Acid Splash

Description

You form a small mass of magical Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks, spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ and send it toward one or two creatures you can see within range. Each chosen creature must avoid the incoming Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks, spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ with a Dexterity saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/. A creature that fails the save takes Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks, spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/, while a successful save avoids the damage entirely. If you choose two creatures, they must be standing within 5 feet of one another.

How Acid Splash Works

Acid Splash is a Conjuration cantrip that takes one action to cast and requires verbal and somatic components. Its duration is instantaneous, so the spell is resolved when it is cast rather than remaining active on the battlefield.

The caster chooses either one or two creatures they can see within 60 feet. The caster does not make a spell attack. Instead, each chosen creature makes its own Dexterity saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/ against the caster's spell save DC.

A creature that fails the saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/ takes 1d6 Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks, spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/. A creature that succeeds takes no damage. Acid Splash does not include a half-damage result on a successful save.

When two creatures are targeted, they resolve their saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/s independently. One target can fail while the other succeeds, and each target that fails takes the spell's full current damage rather than sharing or dividing the damage between them.

The spell does not create ongoing Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks, spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/, a pool of Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks, spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/, a damaging surface, or another persistent environmental effect. Unless another rule creates a separate consequence, the normal magical effect ends immediately after the saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/s and damage are resolved.

Range and Targeting

Acid Splash has a fixed range of 60 feet. Unlike the Close range used by the 3e and 3.5e versions, the 2014 spell does not extend its range as the caster gains levels.

The caster may choose one visible creature or two visible creatures. If two creatures are selected, both must be within the spell's 60-foot range and they must also be within 5 feet of each other.

The 2014 version is not an area-of-effect spell. Choosing two nearby creatures does not create a 5-foot-radius zone or automatically affect every creature standing nearby. The chosen creatures are individual targets of the same casting.

Visibility is part of the targeting requirement. A creature that the caster cannot see is not a valid target for this version of Acid Splash merely because the caster knows or guesses where that creature is located.

The spell targets creatures rather than creatures or objects. A door, lock, rope, weapon, container, or other object is therefore not a valid direct target of the 2014 Acid Splash spell.

Damage and Combat Use

At character levels 1 through 4, a target that fails its Dexterity saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/ takes 1d6 Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks, spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/. The damage increases to 2d6 at character level 5, 3d6 at level 11, and 4d6 at level 17.

This progression uses total character level rather than the level of the class that granted the cantrip. A multiclass character therefore uses the same cantrip scaling as any other character of the same total level.

For example, a Sorcerer D&D Portal - Sorcerer Character class A Charisma-based known-spell full caster whose Sorcery Points and Metamagic reshape spells in ways other casters cannot. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/sorcerer/ 1 / Fighter 4 is a 5th-level character. That character's Acid Splash deals 2d6 Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks, spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/ on a failed saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/ even though only one of those levels is a Sorcerer D&D Portal - Sorcerer Character class A Charisma-based known-spell full caster whose Sorcery Points and Metamagic reshape spells in ways other casters cannot. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/sorcerer/ level.

The spell is most efficient when two enemies are close enough to satisfy the 5-foot separation requirement. Each creature makes a separate save, and each creature that fails can take the full current damage. The spell does not divide one damage roll between the two targets.

Acid Splash does not make an attack roll, so it does not score critical hit D&D Portal - Critical Hit Combat rule Critical Hit is a combat rule used by attacks, damage, defenses, or turn order. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/combat/critical-hit/ through the normal critical-hit rules. Effects that grant advantage on attack rolls likewise do not directly improve the spell because its resolution is based on the targets' Dexterity saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/s.

Class Availability

Acid Splash appears on both the Sorcerer D&D Portal - Sorcerer Character class A Charisma-based known-spell full caster whose Sorcery Points and Metamagic reshape spells in ways other casters cannot. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/sorcerer/ and Wizard D&D Portal - Wizard Character class An Intelligence-based prepared full caster with the largest spell-learning system, ritual flexibility, and subclass traditions focused on schools or specialist theories. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/wizard/ cantrip lists in the 2014 core rules. For both classes, it is a 0-level spell and can be cast without expending a spell slot.

Sorcerer D&D Portal - Sorcerer Character class A Charisma-based known-spell full caster whose Sorcery Points and Metamagic reshape spells in ways other casters cannot. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/sorcerer/ use Charisma when determining the spell save DC for Acid Splash, while Wizard D&D Portal - Wizard Character class An Intelligence-based prepared full caster with the largest spell-learning system, ritual flexibility, and subclass traditions focused on schools or specialist theories. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/wizard/ use Intelligence. The spell's range, targeting, damage dice, scaling, and Dexterity-saving-throw requirement do not otherwise change between the two classes.

Because the spell uses a saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/ rather than a spell attack, the most important class-dependent number is the spell save DC. A higher spellcasting ability modifier can make the Dexterity save more difficult even though it does not add directly to Acid Splash's damage.

Later 5e material introduced additional ways to gain Acid Splash, including later class access. Those later options should be tracked separately from the original 2014 Sorcerer D&D Portal - Sorcerer Character class A Charisma-based known-spell full caster whose Sorcery Points and Metamagic reshape spells in ways other casters cannot. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/sorcerer/ and Wizard D&D Portal - Wizard Character class An Intelligence-based prepared full caster with the largest spell-learning system, ritual flexibility, and subclass traditions focused on schools or specialist theories. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/classes/wizard/ spell-list entries so publication history remains clear.

Edition Notes

The 2014 version of Acid Splash differs substantially from the 3e and 3.5e spell. The older versions relied on a ranged touch attack D&D Portal - Attack Roll Combat rule Attack Roll is a combat rule used by attacks, damage, defenses, or turn order. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/combat/attack-roll/ against a single target, while the 2014 spell instead allows one or two creatures to make Dexterity saving throw D&D Portal - Saving Throw D20 test rule Saving Throw is a d20 test rule used to resolve uncertain outcomes during play. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/d20-tests/saving-throw/s.

The damage profile also changed. The 3.x spell dealt a fixed 1d3 D&D Portal - Dice Roller Roll your dice Roll standard or custom dice with adjustable count, faces, advantage, and disadvantage. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/dice-roller/ Acid D&D Portal - Acid Damage type Acid is a damage type used by attacks, spells, class features, resistance, immunity, and vulnerability. Full link: https://dnd-portal.com/rules/damage-types/acid/, while the 2014 cantrip begins at 1d6 and automatically increases as the character reaches levels 5, 11, and 17.

The 2014 version should also not be confused with the 2024 revision. The later rules redesign Acid Splash as an actual small area effect, so targeting questions must always be answered using the specific edition selected on the page.