PostRoll logo
Spell · SRD 5.1

Chain Lightning

6th-level evocation

Casting time
1 action
Range
150 feet
Components
V, S, M (A bit of fur; a piece of amber, glass, or a crystal rod; and three silver pins.)
Duration
Instantaneous
Classes
Sorcerer, Wizard

You create a bolt of lightning that arcs toward a target of your choice that you can see within range. Three bolts then leap from that target to as many as three other targets, each of which must be within 30 feet of the first target. A target can be a creature or an object and can be targeted by only one of the bolts.

A target must make a dexterity saving throw. The target takes 10d8 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, one additional bolt leaps from the first target to another target for each slot level above 6th.

Related

Add D&D 5e to your library — free

Searchable in PostRoll and linkable from your worlds, wikis, characters, and sessions. Free forever.

Add to my library

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

Reformatted and reorganized for presentation on PostRoll; text unmodified.

Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

srd-5.1 · Version 1.0.0 · Updated Jul 9, 2026