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Chill Touch

Necromancy
Level: Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Duration: 1 round
Components: V, S

You create a ghostly, skeletal hand in the space of a creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the creature to assail it with the chill of the grave. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 necrotic damage, and it can't regain hit points until the start of your next turn. Until then, the hand clings to the target. If you hit an undead target, it also has disadvantage on attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn.

At Higher Levels: This spell's damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Spell Details

School: Necromancy
Level: Cantrip
Ritual: No
Concentration: No
Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
B-Tier Chill Touch is a solid cantrip with excellent utility through its healing prevention effect, making it valuable for controlling enemy resources despite moderate damage scaling.

Player Guide

Use Chill Touch primarily to shut down enemy healing rather than as your primary damage source, making it invaluable against regenerating creatures or clerics. Position yourself at range (60 feet) where enemies struggle to reach you, allowing safe damage output while maintaining control. The healing prevention synergizes perfectly with your allies focusing damage on targets you've marked, forcing enemies to choose between survival and offense. As you level, combine this with other debuffs or crowd control to maximize the spell's impact beyond its scaling 1d8 damage.

DM Tips

Clarify that the healing prevention applies to all sources of healing (potions, spells, abilities) until the start of the caster's next turn, not just the caster's own healing. Remember that the effect persists even if the ghostly hand dissipates, making it a persistence debuff rather than a temporary one.