Our Top Ten Uses of the Contingency Spell in D&D 5e

[@SymbioteMullet]

A dm I used to play with would occasionally drop underpants of contingency. When they became wet, they cast Expeditious Retreat on the wearer.

[@44R0Ndin]

That's hilarious, and quite an interesting take on it. "Bring me my brown pants" indeed.

[@PiroMunkie]

The level of a spell is the level it was cast at. It's the first paragraph under _Casting a Spell at a Higher Level_ on page 201 of the PHB, "When a spellcaster casts a spell using a slot that is of a higher level than the spell, the spell assumes the higher level for that casting. For instance, if Umara casts magic missile using one of her 2nd-levei slots, that magic missile is 2nd level. Effectively, the spell expands to fill the slot it is put into." While I agree the wording of Contingency is a bit strange, I think the clear intention was to be able to store a spell of 5th level or lower. So upcasting a 5th level Dispel Magic would be completely acceptable, especially considering you're paying the spell slot for it at the time of casting.

[@adarian]

Yep. Was just about to post this then saw your post.

[@kneauxremorse]

P

[@TheHandgunhero]

Yes, RAW you can upcast the spell with Contigency. Upcasting Dispel Magic is a really good option.

[@edsiefker1301]

100% correct

[@escobarisanoctopus]

I believe the reason they mention this is because of the DC roll with Dispel Magic. I do think you're right, though.

[@harrywhiteley89]

A-hem "When I cast Sacred Flame and Spiritual Weapon in the same turn... Cast Spirit Guardians." Arcana Cleric is fun

[@jamesmullen3068]

nice

[@captianbacon]

When I'm reduced to zero hit points cast X healing spell on myself.

[@ImmortalLemon]

*panik!!*

[@mlq1718]

@@captianbacon that’s just Death Ward

[@captianbacon]

@@mlq1718 wizards don't get death ward though and they can get a 1st lvl healing spell from lorehold backround so they could contagioncy healing word myself on death.

[@donaldmack3458]

I remember my very first use of Contingency. This goes back many years when the spell first showed up in AD&D. I was the only player and through creative use of hirelings and henchmen I was able to get my mage up to a fairly high level. My Contingency spell was triggered when I went below 1 hp (which in those days meant death). The spell that was triggered was to Teleport me to my home. My character was married (to a woman that I had rescued in an earlier adventure) so from the DM's point of view, my character shows up dead, in my home. My distraught wife sells several of my higher-powered magic items to pay for the Raise Dead spell. I got my character back and the DM was able to get rid of some of the items I had collected that was making his job that much harder, and there wasn't much I could say about it.

[@SuperGoose42]

Wow, that's genius AND good storytelling!

[@hero3250]

I once had my group fighting against a powerful vampire spellcaster in his lair. He had a contingency setup to cast gust of wind after he turned into his mist form, thus blowing him up into the vents on the roof and whisking him away to safety.

[@chrisg8989]

A Vampire Wizard. Now that's a terrifying combination.

[@dadadajasper]

Idea: Cast haste on yourself normally Haste ends, activating your contingency for either otiluke's resilient sphere, mirror image, invisibility or dimension door.

[@levar6618]

Or another haste

[@_zurr]

@@levar6618 You'd still be stunned for that one round

[@that_guy1186]

@@_zurr i would argue, as a dm myself, that you wouldnt suffer the 1 round stun if you used contingency to cast haste as soon as the duration of haste is up. its essentially not ending if it's cast again as soon as the duration ends.

[@TheVofR]

Another use I thought of while watching, have invisibility trigger when you cast misty step (or maybe on any teleportation). Both spells should happen at pretty much the same time, so enemies wouldn't know you teleported and assume you were just invisible in the same location. It's similar to mislead, but just using lower level spells.

[@Omegine]

U can cast more than one spell at the same time???

[@TheVofR]

@@Omegine with contingency you cast a spell ahead of time, and set a trigger for when it activates. If the trigger is "when I cast another spell", then the contingent spell will activate at the same time that spell is cast.

[@SlvrStryker]

One of the characters I have is a Bladesinger, and I have every intent on giving him Contingency to pair with Haste. My personal trigger is upon activating Bladesong, so with a single bonus action, you become a hyper-competent melee fighter who can now move twice as fast and has the option of two attacks (or one + a cantrip; Shocking Grasp, anyone?) + the Haste action. It's also favorably controllable if you know that you're not going to activate Bladesong for anything other than a combat situation.

