31 DnD 5e Spell Statistics

Magic is my favorite part of Dungeons and Dragons. From soiling your friend’s pants with Prestidigitation to exploding heads with Psychic Scream, DnD spells are just fun to use.

Beyond the imaginative aspect of DnD spells, I’ve always been impressed with the language used in spell descriptions. Each one is like a little legal document and set of rules unto itself.

That got me thinking — does a lower-level spell take fewer words to explain than a higher-level spell? Do certain classes tend to have wordier spellbooks? And which spell school would offer the toughest curriculum, assuming that word counts are a decent proxy for complexity?

So I did what any normal person would do — I counted the words of every spell description in DnD 5e. Neat; I had all my answers.

But that handful of statistics seemed woefully incomplete. So I made a spreadsheet containing just about every piece of information on every spell in the game and found answers for every other question I could think of. The results are below:

Word Count Statistics

There are 477 spells in three main fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons sourcebooks (the Player’s Handbook, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything).
The total word count of all DnD 5e spell descriptions is 69,019 words. For a person with an average reading speed of 200 words-per-minute, this is about 5 hours and 45 minutes of reading.

The average word count of 5e spells is 144.7 words, while the median word count is 120 words.
The School of Illusion has the highest average word count (168) in the game, while the School of Divination has the lowest average word count (108).

Illusion spells also have the highest median word count (166) in the game, but Abjuration spells have the shortest median word count (84).

Spell School	# of Spells	Average Word Count	Median Word Count	Longest Spell	Shortest Spell	% of Total Spells
Abjuration	52	151	84	Prismatic Wall (706)	Invulnerability (10)	10.90%
Conjuration	87	168	149	Teleport (577)	Misty Step (19)	18.24%
Divination	32	108	99	Detect Thoughts (350)	See Invisibilty (30)	6.71%
Enchantment	42	148	125	Antipathy/Sympathy (414)	Power Word Kill (38)	8.81%
Evocation	101	122	102	Bigby’s Hand (447)	Divine Favor (23)	21.17%
Illusion	31	168	166	Phantasmal Force (320)	Greater Invisibility (30)	6.50%
Necromancy	38	144	109	Magic Jar (405)	Spare The Dying (23)	7.97%
Transmutation	94	147	131	Control Water (551)	Jump (14)	19.71%

From cantrips to 9th-level spells, DnD 5e’s magic does get tend to get wordier the more you level up. The only exception is 8th-level spells, which have a shorter average word count than 7th-level spells.

Warlocks have the most complex spell list, using average spell word count as a proxy for complexity. The average Warlock spell is about 155 words long, 7% more than the average spell in DnD.

Paladins, with a 106-word average spell book, are the least complex spellcasters in 5e. Their average spell is roughly 27% shorter than the gamewide average.

However, if we look at median word count, Wizards, at 126 words, are the most complex class.

Rangers, with a median spell word count of 81.5, are the least complex class by this metric.

Invulnerability is the shortest spell in DnD 5e at just 10 words. Prismatic Wall is the game’s longest spell at 706 words. Strangely enough, both are 9th-level Abjuration spells.

Gameplay Statistics

Evocation spells are the most common in DnD 5e, comprising 21.2% of the game’s spells. Illusion, with just 6.5% spell representation, is the least common type of magic in Dungeons and Dragons.

Fire is the most common damage type of all of DnD 5e’s spells. It accounts for 13.5% of all damage-dealing spells. Necrotic, Radiant, and Bludgeoning damage all tie for second place with 11.2% apiece.

Damage Type	Number of Spells
Acid	7
Bludgeoning	20
Cold	14
Elemental	10
Fire	24
Force	12
Lightning	7
Necrotic	20
Physical	2
Piercing	9
Poison	4
Psychic	18
Radiant	20
Slashing	3
Thunder	8

Meteor Swarm is the most damage ability in Dungeons and Dragons 5e. On a failed Dexterity save, it deals a total of 140 damage (70 fire and 70 bludgeoning).

