You bless up to three creatures of your choice within range. Whenever a target makes an attack roll or a saving throw before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the attack roll or saving throw.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you can target one additional creature for each slot level above 1st.
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a sprinkling of holy water)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
School: 1st-level enchantment
Who can cast Bless? Clerics and Paladins have Bless on their spell lists, and Life Domain Clerics and Divine Soul (Law) Sorcerers always have Bless prepared. Additionally, all Divine Soul Sorcerers can learn Bless.
Player’s Handbook, pg. 219
Bless 5e
Bless is a straightforward support spell that boosts both the defensive and offensive capabilities of multiple allies. It’s just the thing you need to tip the scales in a close fight.
Bless also scales well in the middle levels, especially against enemies that have high armor or ability-based attacks.
What Does Bless Do?
Casting Bless instantly benefits 3 creatures within 30 feet of the caster. Any creature who is blessed can add 1d4 to any attack roll or saving throw for up to 1 minute, meaning blessed creatures are both offensively and defensively stronger than normal.
The average d4 roll is 2.5. That may not seem like much, but in a system of bounded accuracy, it’s actually fairly significant, from 1st level right up to 20th.
Bless lasts for 1 minute, and since a round of combat takes 6 seconds, Bless can last for up 10 rounds of combat (so long as the caster’s concentration isn’t broken).
Upcasting Bless allows +1 creatures to be targeted for each slot above 1st-level.
How Do I Use Bless 5e?
In DnD, Bless is a support spell built for combat situations. Here’s how to use Bless in DnD 5e:
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Give it to physical attackers. Any melee or ranged attacker that has a chance to attack twice (or more) in a turn will get extra mileage out of Bless’s attack buff. Sneak-attacking Rogues will also really appreciate the added chance to hit.
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Bless players who are likely to make saving throws. If you’re up against a spell-casting enemy, think about who they’re more apt to attack (and who in your party is most vulnerable).
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Use Bless early. Bless lasts for 10 whole rounds of combat if you can maintain concentration. In most scenarios, 10 rounds should see you through all or most of a melee. The earlier you use the buff, the more overall utility you’ll get out of it. Casting it right before combat breaks out is ideal, but can be tricky to time correctly.
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Avoid damage while Bless is active. If your Bless gets shut down early thanks to a botched Constitution check to maintain concentration, you’re going to lose a lot of Bless’ effectiveness. One way to make sure it lasts for the whole fight is to avoid damage (and the checks to maintain concentration) entirely.
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Bless yourself. Bless gives a bonus to Constitution saving throws as well, so if you’re worried about your concentration being broken, be sure to Bless yourself as well as your allies.
Is Bless a Good Spell?
Yes, Bless is an insanely good spell; probably the best 1st-level spell in the game, mathematically speaking. The ability to buff multiple allies’ offensive and defensive capabilities can help swing a close fight in your favor. As mentioned earlier, an average roll of +2.5 is very strong in a system of bounded accuracy.
For example, if affected creatures have a 65% base chance to hit with an attack, Bless brings that up to 77.5%; that’s a 19% damage increase for three allies (more, when you can upcast it to cover your whole party — which you totally should do). On the defensive side, going from a 65% chance to be hit down to a 52.5% means you’ll be hit 19% less often, meaning a lot less incoming damage, conditions, and other negative effects for your party.
Bless also lasts as long as most early-game bouts of combat, so it provides lasting utility for only one expended spell slot.
The only thing to look out for is creatures that will try to break your concentration. But with things like War Caster for advantage on concentration checks and using Bless on yourself to fail these checks a lot less often, Bless is actually one of the stickiest buffs in the game.
What Are the Rules for Bless 5e?
The rules for Bless in DnD 5e are as follows:
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You can add the d4 to multiple rolls in a single round. Importantly, the spell description since “whenever” you make a roll, and does not say anything about limiting the number of times you can use it per round of combat. So if you make multiple saving throws and attacks in one round of combat, you can add a d4 to each and every one of them.
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You can Bless yourself. Bless’ only stipulation is that you target creatures within range. That means any creature, including yourself. Additionally, you can use the 1d4 on the saving throw to maintain concentration on Bless — pretty nifty.