[@patdav56]

While definitely shocking grasp, maybe combine it with Booming Blade and the mobile feat. Go in, stab em with sound, back up, lure them to you, where they explode. Meanwhile you still also have 2 more attacks :P

[@JohnQDarksoul]

Shadow Blade will usually give you more DPR than haste (even more if combined with booming blade should your DM allow it, most do), but if you really need speed take a look at longstrider. Remember that when haste ends (hopefully it never does, with your +IntMod to concentration saves) you lose an entire turn. Math (Assuming 20 Dex and 3rd Level Shadow Blade): 2 Shadow Blade Attacks + BB = 2(3d8+5) + (1d8 + (2d8)) 3 Rapier Attacks + BB = 3(1d8+5) + (1d8 + (2d8)) If you hit 45% of the time, the DPS is 2 Shadow Blade Attacks + BB = 18.45 (22.05) 3 Rapier Attacks + BB = 13.45 (17.55)

[@adarian]

To be honest I would prefer triggering greater invisibility. Advantage on attack rolls and disadvantage on attacks against you while being immune to spells and effect that require sight like hold person etc is more defensive than haste by far and if you have elven accuracy it might even edge out haste offensively as you will be highly unlikely to miss and triple your crit chance. You also do not lose a turn if your invisibility gets taken down like you will with haste.

[@SlvrStryker]

@@JohnQDarksoul Not gonna lie, part of me *really* loves the flavor of activating Bladesong and manifesting a blade to wield with it, that is just *dope.* For the record, I love all of these comments, and may try some out. My thought process, however, leans on different mechanics, alongside flavor. Mechanics-wise, it doesn't matter how much AC you build up (for context, 18 DEX, 18 INT. Leather+1, so a total of 22 AC before a Shield reaction), you'll still have a Wizard's hit die, so playing a more hit-and-run style makes sense. Partial movement to the nearest foe, stab with a rapier(a Crystal Rapier, in my case), Shocking Grasp. If SG hits, attack with Haste action. If not, Disengage, retreat for the rest of your movement. Does it put you at risk of ranged spells that force a save? Sure. But you also shouldn't get yourself surrounded and ganged up on in melee, thus reserving some spell slots. Flavor-wise? I built this guy with a Final Fantasy Red Mage in mind. He can in theory do it all...just not as good as specialists. He can even heal, due to a feat in Fizban's! Just...don't make him the *main* healer. ^^;

[@armorfrogentertainment]

@@JohnQDarksoul unfortunately, Shadow Blade is a Bonus Action spell

[@euansmith3699]

The old Sober-Up-At-Closing-Time, "Okay, contingency, when the tavern keeper calls Last Orders, cast Protection from Poison on me."

[@philiphockenbury6563]

Continency is actually the name of your magic familiar.

[@MyRegularNameWasTaken]

I think my favorite user of Contingency was one my DM used, where an NPC cast Feign Death upon herself after reaching 25% hit points. The result was that we thought we had killed her, and she got to listen in on our discussion of what to do now that she was dead. I don't think players can get much use out of this because they just go unconscious, but other DMs might be able to use this as a sneaky tactic.

[@metleon]

Everyone: There are a lot of great options for Contingency. Kelly: Yeah but I'm a T-Rex and you're not.

[@FireDragons42]

Contingency saved my level 16 wizard's life when an old DM decided he wanted to kill us all (he intended it to be his last session). He dropped us into a battle with no information or prep time with a group of 4 CR 20 creatures, 3 Beholders, and assorted minions with stunning effects. We had fought off most of the minions, and even taken down 2 of the Beholders, but we were still in a bad way. The Fighter was disintegrated, the Barbarian "convinced" to fight for the other side, one wizard dead, and the Healing Bard had given up and kneeled down to await death. I got hit by a blast from the remaining Beholder which brought me down to 17 hp and triggered my "If I drop to 25 hp or less, cast Resilient Sphere on myself" That let me survive the onslaught of 4 CR 20s as they didn't have Disintegrate and the Beholder had already gone, triggering the effect. When my turn came, I moved over to the corpse of my fellow wizard, dropped concentration to grab his corpse and cast Plane Shift to get me to my personal emergency demiplane bringing the other wizard's corpse (including book and their magic items) with me. The campaign ended there as that DM had no intention of running another session, but my head canon for that character is that they worked the last little bit they needed to get to level 17 (and get access to Wish, used that to revive his fellow wizard, then proceed to get back the rest of the party back (at least the ones who would come back) and they formed a group that defends the material planes against threats from the far realms and keep an eye on up and coming adventurers for recruits. This organization exists in my world and justifies high level NPCs existing in the world that can provide occasional aid, but don't solve all the problems the party encounters. They are focused on bigger things and even when not, they'd rather see what the party can do.

[@PiroMunkie]

One spell I'd fine particularly useful in a world of undead, fiends, fey, etc. is Protection from Evil and Good. You can completely shut down Charm/Possession/Fear effects by making yourself immune to them with a "If I would be..." or "If a creature would attempt to ..." clause to express that the protection would occur before the Charm/Possession/Fear effects would take place. This is better than Dispel Magic in cases where (A) the effect is from a higher level spell than you can use with Contingency, or (B) the effect is from an ability a creature has and not a spell. It uses your concentration, but in these situations it could be well worth it.

