Component: A chip of mica.

What Changed

The 2024 spell imposes Disadvantage on Constructs. The 2014 spell instead imposes disadvantage on creatures made of inorganic material such as stone, crystal, or metal, and also appears on the Warlock list. Both modern spells damage all creatures in a 10-foot-radius area, plus nonmagical objects that are not worn or carried; higher slots add 1d8 damage per slot level above 2.

Pathfinder and 3.5 offer three different uses: break appropriately brittle objects in a 5-foot-radius spread, target a single solid object within the weight limit, or deal level-scaled sonic damage to a crystalline creature. Those older versions do not deal their creature damage to every creature in an area.

Practical Use

Place the area carefully. Modern Shatter can hurt allies and damage unattended belongings. Choose a point that includes the threat while avoiding people or objects the party needs intact.

Check the target category. Constructs in 2024, inorganic creatures in 2014, and crystalline creatures in the legacy rules are different tests.

Use the correct object limit. Legacy area destruction affects suitable objects up to 1 pound per caster level; the single-object option reaches 10 pounds per level. Pathfinder’s area text specifically requires unattended objects.

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.

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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.