Top Ten Most Damaging Abilities in DnD 5e*

Spell Name	Average Damage
Meteor Swarm	140
Disintegrate	75
Blade Of Disaster	67.5
Finger Of Death	61.5
Symbol	55
Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting	54
Harm	49
Psychic Scream	49
Chain Lightning	45
Incendiary Cloud	45

*All spells with a saving throw assume a failed saved

The Restrained condition is the most common one caused by spells in 5e. Poison is the least common spell-caused condition, caused by only one spell (Ray of Sickness).

Condition	# of Spells
Blinded	15
Charmed	10
Deafened	4
Frightened	9
Incapacitated	6
Invisibility	3
Paralyzed	2
Petrified	2
Poisoned	1
Prone	13
Restrained	16
Stunned	6*
Unconscious	6**

*Investiture of Stone is self-inflicted
**Astral Projection and Dream of the Blue Veil are self-inflicted

Dexterity saving throws are the most common ones forced by DnD 5 spells, followed by Constitution and Wisdom. Intelligence saves are the least common.

Saving Throw	# of Spells
Constitution	51
Wisdom	50
Strength	22
Dexterity	64
Charisma	13
Intelligence	10

1st- and 2nd- level spells are the most common in the game, with 73 apiece. There’s a noticeable dip in 4th-level spell options, but other than that, more complex spells are rarer than simple spells. Except for, of couse, cantrips, which see about as much representation as 6th-level spells.

Most schools of magic follow this same pattern:

Spells with a range of 60 feet are the most common in DnD 5e. Spells with a range of Touch are the next most common, followed by Self-targeted spells.

Spells that require vocal, somatic, and material components make up 48.6% of DnD 5e’s spells. Spells that just require verbal and somatic components are the next most popular at 31.7%

Spells that require only somatic and material components are the rarest, comprising just 2.1% of spells.

Component	Number of Spells That Require It
Vocal	451 (95%)
Somatic	420 (88%)
Material	253 (53%)

Necromancy is the most expensive school of magic in DnD 5e, with a total cost of 32,600 gp. 28,900 gp of that is consumed, but that’s mostly from True Resurrection — the most expensive spell in game — which consumees 25,000 gp worth of diamonds.
Enchantment is the least expensive school of magic in DnD 5e. O Enchantment spells have a material component with a cost requirement, and 0 Enchantment spells consume the material component.

School Of Magic	Material Consumed	Material Cost Requirement	Total Material Cost	Consumed Material Cost
Abjuration	13	15	5,685 gp	3,075 gp
Conjuration	4	20	16,979.1 gp	1,560 gp
Divination	2	7	1,375 gp	50 gp
Enchantment	0	0	0 gp	0 gp
Evocation	2	9	4,450.2 gp	1,050 gp
Illusion	1	3	1,530 gp	1,500 gp
Necromancy	6	12	32,600 gp	28,900 gp
Transmutation	4	6	10,000 gp	7,000 gp

Note that all data assumes 1x target for spells with cost requirements that have the potential for multiple targets, like Astral Projection, or scaling costs dependent on the target, like Imprisonment.

However, Abjuration has the highest number of spells that consume the material component — 13. That’s also the highest rate of any spell school, as 25% of Abjuration spells consume a material. 3 of those spells don’t have a cost requirement, at least.
Conjuration spells have the highest number of spells with a material cost requirement — 20. That’s 23% of all Conjuration spells.

However, Abjuration has the highest rate of spells with a cost requirement — 29%.
Over 1 in 4 DnD 5e spells are instantaneous spells, making it the most common duration in DnD 5e. 1 minute, 1 hour, and 1 round spell durations are the next runners up.

Unsurpirsingly, Wizards have access to more of the game’s spells than any other class. Their spell list contains 65% of the 5e’s spells, and with enough time and research, they can make use of a huge portion of that number.

Paladins, with access to just over 10% of 5e’s spells, are the least magically diverse spellcasters in the DnD universe.