[@TristanSykes1994]

There is a really easy way to use dimension door with contingency and have it activate even if your GM tells you you have to predetermine. One of the viable locations is a place you can describe. So you take some chalk into the Dungeon with you, mark down a predetermined glyph in areas you think are safe and say you teleport to the last chalk glyph you drew. This way, you have a predetermined location you can put down anywhere and at anytime for a convenient escape point.

[@44R0Ndin]

*cue angry DM noises from the frustrated but overly micromanaging DM* In other words that's the best way to dodge that particular "nerf" that I've heard of yet. Just hope that the chalk glyph hasn't become the resting place of a Gelatinous Cube.

[@bigdream_dreambig]

I'm afraid this doesn't work to get around that GM ruling. The spell says "a place you can see" or "a place you can visualize." Even if you can visualize the chalk glyph, you can't visualize the last place you drew it since you haven't drawn it there yet.

[@micramism6431]

@@bigdream_dreambig > draws chalk glyph in a specific area, thereby necessitating my presence there. specifically memorize the area to be visualized later. > leaves > oshit.jpg > trigger contingency > i wasnt actually there when i drew the chalk symbol, contingency fails >sad.png

[@Mermanticore]

@@micramism6431 I think they maybe misunderstood what was meant by “last time?” As in, some time in the future, the glyph will be drawn for the last time at this point, but you haven’t drawn it yet, so it fails. Really strange interpretation of that phrase, but it the only interpretation that I can think of that makes sense…

[@jackhuckelberry8405]

Or just teleport to “the safest location in range.” It’s pretty subjective, so either you or the DM would need to determine it, and even spiteful DMs shouldn’t be able to do much about it, because if they try to screw you over then they aren’t really choosing a safe location.

[@seannolan7398]

I would not recommend Contingency triggering off of incapacitated condition, unless you are an elf or a warforged -- the unconscious condition also includes incapacitated, and you are unconscious when you are sleeping.

[@TheWackyWorkbench]

I would add the clause “except when I am naturally sleeping or a person I consider a friend somehow makes me unconscious. Or just play an elf and not sleep, just meditate

[@DrLongWang]

A simple way to fix that is to make it either, "incapacitated against my will," "incapacitate by the effect of another creature," or "incapacitate but not put to sleep." Since very few effects in the game put you to sleep these work arounds will almost always work.

[@44R0Ndin]

@@DrLongWang Slight improvement to "incapacitate by the effect of another creature" I'd modify that to "When I become incapacitated by a spell or effect of a hostile creature". That prevents false triggering, because you know sometimes the party befriends a Beholder that feels like doing a little bit of trolling.

[@danielcruz4960]

for dispell magic you can set the trigger to "when I'm under the influence of a spell or magical effect crested from an enemy" that covers pretty much all, charms, incapacitation frighten and the list goes on

[@protencya2150]

wouldnt that mean it procs against damaging spells? i would say that harmin is an influence and you can say it might not be a magical ''effect'' but i think even the fire from fireball is a magical effect ( i may be mistaken on this). or maybe its just my dm brain trying to prevent my players from gettin lazy and just saying ''save me when danger.''.

[@danielcruz4960]

@@protencya2150 fine just say a persistant magical effect, is not much more difficult

[@thoughtgaming492]

There is nothing in the rules for the spell stating you can just say “when I’m stunned, charmed, incapacitated, etc etc etc cast the spell”.

[@danielcruz4960]

@@thoughtgaming492 I know I'm just going with the limitation they are self imposing which apparently is to make it sound simple cause they never want to go into details with their triggers

[@Shaderox]

Seems the simplest and most sure-fire way would just be to say to trigger Dispel Magic when affected by a negative magic effect. covers environmental and unknown sources too (and friendly if in one of those kinds of partys).

[@edamommy]

The perfect way to keep your Archfey BBEG around: Contingency Banishment that activates at X hit point reduction Aka "WE'LL MEET AGAIN SPIDERMANNNNNN"

[@mrsamiam7872]

This doesn't work unfortunately because it would just incapacitate you if you're on the material plane because while on the harmless demi plane, you're incapacitated instantly breaking your concentration and ending your spell "If the target is native to the plane of existence you're on, you banish the target to a harmless demiplane. While there, the target is incapacitated. "

[@collinbeal]

@@mrsamiam7872 but the Archfey ISN'T a native of the material plane

[@DBArtsCreators]

You can't cast contingency using a metagame conept like HP or a specific amount of health lost. It'd have to be worded as something like "if I am seriously wounded" or "if I flee from a fight", or some such.

[@metleon]

@@collinbeal Final battle will have to take place in the Feywild to truly finish them off.

[@jayschweikert1984]

@@DBArtsCreators Says who? Spells refer to game-mechanics terms all the time - hit points, saves, attack rolls, AC, etc. Contingency just says you “describe that circumstance,” so what reason is there to say you can’t include game-mechanics terms as part of that circumstance?

