Burning Hands
1st-level evocation · 3d6 Fire damage, average 10.5
10.5 average Fire damage · 3–18
Roll Burning Hands
Press a roll button. The dice land here.
Spell details
- Level
- 1st-level
- School
- Evocation
- Casting time
- Action
- Range
- Self
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Classes
- Sorcerer, Wizard
- Save
- Dexterity (half on success)
Burning Hands pays out when you're brave enough to stand close
At the table. Burning Hands is a 15-foot Cone from you: each creature in it makes a Dexterity save, taking 3d6 Fire damage on a fail or half on a success. Flammable objects in the Cone that nobody is wearing or carrying catch fire. Each slot above 1st adds 1d6.
What changed from 2014. Only the wording. The damage, the Cone, the save and the burning objects all match SRD 5.1. It's still on the Sorcerer and Wizard lists.
What it's worth. At save DC 13, with half damage rounded down:
| Target Dex | Fails | Expected damage |
|---|---|---|
| +0 | 60% | 8.30 |
| +2 | 50% | 7.75 |
| +3 | 45% | 7.48 |
Against one target it trails Guiding Bolt (4d6 at +5 vs AC 15 averages about 7.7). Catch two Dex +2 goblins and you're at 15.5; catch three and it's 23.2 from one 1st-level slot. The spell is only as good as the crowd you fit in the Cone.
The choice that matters is the step forward. A 15-foot Cone means the wizard must be within about three squares of the front rank, where the enemies can hit back. Line it up down a corridor or a doorway where they're queued, then get out before their turn.
The common mistake is the room itself. Tapestries, hay, bookshelves, dry scrolls and the rope bridge you're standing on are all flammable objects nobody is carrying. The DM is within their rights to let them burn. Ask what's in the Cone before you cast it, not after.
The human angle. Some players love Burning Hands exactly because it's risky. Zuckerman and Kuhlman found risk-taking across very different areas of life clusters in the same people, tied to sensation seeking. The player who steps into goblin reach to catch three in a Cone tends to be the one who also opens the unmarked door. Burning Hands: great for goblins, terrible for libraries.
Source: Zuckerman, M., & Kuhlman, D. M. (2000). Personality and risk-taking: Common biosocial factors. Journal of Personality, 68(6), 999–1029. doi:10.1111/1467-6494.00124
Burning Hands damage by level
| Cast at | Dice | Average | Range | On a save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st slot | 10.5 | 3–18 | 5 | |
| 2nd slot | 14 | 4–24 | 6.8 | |
| 3rd slot | 17.5 | 5–30 | 8.5 | |
| 4th slot | 21 | 6–36 | 10.3 | |
| 5th slot | 24.5 | 7–42 | 12 | |
| 6th slot | 28 | 8–48 | 13.8 | |
| 7th slot | 31.5 | 9–54 | 15.5 | |
| 8th slot | 35 | 10–60 | 17.2 | |
| 9th slot | 38.5 | 11–66 | 19 |
“On a save” is the average of half each roll, rounded down, as the rules do it.
The odds of 3d6
| Total | Chance |
|---|---|
| 7 or more | 91% |
| 11 or more | 50% |
| 14 or more | 16% |
| 17 or more | 2% |
Burning Hands against other 1st-level damage spells
By average damage on one target, Burning Hands ranks 4th of 15 1st-level damage spells in the SRD. Area, saves and riders are not counted here; read each spell.
| Spell | Dice | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Guiding Bolt | 4d6 | 14 |
| Hellish Rebuke | 2d10 | 11 |
| Inflict Wounds | 2d10 | 11 |
| Burning Hands | 3d6 | 10.5 |
| Dissonant Whispers | 3d6 | 10.5 |
| Magic Missile | 3d4 + 3 | 10.5 |
| Divine Smite | 2d8 | 9 |
| Ray of Sickness | 2d8 | 9 |
| Thunderwave | 2d8 | 9 |
| Ice Knife | 1d10 | 5.5 |
| Ensnaring Strike | 1d6 | 3.5 |
| Hex | 1d6 | 3.5 |
| Hunter's Mark | 1d6 | 3.5 |
| Searing Smite | 1d6 | 3.5 |
| Divine Favor | 1d4 | 2.5 |
Rules text
A thin sheet of flames shoots forth from you. Each creature in a 15-foot Cone makes a Dexterity saving throw, taking Fire damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.
Flammable objects in the Cone that aren't being worn or carried start burning.
At higher levels. The damage increases by for each spell slot level above 1.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The averages, odds and tables are ours.