Disguise Self 5e

Unwelcome at a local establishment, a Bard quickly disguises himself as one of the tavern’s regular patrons. An old Wizard changes into a dashing young prince to gain entry into the castle’s inner wall. A Sorcerer disguises herself as a local street tough to learn about a crime syndicate she’s been tracking.

Disguise Self is a fun spell with great, if somewhat limited, role-playing potential. I’ll cover the spell’s basics, how to optimize your use of it, and the various rules and applications of Disguise Self.

What Does Disguise Self Do in 5e?

Disguse Self instantly transforms your character into a different appearance for up to an hour. It comes with limitations about how much you can adjust your height (1 foot in either direction), and the illusion does not hold up to physical scrutiny (objects pass through any illusion-based images, and bump into objects the illusion is concealing).

Importantly, you can’t change your basic body arrangement. Bipedal casters with two arms have to maintain that limb layout when disguising themselves.

Disguise Self can conceal or add to what you’re wearing and holding.

Disguise Self lasts for one hour or until you dismiss the disguise. A creature can also use its action to make an Investigation check against your spell save DC. If it passes, it sees that you are disguised.

What Are the Rules for Disguise Self in 5e?

The rules for Disguise Self in DnD 5e are as follows:

• Even if one creature sees through your illusion, it does not break the spell’s effect. Only that specific creature can see through the spell. And even still, they don’t see your true form; they merely “discern that you are disguised.”

• You cannot change your basic body layout with Disguise Self. You must remain a bipedal humanoid (although you can make false limbs you’ve lost or disguise yourself with a missing limb).

• Disguise Self does not alter your voice, but you can still make a Performance check to attempt impersonation (with advantage, one could argue, based on your appearance).

• Disguise Self cannot be cast on anyone but yourself.

• You cannot alter your appearance with Disguise Self after you’ve set it. Unless you cast the spell again or disguise yourself some other way. The spell’s description doesn’t say anything about changing the disguise at will, as you see with spells like Alter Self, which explicitly states you can.

• Disguise Self does not require concentration. A significant perk of the spell.

• Detect Magic can reveal Disguise Self. As it can with any spell.

• If you charm someone while disguised, the person will remember the disguised caster, not you. Checks out with common sense, and Sage Advice.

• You can make yourself look blurry, but it won’t replicate the effects of the Blur spell. Spells only do what they say, and Disguise Self certainly doesn’t give any in-combat advantage as the second-level spell Blur does. That being said, you sure can make yourself look as blurry as you like with Disguise Self.

• Any illusory light sources created by Disguise Self don’t actually produce light. Again, spells only do what they say.

• Disguise Self can’t give Stealth advantages or make you invisible. Again again, spells only do what they say. An especially nice DM may allow for Stealth check advantages if you’re camouflaging yourself, but it’s up to their discretion.

• Disguise Self can interact with Enlarge/Reduce, before or after it is cast.

How Do I Use Disguise Self in 5e?

Disguise Self certainly has limitations and won’t usually offer direct combat advantages. Still, it has plenty of fun applications:

1. Copycat. Who doesn’t love a Sci-Fi plot with a body-double theme? Disguise Self can make you look just like the villain who’s passing out orders, possibly granting you access to greater knowledge or allowing you to sow confusion among the ranks. Warning — has the potential to create a “don’t shoot, I’m the real [X]!” scenario.

2. Blend in. Whether you’d like to become a chameleon who can dart through the woods unseen, a still-as-death statue that can overhear enemy plans, or just a regular local who belongs, Disguise Self can make it much easier to fit into any environment.

3. Safer charming. Using a spell like Charm Person or Friends comes with the downside of the target knowing they’ve been charmed after the spell wears off. But if they think they were charmed by you after you cast Disguised Self, you’ll be in the clear.

4. Pair with the Actor feat. The Actor Feat gives you advantage on Deception and Performance checks when you’re trying to pass yourself off as someone else. It also allows you to mimic someone’s voice if you’ve heard it before.

   It’s not hard to see how these two extra perks play beautifully with Disguise Self. With the voice of the guard captain AND advantage on your Deception check AND looking precisely like the guard captain…well, let’s just say it’ll take an exceptionally perceptive guard to pick up on what’s going on.

5. Detective work. If you’re looking for someone who you’ve seen before, you can use Disguise Self to look just like them. Then, you can go around asking potential witnesses if they’ve seen your twin sibling lately — or something along those lines.

6. Being spooky. Turning into a ghost, demon, skeleton, zombie, etc. — whatever the person/group you’re trying to scare is scared of — can be super handy for causing chaos and mayhem.