[@beartygerevillaugh9418]

An excellent one that I haven’t seen yet is what’s the best spell at each lvl…..for each class Best spell is often done but I think there’s a vast diff between a clerics best spell at lvl 3 and a Wizard’s best spell at lvl 3. Would love to see y’all’s opinion on that

[@jordyrowe9055]

I wanna say Treantmonk has done or is in the process of doing this

[@beartygerevillaugh9418]

@@jordyrowe9055 I’ve seen his ranking of spells but it’s always nice to get other opinions and they could just do just each of their favorites for each lvl per class like lvl 1 wiz sleep and Magic missile vs Druid lvl 1 good berry and entangle. Or whatever spells and they could do 9 episodes of that one for each lvl

[@PuellaRider]

Between this and the RPGBot guide to contingency coming out in the same day, I guess I know what I'm giving my wizard next

[@BranHawk775]

Love RPGBot, glad I’m not the only one who likes it.

[@rambler209]

One of my favorites that I saw in a printed adventure was in the original Curse of the Crimson Throne. The court wizard had a Permanent Contingency set up to teleport him to his sanctum whenever he snapped his fingers.

[@SuperGoose42]

How broken would it be to implement that in 5e?

[@rambler209]

@@SuperGoose42 not horribly. Have the guy have a teleportation circle set up in the room. Take a feat that you permanently give up a spell slot in order to power a spell effect permanently. Have a specific pair action set up to cast Cure Wounds on the guy every time he enters through the circle. There you go.

[@jasonfurumetarualkemisto5917]

@@rambler209 Instead of giving up a spellslot... You can just cast Teleportation circle on that spot once everyday. If its his sanctum I imagine at one point in his life he was close enough to the place for it to be feasible. Them cast a Glyph of Warding with cure wounds (or get a Cleric that can cast Glyph of Wardimg and Heal), the trigger for said Glyph would be when you teleport in via the circle. There, a bit of set up time but entirely possible for a well prepared evil wizard.

[@rkbmcb]

Anyone else remember back in 3.5 when Craft Contingent Spell was an Item Creation Feat and you could layer a number of contingencies equal to your total HD on yourself? DMs everywhere should rejoice that their players can't have 11 backup castings of revivify each worded such that it only casts if the previous one in the chain had already been cast.

[@harrywhiteley89]

Death Ward and Freedom of Movement are also pretty epic spells for Contingency, also if you want to use two magical secrets Antilife Shell is also a Shout from the Druid Spell List

[@JakeConrad666]

but death ward already is a contignecy

[@harrywhiteley89]

@@JakeConrad666 10 day long deathward though ;)

[@Shaderox]

Don't know about bards since there's a lot of other spells one could pick instead of Death Ward with ones Magical Secrets, but for Arcana Domain Clerics it seems very viable.

[@MrTea_7]

I had a contingency set up for when I purposely blinked both eyes 3 times which can go into the cheeky way to trigger without needing to speak. I had it set up to cast blink

[@MaestroMagnifico21]

Contingency is a fantastic spell for Mage villains because the DM can be very creative with the uses to make a challenging encounter for the players

[@TheHandgunhero]

Fire Shield is a fantastic Contigency option that wasn't mentioned, you can have the trigger being when you take cold or fire damage, or better yet - when a creature within 5 feet of you hits you with a melee attack!

[@adarian]

Cast greater invisibility on myself when I Bladesing. Advantage for you on attacks and disadvantage for them if they try to hit you. Think this is a better choice overall than haste especially if you are an elf with elven accuracy and thus get 3 dice to hit them instead of just 2 and no lost turn if someone tosses a dispel at you and gets rid of your haste or you lose concentration. You are also immune to spells that require them to see you like hold person etc.

[@demoulius1529]

Dispel magic wouldnt work against a contigency anyway because a requirement for dispell magic is that they see someone casting a spell. With contigency you dont do that, the effect goes off automaticly. They also cant dispell invisibility with dispell magic because they need to see the target for the spell to work; which obviously cant happen if you are invisible :D

[@andrewmcmillan229]

Here's a fun one, Use contingency to cast Seeming when I cast Scatter. Have everyone in the battle suddenly look like you and teleport to random places around the battlefield, so nobody knows who is who and who to attack.

[@logancuster8035]

You can not target another creature with a Contingents spell. You could cast seeming to effect yourself but no one else.

[@sagesmith1734]

Seems like a fun idea, but the caveat to Contingency is that the caster is the only one to benefit from the spell.

[@andrewmcmillan229]

@@logancuster8035 In that case, make yourself look like the boss, so when you and the boss swap places you can point and say "He's trying to take my form! Get him!" and have the henchmen attack their boss.

[@krisjohn4668]

It looks to me like you could do something similar, using contingency to cast Dimension Door when you cast Seeming, then everyone can look like you but you'll be 500 feet away.

