Enemies Abound 5e is an entertaining and powerful spell that allows the caster to create a number of illusions of enemies to distract and divert the attention of their opponents.
This spell allows the caster to create a variety of illusions to confuse their foes, and can be used to great effect in a variety of situations.
With Enemies Abound, you can take control of the battlefield and ensure victory for your allies. Read on to find out more about this powerful spell and how it can help your party triumph in the heat of battle!
Table of Contents
Enemies Abound 5e Spell Description
According to Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, the spell description is as follows:
You reach into the mind of one creature you can see and force it to make an Intelligence saving throw.
- A creature automatically succeeds if it is immune to being frightened.
- On a failed save, the target loses the ability to distinguish friend from foe, regarding all creatures it can see as enemies until the spell ends.
Each time the target takes damage, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Whenever the affected creature chooses another creature as a target, it must choose the target at random from among the creatures it can see within range of the attack, spell, or other ability it’s using. If an enemy provokes an opportunity attack from the affected creature, the creature must make that attack if it is able to.
Enemies Abound 5e Spell Stats
- Level: 3rd-level Enchantment
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: 120 feet
- Components: Verbal, Somatic
- Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
- Spell Lists: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
What is Enemies Abound 5e Spell?
Enemies Abound works by choosing a creature within the caster’s range of 120ft, as long as the target is within the caster’s line of sight. The caster sends magical energy to reach and plunge into the depths of the target’s mind. As a result, the target must make a saving throw vs INT.
There are two outcomes:
- On successful save: Once the target has rolled to successfully save, it gains immunity to being frightened by your spell (this instance)
- On failing a save: Once the target has failed their roll to save, it can no longer distinguish targets as allies and enemies and instead sees all creatures/beings as an enemy.
A target under this effect makes a saving throw vs. INT every time they take damage, following the succeed/fail cases above. This effect persists for up to one minute, providing the caster maintains concentration for the duration.
What does “everyone is an enemy” really mean?
Targets affected by Enemies Abound are forced to randomly choose who they attack. Targets are only forced to attack enemies they see and that are within range of their spells, abilities, or attacks. They are not forced to move to attack enemies, though they are not restricted from doing so.
Enemies Abound 5e Advantages & Disadvantages
One powerful advantage to Enemies Abound is simply its range. At a whopping 120ft, there are few encounters in which a target is going to be outside of the range of this spell.
More problematic would be the fact that the enemy must stay within visual range of the caster. If the target decides to move to attack an enemy they see around a corner and in doing so moves out of sight of the caster, the effect of the spell will break.
An annoying disadvantage is that every time the target takes damage, they get the opportunity to roll another saving throw. While annoying, if a savvy caster chooses a target with low INT, one has a higher chance of maintaining the effect for the full duration.
This can be advantageous, as there are many high-damage dealing classes that also feature low INT scores; convincing the raging Barbarian to go postal on their caught-unawares squishy casters could be quite a sight to behold indeed!
Another huge disadvantage is the concentration requirement. As casters can only maintain one concentration spell at a time, this limits their casting pool while maintaining the effect.
Another consideration is that whenever a caster takes damage while they are concentrating on a spell or effect, they must make a Constitution saving throw to maintain their concentration. The DC equals 10 or half the damage they take, whichever number is higher.
Keep this in mind when deciding whether to take this spell or not.
How can you use Enemies Abound 5e Spell?
While above I outlined some pretty serious disadvantages, I urge you to consider the following before immediately passing over Enemies Abound.
Chaos reigns
Chaos is the name of the game when it comes to Enemies Abound.
Are guards blocking the only way into a passage? Make one of them go crazy and attack the other and either have fewer guards to deal with or just sneak past them while they’re fighting.
Want to start a tavern brawl for the fun of it? Cast Enemies Abound on the biggest bloke you see.
Want to spice up that fancy dinner party? Cast Enemies Abound on the host.
Want to take that one annoying NPC down a peg? Cast Enemies Abound on him while he’s visiting an orphanage!
The possibilities for chaos are endless.
Distractions Abound!
A very useful aspect of Enemies Abound is that priority is typically given to targets nearest the affected enemy. Using this aspect of the spell, a caster could use this as a way of shifting aggro from themselves and towards other, tankier allies.
In addition, if a caster has access to summons or a way to in general increase the number of attackable beings on a battlefield, the caster could split the focus of the affected enemy.
Turn their MVP into your MVP
Have you ever found yourself and your party facing an enemy party and being on the ropes? Enemies Abound can really turn things around by causing the enemy doing the most for the enemy horde to the enemy horde!
Having the general of an army suddenly start slaying his minions or the deadly enemy assassin start backstabbing their allies can turn the tide of battle in ways you can hardly believe.
You can instantly turn a 4 v 4 battle into a 4 v 3 v 1 chaotic rush!
Is Enemies Abound 5e Spell good?
There are many pros and cons when looking at Enemies Abound. It is an incredibly interesting spell that requires careful consideration before application.
I would class it more useful from a roleplaying perspective, as I can see many useful applications within story-heavy sessions or in campaigns where character relationships are highly detailed.
In more combat-oriented campaigns, Enemies Abound has its place too, however, the many drawbacks to the actual maintenance of the spell (i.e. maintaining concentration and continuously rolling INT saves on the affected target receiving damage) make me hesitate to wholeheartedly recommend this spell.
Ultimately, the choice is up to you. I don’t recommend you forgo another spell that calls to you more strongly or another spell that seems a better fit for your party, but that’s not to say that Enemies Abound is a bad spell, just an acquired taste, so to speak.
Enemies Abound 5e Spell FAQs
Can you cast Enemies Abound on more than one creature?
No, you may not. Enemies Abound is a spell that requires concentration and spells requiring such are limited in number. A caster cannot concentrate on two concentration spells at once.
Do enemies have to move while under the effect of Enemies Abound?
No, they don’t have to and there’s even priority given to perceived enemies around your target, so they tend not to move.
This is, however, a priority and not an absolute rule. There is nothing in the rulebook that says that creatures affected by Enemies Abound cannot move or must move; target movement isn’t something that Enemies Abound actually deals with.
Do enemies under the effect of Enemies Abound suffer any penalties?
No, creatures affected by Enemies Abound don’t suffer any penalties. Their attacks, abilities, and spells are rolled for as normal, with normal hit and damage, unless affected by some other spell or effect.
Are there any outward signs that a target is being affected by Enemies Abound?
No, a creature affected by Enemies Abound displays no outward signs of being under the effect of the spell, other than an unexplained sudden perception of everyone being an enemy.
Of course, as it is a magical effect, certain creatures or spells have the ability to determine whether the target is being affected by a magical source.
Corrie is a passionate writer who draws inspiration from his love of medieval-fantasy and epic science fiction. His obsession with D&D and epic battles shines through in his work, as does his appreciation for authors like Laura Resnick and Marion Zimmer Bradley, whose works ignited his imagination and love of books. You can find Corrie at any given time engrossed in a rewatch binge of Voyager or rolling new characters for the creative joy of it!