Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 8 hours
You touch a willing creature who isn't wearing armor, and a protective magical force surrounds it until the spell ends. The target's base AC becomes 13 + its Dexterity modifier. The spell ends if the target dons armor or if you dismiss the spell as an action.
Material Component:
a piece of cured leather
Verbal Component:
Expecto Medeis Armatus
Verbal Component (Alternative):
I summon magic to aid and protect, armor of steel to help deflect.
Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard, Rogue
Domain: Strength
Tags: Buff, Warding
Source: Player's Handbook [5th Edition] (page 256)
View Mage Armor Spell Card
(New Window? )
Return to Previous Page
Spell FAQs
Below are commonly asked questions about this spell. Some of the information is pulled official D&D sources (such as books and the twitter feeds of D&D officials), but other information is derived from forums and online discussions. As always, it is up to the DM to decide how they wish to spell questions. If you have a FAQ about this spell that you feel other DM's may wish to know, please send us the message!
Can you use a shield with mage armor?
As per the Sage Advice Compendium:
Mage armor works with a shield.
Does Unarmored Defense work with a spell like mage armor?
Unarmored Defense doesn't work with mage armor. The Sage Advice Compendium explains:
You might be asking yourself, "Why don't they work together? Mage armor specifies that it works on a creature who isn’t wearing armor." It's true that the target of mage armor must be unarmored, but mage armor gives you a new way to calculate your AC (13 + your Dexterity modifier) and is therefore incompatible with Unarmored Defense or any other feature that provides an AC calculation.
Does the mage armor spell provide actual armor?
Mage armor surrounds the target with a "protective magical force"; the spell doesn't provide armor.
Some spells and class features have figurative, not literal, names. The text of the spell or class feature explains what it does.
Other Planes and Effects
Below is information about this spell as it relates to other planes and area of effects (i.e. underwater). Some of the information is pulled official D&D sources (such as books and the twitter feeds of D&D officials), but other information is derived from forums and online discussions. As always, it is up to the DM to decide how they wish to handle spell effects.
Underwater - Verbal Component
Official rules have been verified by Jeremy Crawford - "No rule prohibits verbal components from working underwater. Keep in mind that if you're talking, you're not holding your breath." Hence, while submerged underwater and holding its breath, a creature can cast a spell that requires a verbal component. After casting the spell, if the creature can't breathe underwater, it immediately runs out of breath. The creature can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round).