[@ShirotoraGodsbane]

One good combo is to set it up so when you cast mislead, you dimension door out of there. That way, not only are you gone, but they don't even realize it at first

[@kenscott1082]

I've put this on my wizard's spell list a few levels ago and I've been thrust back in time fighting dinosaurs and such. It's hard to get a statue made of yourself encrusted with diamonds. Maybe an video on how to get all the weird spell components for the wizard spells. Ruby Dust, Rubies, enough snow to pack into a simulacrum, diamonds, circlet of jewelry for your noggin, a few tuning forks attuned to various planes of existence. I'm going to take the fabricate spell, and all the skill proficiencies I can think of and start making this stuff as soon as I get it.

[@FireDragons42]

It doesn't say it has to be a good depiction. Just hammer some gold into a rough shape of your character and get someone in the party to stick some expensive gems into the eyes or something.

[@SuperGoose42]

Wait, so your DM is enforcing the material components rule for a campaign that doesn't have access to material components? Maybe talk to your DM about that, because that seems a little....nerfing

[@kenscott1082]

@@SuperGoose42 I’ve got maybe half of the gems I need. I am working towards it.

[@jasonfurumetarualkemisto5917]

Wait! You didn't Leomunds Tiny Chest your spell components?

[@darrenlodge6322]

Interestingly, in 1st / 2nd E, Contingency + Stoneskin was the #1 combo most of the time for magic-users. Stoneskin got seriously nerfed for 5E (and not complaining, because it was pretty OP in the earlier editions). Great video!

[@richardboyd1790]

The old layering of defensive buffs being nerfed is actually a good balance fix. Caster lost all of that, and they are still the most powerful classes

[@DerekBarolet]

Ya'll should do one on spells like ceremony, augery, etc. Loved this

[@fightingfalcon777]

One of the best examples of your mentioned use of Contingency and Revivify I have heard of is from Tulok the Barbrarian for his build video for Gandalf in D&D (for context, he made Gandalf a Protector Aasimar 14 College of Lore Bard/6 Oath of Devotion Paladin). He used his Magical Secrets to acquire Contingency and Revivify. It perfectly for replicated Gandalf’s resurrection and ascension from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White. Obviously, this only works for Bards or Arcana Clerics, but it was nonetheless pretty damn clever

[@PuellaRider]

It also works with wizards if you take the Witherbloom background from Strixhaven, but that's a more niche case

[@fightingfalcon777]

@@PuellaRider Oh, groovy! I’m not super familiar with the Strixhaven stuff, but that’s pretty cool that it can allow for Wizards to get resurrection magic

[@Mr1991bbk]

By the wording of at least Counterspell and Dispel Magic, a spell's casted level is what is referred to when a spell uses the activation of a second spell. So, you can upcast Dispel Magic with Contingency. If not, then Dispel Magic or Counterspell would instantly work against 3rd level or lower spells even if they were upcasted above 3rd level.

[@SirButterlegs]

Wow my Wizard Bladesinger just turned level 10 last Friday and I was thinking of Contingency options for next level and this video drops. You guys are the best.

[@SirButterlegs]

​@Cameron Buxton I'm probably gonna use or try out all the ones in this video. But top 3 would be Dispel Magic, Haste, and Otiluke's Resilient Sphere.

[@keithfricke6096]

I had a character that used contingency to invoke Otiluke’s Resilient sphere and set things up with another party member to cast Levitate on the sphere and get it above the ground. This helped get my character out of melee range when the spell ended, giving me the choice to cast feather fall or fly

[@heroicvileplume7184]

Alternate title: Top 10 ways Strahd will use the contingency spell to screw over the players in your campaign

[@CallenExile]

You must cast the spell that Contingency triggers as part of its own casting. Due to that, the rules do support upcasting Dispel Magic at your highest available spell slot, because when upcast, a spell becomes a spell of that level.

[@davidandelin5006]

Loving all the recent videos! Got my Drakkenheim Kickstarter last week and am loving it too! Going to run several adventures with it over the summer and have already incorporated it into my hombrew world and champaigns

[@Mass0404]

Make sure to keep the Delerium out of the ‘champaign’, don’t want your mages getting drunk on power mid-session.

[@davidandelin5006]

@@Mass0404 that's what I get for using talk-to-text LOL

[@Mass0404]

@@davidandelin5006 Always check your verbal Contingency, lest you cast Create or Destroy Alcohol by accident.

[@techknight3753]

One of my favorite contingencies I've ever used was with invisibility. The trigger was a keyphrase which was intentionally easy to understand, "warp". My wizard vanishes into thin air, and any enemy who heard them assumes they have teleported somewhere else. Meanwhile, my wizard simply stays put until it's safe to reappear or run

[@AlwaysGrowing0]

Most creatures at high level have truesight. Thus, they will still see you if you are invisible. Not a good use of Contingency at high levels.

[@techknight3753]

@@AlwaysGrowing0 Alright sir buzz kill, but did I ask?

