Level 2 •
Enchantment (Ritual
)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 ft
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 24 hours
By means of this spell, you use an animal to deliver a message. Choose a Tiny beast you can see within range, such as a squirrel, a blue jay, or a bat. You specify a location, which you must have visited, and a recipient who matches a general description, such as "a man or woman dressed in the uniform of the town guard" or "a red-haired dwarf wearing a pointed hat." You also speak a message of up to twenty-five words. The target beast travels for the duration of the spell toward the specified location, covering about 50 miles per 24 hours for a flying messenger, or 25 miles for other animals.
When the messenger arrives, it delivers your message to the creature that you described, replicating the sound of your voice. The messenger speaks only to a creature matching the description you gave. If the messenger doesn't reach its destination before the spell ends, the message is lost, and the beast makes its way back to where you cast this spell.
If you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the duration of the spell increases by 48 hours for each slot level above 2nd.
Material Component:
a morsel of food
Verbal Component:
Annuntiatio di Bestia
Verbal Component (Alternative):
This may seem a little radical, deliver this message my friendly animal.
Classes: Bard, Druid, Ranger, Rogue
Domain: Nature
Tags: Communication, Social
Source: Player's Handbook [5th Edition] (page 212)
View Animal Messenger 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 an animal messenger wait around to deliver its message?
There are no official rulings on this spell, so the best we can do it make one using the rules we have. The short answer is: The animal will wander around the specified location, looking for the recipient, until the spell duration ends (24 hours).
Animal messenger requires two things:
You specify a location, which you must have visited, and a recipient who matches a general description, such as "a man or woman dressed in the uniform of the town guard" or "a red-haired dwarf wearing a pointed hat."
The description continues:
If the messenger doesn't reach its destination before the spell ends, the message is lost, and the beast makes its way back to where you cast this spell.
One could argue that the
destination here is both the location
and recipient. You have told the animal where to go and who to look for, the message has not reached its destination until it has arrived at the recipient. So the animal may continue to "travel" to its destination, the recipient, in the given location until the spell ends.
Then, if not found, the message is lost when the spell ends and the animal returns.
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).