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Blessed creatures can move out of range. Once a creature is blessed, it may move outside of the spell’s initial 30-foot range and still benefit from Bless. Here’s a Sage Advice thread on the general topic of concentration spells and range.
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Bless affects death saving throws. You can add a d4 to any saving throw, which includes death saves. Here’s Jeremy Crawford confirming that death saving throws are saves. However, if you are the one who cast Bless, then the spell will end if you fall unconscious (because your concentration will be broken).
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You can add the 1d4 to any attack roll. This includes spell attacks.
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You do not need to see the creature to Bless it. However, you do still need a clear path to the target (PHB 204).
Who Can I Target With Bless?
You can target any creature within 30 feet with Bless. The creatures you target with Bless don’t have to be near each other. You can Bless one player 30 feet to your north and another 30 feet to your south at the same time.
Bless Compared to Bane
If you read the spell description for Bane, you’ll see that it’s essentially Bless in reverse. Instead of adding a d4 to attack rolls and saving throws, Bane subtracts a d4 from up to 3 enemy’s attack rolls and saving throws.
Note that enemies must first fail a Charisma saving throw or Bane does nothing. Plus, blessed allies can tactfully utilize their blessing, while you can’t control how the DM plays creatures that you’ve cast Bane on.
Because of this, you’re more likely to get greater utility out of Bless. And if you’re thinking “why not cast both and get double the advantages,” you can’t — both spells require concentration.
On the other hand, Bane is really effective for spellcaster-heavy parties. -1d4 to enemy saving throws can be just the thing to make sure that spells like Toll The Dead and Fireball land and deal full damage to enemies.
All else being equal, Bless is stronger with martial-heavy groups, while Bane is the better choice for magical parties that rely on saving throw-based spells.
Bless 5e DM Tips
The only tricky thing that might come up at your table with Bless is whether it works on Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration on itself and/or death saving throws. It works on all saving throws, so yes, it works in both of those situations.
Another thing that may come up is the material cost of Bless (a sprinkling of holy water). Clerics and Paladins can both make flasks of Holy Water by performing an hour-long ritual, expending a first-level spell slot, and using powdered silver worth 25 gp (PHB 152).
But since Bless is a level one spell and it doesn’t consume the material components, most DMs will allow that such holy classes probably start their journey with at least “a sprinkling of holy water” on them, if not a whole flask.
DnD 5e Bless FAQ
Bless DnD 5e FAQ:
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Does bless stack in 5e? No, Bless does not stack with itself in DnD 5e. According to the Player’s Handbook, pg. 205, ‘The effects of the same spell cast multi pie times don’t combine…For example, if two clerics cast bless on the same target, that character gains the spell’s benefit only once; he or she doesn’t get to roll two bonus dice.’ However, bless can stack with other buffs to your attack rolls or saving throws, as ‘The effects of different spells add together while the durations of those spells overlap.’
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Can you bless yourself in 5e? Yes, you can bless yourself in DnD 5e. The bless spell allows you to choose up to three or more creatures of your choice within range, which can include yourself.
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Does bless affect death saves in 5e? Yes, bless affects death saves in DnD 5e. The bless spell allows you to add 1d4 to all saving throws, and death saves are a type of saving throw.
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How many turns does bless last in 5e? Bless lasts for up to 10 rounds of combat if concentration is maintained. According to the Player’s Handbook, page 189, ‘a round represents about 6 seconds in the game world.’ Since bless has a 1-minute duration, this works out to 10 rounds of combat, which means that each affected character has 10 turns to benefit from bless.
Simple Bless Spell Text
Bless: (1st-level, 30 feet, concentration, up to 1 minute, V/S/M (a sprinkling of holy water)) Bless up to 3 creatures in range; they can add 1d4 to any attack roll or saving throw until the spell ends. | May affect +1 creature for every spell slot above 1st.
How Other Enchantment Spells Work in DnD 5e
DnD 5e Friends
DnD 5e Mind Sliver
DnD 5e Vicious Mockery
DnD 5e Animal Friendship
DnD 5e Charm Person
DnD 5e Command
DnD 5e Dissonant Whispers
DnD 5e Hex
DnD 5e Sleep
DnD 5e Crown of Madness
DnD 5e Hold Person
DnD 5e Suggestion