[@Sualokin3]

I would add that you can add "and" and "or" to the if trigger to make it more specific or open ended as you wish. Or do both for example: If I start bladesinging AND I make an attack OR say "insert keyword here"

[@jonah4196]

My personal favorite alternative to the "keyword" activation is a specific series of blinks and winks. You can do that even if you're gagged/silenced. The only way to prevent it is unconsciousness or maybe paralysis depending on how your DM rules that

[@jasonfurumetarualkemisto5917]

Pairs pretty well with objects on your person that have magic mouth on them too.

[@cconnorss]

Antiquing! I love the Futurama deep cut. You two are so cool lol ❤️

[@christoffer2794]

Evoker wizard using sculpt spells + thunderstep is so much fun :) (Assuming thundersetp is upcast to 5th level, you can ensure that 6 of your companions dont take any dmg from thunderstep, by the sculpt spells feature)

[@Yutah1981]

Thunderstep is not evocation, it's conjuration. You can only sculpt evocation spells.

[@chrism6315]

In regards to quotes about plans, the best is simply. 'Plans are worthless, planning is everything' Re dimension door, I would assume RAW you have to select a target when you cast it into contingency, so you have to stick within its confines. It also allows you to make the spell work how you are saying, you just need to he smarter about how you word it. Contingency states (part of it) 'a place you can visualize'. Simply state when casting the spell on the desired trigger (being attacked/surrounded etc) 'within 5 feet of the ally furthest away from me provided there is safe space to do so'. We can have our cake and eat it without bending the rules, and with a spell like contingency, I think its important to stick to RAW because its a spell easily abusable.

[@btietzws]

I have been waiting for this video for sooooo long! Thanks for the topic guys!

[@ronstahl5783]

I like True Sight triggered whenever an invisible creature, object, illusion or magically concealed door or trap is within 75’ range. In a sense it is better than a robe of eyes because you’ll know it is triggered even if your opponent is otherwise concealed so you’ll be looking carefully, without appearing to be looking carefully. It gives you the upper hand when your opponent thinks they have the upper hand.

[@Sheamu5]

"You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" polymorphs into giant gorilla

[@hamstsorkxxor]

Hahaha I love it! Make it a green gorilla as well! Or giant ape!

[@jamesrose1460]

LOL Wizard Smash!

[@richardorlowski1751]

Our DM put in a necklace that let casters concentrate on two spells, during the final fight I had set a contingency for when I cast Tasha’s otherworldly guise, haste activated. Basically gave my bard devil trigger

[@AnaseSkyrider]

Oh shit, Devil Trigger is pretty nutty

[@Jackevolution88]

I had a Bladesinger mage that when she's scream "SHAZAM" she's go Haste with contingency, too much fun with it

[@flarescareb]

The only thing with spirit shroud though is that it is a bonus action so it’s not a valid contingency target. I like the haste idea though, never thought about that.

[@knightwhosayni2492]

HI nice video, i just remembered and i think you didnt mention it, Genie Warlock at 14. lvl gets Limited wish which can cast Contingency and it even bipasses the costly material component. Btw from EU and i am just excitingly expecting the Drakkenheim Kickstarter pack.

[@rdchris6556]

Unfortunately, Genie Warlocks cannot cast Contingency via limited wish as limited wish ALSO has a stipulation of the casting time being limited to 1 action, which would preclude contingency as contingency takes 10 minutes. It'd be pretty much the go to option otherwise, shame it doesn't work.

[@DrLongWang]

Contingency has a casting time of 10 minutes and the limited wish feature can only be used on spells with a casting time of one action. Although a 17th level genie warlock could normal wish this spell into being, unless your dm says you can't because you can't cast another spell while casting wish since it's one action.

[@woutvanostaden1299]

Could be a good spell for bard magical secrets, because they also get revivify, right?

[@EviscerVIII]

I did exactly this with my lore bard.

[@TheJurzerker]

Revivify is not on the Bard spell list.

[@Desdemona-XI]

@@TheJurzerker no but they can still take it with magical secrets. Because bards are bonkers like that

[@Past0rM4n]

This is literally what they were saying.

[@TheJurzerker]

@@Desdemona-XI yeah, you can, but you do have revive options as a bard, using a whole magicl secrets for one just for this combo is not worth it

[@mitchc6059]

My go to contingency in older editions was cast dispel magic if an enemy spell causes loss of control of my character. Protection from evil is also in the same vein.

[@fingallcross4089]

With polymorph, "Strike me down and I shall become more powerful than you could ever imagine." Baddy strikes anyway. *T-rex pops into being.*

[@jamesrose1460]

I was just thinking this to post

[@trevorowen9589]

This has always been one of my favorite spells and seeing you guys do a video on this made my day

[@skow7620]

Contingency is one of those great spells that I would talk with the GM before taking. Contingency has a costly material component that is also a special piece of artwork. The contingency spell requires a 1500 gp statuette of the caster carved from ivory and decorated with gems. By Xanathar's down time crafting rules, the statuette takes 30 workweeks to make. Probably less due to the inherit value of the gems used, but still months to create the statuette. So if it gets lost or stolen, you may be without access to Contingency for an extended period of time. Then again, having the statuette stolen is a great plot hook. Was the statuette taken by simple thieves out for money or an enemy caster who plans to use it in a nefarious ritual targeting the wizard. Who knows what will happen when the statuette goes missing.