Schools of Magic: Representation by Class

Spell School	Bard	Cleric	Druid	Paladin	Ranger	Sorcerer	Warlock	Wizard	Artificer
Abjuration	12	25	15	16	10	11	10	28	15
Conjuration	9	12	31	4	14	31	27	55	10
Divination	17	16	14	5	11	9	8	18	5
Enchantment	33	7	10	6	2	22	19	27	0
Evocation	16	23	26	13	4	49	15	62	15
Illusion	19	1	2	0	1	16	11	30	5
Necromancy	7	19	4	3	0	9	18	28	3
Transmutation	21	12	51	3	16	47	17	63	27
Total Spells	134	115	153	50	58	194	125	311	80

Spell Schools as a Percentage of Class Spell Lists

Spell School	Bard	Cleric	Druid	Paladin	Ranger	Sorcerer	Warlock	Wizard	Artificer
Abjuration	9%	21.7%	9.8%	32%	17.2%	5.7%	8%	9%	18.8%
Conjuration	6.7%	10.4%	20.3%	8%	24.1%	16%	21.6%	17.7%	12.5%
Divination	12.7%	13.9%	9.2%	10%	19%	4.6%	6.4%	5.8%	6.3%
Enchantment	24.6%	6.1%	6.5%	12%	3.5%	11.3%	15.2%	8.7%	0%
Evocation	11.9%	20%	17%	26%	6.9%	25.3%	12%	19.9%	18.8%
Illusion	14.2%	0.9%	1.3%	0%	1.7%	8.3%	8.8%	9.7%	6.3%
Necromancy	5.2%	16.5%	2.6%	6%	0%	4.6%	14.4%	9%	3.8%
Transmutation	15.7%	10.4%	33.3%	6%	27.6%	24.2%	13.6%	20.3%	33.8%

Utility spells are the most common in DnD 5e — but that’s partly due to my broad definition of “Utility.” 34% of DnD 5e spells deal damage, and shockingly few can heal players. Spells that cause debuffs are about 37% more common than spells that provide allies buffs.

Spell School	Damage	Heal	Buff	Debuff	Utility
Abjuration	6	4	31	11	10
Conjuration	31	2	1	13	58
Divination	1	0	6	2	24
Enchantment	9	0	2	34	5
Evocation	71	9	4	25	39
Illusion	7	0	5	10	16
Necromancy	15	9	4	10	14
Transmutation	22	3	34	14	50
Total	162	27	87	119	216

Note that spells can have multiple spell effects.

181 spells in DnD 5e are area of effect spells (like Faerie Fire) or affect multiple creatures (like Bless).
165 spells from 5e can be upcast — about 35% of the game’s spells.
There are 218 concentration spells in DnD 5e — 45.7% of all spells.
There are 32 ritual spells in DnD 5e. 40.6% of ritual spells belong to the School of Divination.

Rulebook and Edition Statistics

The Player’s Handbook started the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons with 361 spells. Xanathar’s Guide to Everything added 95 spells, and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything introduced another 21 (11 of which belonged to the School of Conjuration).

Evocation spells are represented at the highest rate in the Player’s Handbook, Transmutation spells in Xanathar’s, and Conjuration spells in Tasha’s.

Spell School	PHB	XGtE	TCoE
Abjuration	12.5%	6.3%	4.8%
Conjuration	16.3%	17.9%	52.4%
Divination	8.3%	2.1%	0%
Enchantment	9.4%	6.3%	9.5%
Evocation	20.5%	24.2%	19.1%
Illusion	7.8%	3.2%	0%
Necromancy	7.5%	9.5%	9.5%
Transmutation	17.7%	30.5%	4.8%

157 spells in DnD 5e have been around since the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

School of Magic	# of 1st Edition Spells	% of Spells From 1st Edition
Abjuration	14	27%
Conjuration	25	29%
Divination	15	47%
Enchantment	17	40%
Evocation	29	29%
Illusion	15	48%
Necromancy	9	24%
Transmutation	33	35%
Total	157	33%

Methodology

All data is taken from the three main fifth edition rulebooks (Player’s Handbook, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything).

Word counts do not include the spell name, level, school, casting time, range, components, or duration. Nor do they include the stat blocks of any summoned or conjured creatures. They also do not include the words “At Higher Levels” for spells that can be upcast. Word counts do, however, include all text included in charts, including numbers.

One statistic from above is somewhat subjective: spell types (damage, heal, buff, debuff, utility). I tried to take a common-sense approach to what category each spell falls into and limited each spell to two types. Hopefully, these spell classifications at least prove useful for relative comparisons between spell schools if nothing else.

As a final disclaimer, I did all of this by hand, so there are almost certainly some small errors in my work — I’m only human.