7. Get the Mask of Many Faces (Eldritch Invocation). This is available to Warlocks and any character who takes the Eldritch Adept feat, and it allows you to cast Disguise Self at will, without expending a spell slot. With this, you can change your appearance whenever you like; quite handy for certain character concepts.

8. Change your weapon shape and size. It’ll really throw off an enemy who sees you holding a dagger when a great ax takes their arm off. Some DMs might even grant you advantage on your first attack roll due to this, if they’re especially nice.

Who Can I Target With Disguise Self 5e?

You can only target yourself with Disguise Self.

Is Disguise Self 5e a Good Spell?

Yes, Disguise Self is a good spell if the situation calls for subtlety, stealth, and subterfuge. In combat situations, it has very limited uses, so it’s best reserved for scenarios where words are a better option than swords.

Disguise Self comes with several limitations, including not holding up to physical examination, possibly failing to visual inspection, being unable to change your basic body shape, and being restricted to a certain height and weight cap.

Disguise Self 5e Compared to Alter Self

At first glance, you may think that learning Alter Self as a 2nd-level spell makes Disguise Self completely obsolete. While Alter Self certainly does have more and greater applications than Disguise Self, it also comes with limitations that Disguise Self doesn’t have.

Most importantly, Disguise Self is able to alter the appearance of your clothing and equipment. Additionally, Alter Self requires concentration, whereas Disguise Self does not.

While Alter Self is certainly the superior spell, it doesn’t make Disguise Self entirely useless.

Finally, note that there is nothing stopping a player from using both Alter Self and Disguise Self simultaneously.

Disguise Self 5e DM Tips

As a DM, it’s important to set some ground rules early for players who have unrealistic applications in mind for Disguise Self. Make sure players understand that they won’t be gaining any massive combat advantages by turning into a Werewolf and that their voice will remain that of an old Dwarf, even if they take the appearance of a princess.

On the positive side, you can be nice and grant advantages from Disguise Self, like boosting a Stealth check for a player who uses Disguise Self to camouflage in with their surroundings.

While the spell doesn’t explicitly grant any advantages, “The DM can also decide that circumstances influence a roll in one direction or the other and grant advantage or impose disadvantage as a result” (PHB 173).

The rules of Disguise Self are somewhat vague and open to interpretation. Having out-of-game conversations about the limits of Disguise Self can help avoid situations where players become frustrated. It’s equally important that you protect yourself from becoming frustrated with players abusing Disguise Self after you let them get away with a cool thing that one time.

Finally, get excited about rewarding players who make creative use of Disguise Self. Don’t let the rules get too much in the way of a memorable roleplaying experience.

Simple Disguise Self 5e Spell Text

DnD 5e Disguise Self FAQ

Disguise self DnD 5e questions and answers:

1. Can you cast disguise self on others? No, you cannot cast disguise self on others. Disguise self has a range of self, meaning you can only cast it on yourself.

2. Does disguise self change your voice? No, disguise self doesn’t change your voice. However, an effective performance or deception check might work to mimic the creature’s voice you hope to change to, possibly with advantage due to your altered appearance.

3. Does disguise self work when unconscious? Yes, disguise self works when unconscious. The spell lasts for one hour with no concentration required, so even if you become incapacitated or unconscious, disguise self remains active.

4. Can you change your appearance multiple times with disguise self? No, you cannot change your appearance multiple times with disguise self. You choose the disguise at the moment you cast the spell, and the spell has no language that indicates you can change it once it has been set (as the higher-leveled spell alter self does).

5. Can disguise self be used as camouflage? Yes, disguise self can be used as camouflage. The spell changes the appearance of you, your clothing, armor, weapons, and other belongings, so you can certainly make yourself an outfit and skin coloration that work as camouflage for whatever environment you’re in. While disguise self doesn’t inherently grant aid with stealth, a DM can definitely rule that a camouflaged appearance would give an advantage on stealth checks.

6. Can you cast spells while disguised? Yes, you can cast spells while disguised. Disguise self is not a concentration spell, so you can cast concentration spells while it is active.

7. How long does disguise self last? Disguise self lasts for one hour, with no concentration requirement. Even if a creature discerns that you’re disguised, the spell remains active; that creature only discerns you are disguised.

8. If a creature discerns you are disguised, do they see your true form? No, if a creature sees you are disguised, they do not see your true form. This is in contrast to a spell like silent image or major image, which specifically state that ‘if a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the creature can see through the image.’ Since disguise self does not contain this language, the creature does not see through the disguise; they only know that you ARE disguised.