[@coomboy87]

If you have the materials, you could cast the Fabricate spell to make it almost instantly. As a DM, I would insist the player had either the Jeweller's or Stone Cutting proficiency before I allow this though.

[@sillvvasensei]

I love Mislead. I used it for scouting in the middle of an enemy camp once, because the duplicate can't be attacked. And after I figured out where we needed to go, I used it to cause a distraction to make it easier for the party to sneak into the camp.

[@jacquesbraz4801]

This is a HUGE topic for me! I've never played as a mid to high level wizard, BUT when the day come I'll remember this video with a malicious smirk and my DM will have a better adversary then.

[@soandrew921]

As a bard, you can set a contingency to when you cast Plant Growth or Transmute Rock, the spell Sickening Radiance goes off along with it.

[@talongreenlee7704]

Your contingency only targets yourself

[@Halinspark]

If [keyword] while wearing [item], cast [spell] Then you take [item] to a shopkeeper and sell it as a neat magical item with a once per day use. Show it working with Contingency, and you'll have at least a day to get out of town before they realize.

[@Shaderox]

Seems like a high risk that after the demonstration, merchants interested in magical goods would be able to tell it's no longer magical. normal magic items doesn't stop being magical items after once-per-day uses. ...and there's a lot of better spells that's less costly on the spell slots for scamming merchants anyway. But i suppose if that's ones only option and the gold is worth the risk & consequences, one gotta do what one gotta do.

[@O4C209]

Really wished you talked more about how this spell doesn't work if the material component is not with you. That material component being "a statuette of yourself carved from ivory and decorated with gems worth at least 1,500 gp". Just imagine a Wizard walking around with that.

[@j.asmrgaming1228]

When you think how expensive certain gems are it probably wouldn't have to be very big at all

[@benharder7816]

A "statuette" is something small, that can be handhold, like an Oscar trophy

[@DoctorFabio23]

Bag of holding.

[@adamstadick2044]

@@DoctorFabio23 I’d argue that something being in another dimension does not count as being “on you”.

[@DoctorFabio23]

@@adamstadick2044 Bit stricter than I'd rule it. It is within reach.

[@neilpalmieri9028]

Here’s how my players utterly destroyed any sense of decency I thought the characters had left. They JUST got level 11 and therefore 6th level spells Step 1. Set up 2 contingencies with the same spell- dimension door, set it to different Conditions; in this case they chose “when I polymorph” and “when I scream at an inhuman pitch” Step 2: get a cleric to cast death ward on you Step 3: have someone cast invisibility on you Step 4: have someone cast enlarge on you Step 5: find a group of enemies that need to be eliminated- alternatively, one very strong enemy you wish to humiliate Step 6: trigger the first dimension door by polymorphing into an orca, dimension door over an enemy Step 7: fall over 500 feet on to the enemy, dealing the fall damage to yourself as a gargantuan orca Step 8: trigger the death ward to retain orca form- and trigger your second contingency by screaming as an orca Step 9: fall 500 feet AGAIN in the same spot- thoroughly decimating yourself as well as whatever unfortunate souls happen to suffer this ridiculous fate

[@lancourt]

You cannot set up two contingency's at the same time

[@jesse1018]

You *could* use a moon Druid to accomplish the same goal without the need for Death Ward…

[@solarpoweredhero]

While that is an amazing scenario, rules as written a player can only be under the effect of a single contingency spell at a time

[@bigdream_dreambig]

I think the effects of a previously-cast Enlarge/Reduce are suppressed on Polymorph, so the orca would only be Huge, not Gargantuan.

[@neilpalmieri9028]

@@solarpoweredhero I was unaware of this fact- I think I’ll continue to rule it in my games that they can set up two as it requires enough forethought that it’s not broken but thanks for informing me

[@EvilCleverDog]

Another fun no-concentration defensive option and a sometimes favourite of mine for my Bladesinger/Rogue has been Blink. It's a good one to set for the "when I drop to X health" contingency. It does get past the Blindsight issue with Mirror Image/Invisibility, though sadly once creatures start getting Truesight it can be outmoded. But it's saved my Bladesinger's ass multiple times, especially if she gets overrun by multiple enemies.

[@evannewell7985]

Magic Mouth is VERY open-ended in the triggers that can be used to set it off, and the ways you can combine castings to program things like alarm systems. Combining it with Contingency opens up all kinds of fun.

[@zacharylona]

Well somebody got a nice tan. Trigger: activating Bladesong (or a word) Spell: Steel Wind Strike This lets you still attack and cantrip in addition to doing a bunch of damage to several targets.

[@dcoffinh]

Unfortunately, you can't deal damage with contingency. The spell can only target you, and if it deals damage, it only hurts you.

