Web
2nd-level conjuration · 2d4 Fire damage, average 5
5 average Fire damage · 2–8
Roll Web
Press a roll button. The dice land here.
Spell details
- Level
- 2nd-level
- School
- Conjuration
- Casting time
- Action
- Range
- 60 feet
- Components
- V, S, M (a bit of spiderweb)
- Duration
- Concentration, up to 1 hour
- Classes
- Sorcerer, Wizard
- Save
- Dexterity
Web turns a fight into a shooting gallery, if the walls hold it up
At the table. Web fills a 20-foot Cube within 60 feet for up to an hour on Concentration. The area is Difficult Terrain and Lightly Obscured. A creature entering or starting its turn there makes a Dexterity save or is Restrained. Getting out costs an action and a Strength (Athletics) check against your save DC. The 2d4 on this page is the fire: any 5-foot Cube of web that meets flame burns away in a round and burns whoever starts their turn in it.
What changed from 2014. Two things, both in SRD 5.2.1. In 2014 a creature saved every time it started or entered the webs on its turn; now it's only the first time each turn. And the escape check is now named Strength (Athletics), where 2014 said a plain Strength check.
What it's worth. At save DC 13:
| Target | Caught on first save | Escape per action | Actions to escape, average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dex +2, Str +0 | 50% | 40% | 2.5 |
| Dex +0, Str +3 | 60% | 55% | 1.8 |
| Dex +1, Str +5 | 55% | 65% | 1.5 |
Restrained means attacks against the creature have Advantage. A +5 attacker against AC 15 goes from 55 percent to 79.8 percent. Every action spent tearing free is an action not spent on you.
The choice that matters is anchoring. Web needs two solid masses, or a floor, wall or ceiling to lie on. In a corridor or a forest it holds; cast it in open air and it collapses at the start of your next turn.
The common mistake is the party's fire. One Fire Bolt into the web to "finish them off" burns away the web holding them. Save the fire for when they're about to break free. Web: the only spell where the enemy's to-do list is "get unstuck".
The human angle. Haggard's review of sense of agency describes the feeling of controlling your own actions and, through them, what happens next. Web hands that feeling to the caster and takes it from everyone caught inside. That's why it's satisfying to cast and maddening to be stuck in.
Source: Haggard, P. (2017). Sense of agency in the human brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 18(4), 196–207. doi:10.1038/nrn.2017.14
Web damage by level
| Cast at | Dice | Average | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd slot | 5 | 2–8 |
The odds of 2d4
| Total | Chance |
|---|---|
| 4 or more | 81% |
| 5 or more | 63% |
| 7 or more | 19% |
Web against other 2nd-level damage spells
By average damage on one target, Web ranks 11th of 11 2nd-level damage spells in the SRD. Area, saves and riders are not counted here; read each spell.
| Spell | Dice | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Scorching Ray | 6d6 | 21 |
| Mind Spike | 3d8 | 13.5 |
| Shatter | 3d8 | 13.5 |
| Moonbeam | 2d10 | 11 |
| Acid Arrow | 4d4 | 10 |
| Heat Metal | 2d8 | 9 |
| Phantasmal Force | 2d8 | 9 |
| Flaming Sphere | 2d6 | 7 |
| Shining Smite | 2d6 | 7 |
| Spike Growth | 2d4 | 5 |
| Web | 2d4 | 5 |
Rules text
You conjure a mass of sticky webbing at a point within range. The webs fill a 20-foot Cube there for the duration. The webs are Difficult Terrain, and the area within them is Lightly Obscured.
If the webs aren't anchored between two solid masses (such as walls or trees) or layered across a floor, wall, or ceiling, the web collapses on itself, and the spell ends at the start of your next turn. Webs layered over a flat surface have a depth of 5 feet.
The first time a creature enters the webs on a turn or starts its turn there, it must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or have the Restrained condition while in the webs or until it breaks free.
A creature Restrained by the webs can take an action to make a Strength (Athletics) check against your spell save DC. If it succeeds, it is no longer Restrained.
The webs are flammable. Any 5-foot Cube of webs exposed to fire burns away in 1 round, dealing Fire damage to any creature that starts its turn in the fire.
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.