Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 ft
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Concentration
, up to 1 minute
Save: Charisma
You attempt to send one creature that you can see within range to another plane of existence. The target must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or be banished.
If the target is native to the plane of existence you're on, you banish the target to a harmless demiplane. While there, the target is incapacitated. The target remains there until the spell ends, at which point the target reappears in the space it left or in the nearest unoccupied space if that space is occupied.
If the target is native to a different plane of existence than the one you're on, the target is banished with a faint popping noise, returning to its home plane. If the spell ends before 1 minute has passed, the target reappears in the space it left or in the nearest unoccupied space if that space is occupied. Otherwise, the target doesn't return.
When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, you can target one additional creature for each slot level above 4th.
Material Component:
an item distasteful to the target
Verbal Component:
Expellano ti Contra Superum
Verbal Component (Alternative):
By this hex, I call you to vanish, to other realms your form I banish.
Classes: Cleric, Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, Rogue
Tags: Banishment
Source: Player's Handbook [5th Edition] (page 217)
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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 I use Dispel Magic to end Banishment?
Dispel Magic will not end the Banishment spell when cast on the spell's caster. However, it will end the Banishment effect if it were somehow cast on the banished creature (but you would have to be on the same plane as that creature).
According to Jeremy Crawford:
Dispel magic is cast on a creature, an object, or another phenomenon that is under the effect of a spell. You don't cast it on that spell's caster. To dispel a spell like banishment, you'd have to somehow cast dispel magic on the banished target.
Of course, since Banishment is a concentration spell, there are options that you could take to attempt to end the spell if you are on the same plane as the spellcaster but not as the target (like casting Magic Missile at the person concentrating on it).
And like Jeremy Crawford said, if you could somehow end up on the same plane as the banished creature, you could dispel the Banishment spell by casting
Dispel Magic on the creature.
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.
Banishment in Sigil
From Planescape Adventures in the Multiverse, Sigil and the Outlands, "Effects that banish a target from Sigil treat the target as if Sigil were its home plane."
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).