[@lostsoulman]

Thanks for the vid. If you determine where you go with dimension door after the trigger. Is it the same for polymorph? You choose after the trigger? Thx

[@commanderroddi7742]

I used this as a bard, and had some funs with this spell and other magical secrets spells. Since I am thinking playing a bladesinger, I am looking at this spell again. (though wonder if it changed in 2024 rules). I avoid using spells that require concentration with some exception (if I use haste, that is BAD!). I did stuff like "if incapacitated, Dispel that magic effect") or use something like "Cast chain lightning if surrounded" or replace the spell with firestorm). Mislead is a good one, and so is irror image. Dimension door I didn't use because the issue of not being able to see and maybe going into a safe place unless DM would let me state "to a safe spot". THen there's the "if HP low polimorph". AS for the Dispel magic, DM did let me up-cast dispel magic, and other spells. One I had fun with was the "if I say a word, then haste" or cast an upcasted spell like flapming sphere or heat metal.

[@troldetorben]

My artificer1/wizard13 was using a level 5 Cure Wounds with a command word, for on-demand healing.

[@icaroandrades.bacelar1025]

Great video! Just one small thing: I believe spirit shroud uses a bonus action to cast so it wouldn't be an alternative to haste.

[@havock89]

I created the spell mislead in 1988 with my wizard. I also set it at level 5 and it was called Chicken Chase... loved that spell :)

[@tannerarmstrong1496]

I like "if i fail a 3rd death saving throw, cast fireball at 5th level" it really incentivises the cleric to prioritize healing me.

[@DungeonDudes]

This does not work RAW; the contingent spell only targets and effects you.

[@JohnQDarksoul]

While it doesn't work RAW, a wizard NPC doing this is fair game! 5th level fireball or synaptic static (I think that's 5th level) just to give your players a good ol' "to whom it may concern."

[@evilbarrels2506]

@@DungeonDudes I think that's the idea. "if I die, cast fireball at 5th level centered on my self". Fireball can target yourself, it's just not usually recommended.

[@frog_champ]

@@evilbarrels2506 Fireball targets a point, not a creature, so it isn't eligible for Contingency.

[@cjslime8847]

I agree this doesn’t work raw is there a spell that has a casting range of self /touch that gives the items an ability to deal damage, I know it doesn’t work for our purpose but somethings like dragons breath

[@Shaderox]

A trigger i'd probably consider (had my wizard reached such high level the time i played it) would probably have been "If i become incapable of spellcasting" since it would trigger on all kinds of stun effects, death... but also having a spell on-demand for when polymorphing. But since i played bladesinger i'd probably have Blink on some easy-to-trigger condition most of the time, as while not entirely reliable it does have a chance to make you untargetable by basically everything every turn as well as add 10ft to you movement those turns and let you pop up somewhere else without opportunity attacks and doesn't use concentration which is a big thing. Since you're usually concentrating on the spell you think is best for the situation and Contingency will cancel it when it triggers if you have a concentration spell as part of it. (And it works with polymorph too to become a warping, interdimensional T-rex!)

[@crowsenpai5625]

I’ve had a “activate at 1 hp” contingency to cast [Feign Death] on me, while I was under a [Death Ward] so I would at least hit 1. Perfect faked death in the middle of combat.

[@Bruh-kg9nw]

Revivify can also be good if you have a ring of spell storing and a cleric friend. They can store it in the ring and now the wizard can cast it. If you die, you come back!

[@mattdahm4289]

This is a really great and insightful video. Thank you dudes!

[@PiroMunkie]

For things like Mirror Image/Invisibility/etc as defensive measures against attacks, you should state "If I _would be_ the target of an attack roll..." this way it'll trigger before the attack happens and grant you all the benefits you want against that attack. Waiting until you get hit, especially in the case of Mirror Image, defeats the purpose of preparing those spells as a contingency.

[@haleyw5677]

Yeah but that is dm dependent because it gets kinda metagame-y

[@adarian]

That terminology would make it trigger the very first time you are ever attacked. Not when you are in serious danger. Just the the first time someone lobs an arrow at you. You might want to word it as "When I am targeted by an attack while under X percentage of hp's."

[@adarian]

@@haleyw5677 Not metagaming at all. Metagaming is when someone is making decisions based on knowledge the character would not have but the player does. A wizard would fully know what his spell is capable of and how being attacked works so it would not be metagaming at all to set up a contingency like this since a character would fully have the knowledge of how the world works through their own experience with the spell and with being attacked.

[@override367]

in general, reactions occur after the trigger, however since it's off the action economy... eh? depends on the dm

[@PiroMunkie]

@@adarian Yeah I just wanted to bring up changing the language to make it more advantageous. You can (and probably should) always refine as needed to meet your use case.

[@Thetruepianoman]

Has never played dnd. Has no intention of playing. Has no friends 😂 Still excited when you guys upload, the mark of true content

[@talongreenlee7704]

You could word Dimension Door as “Teleport me the shortest distance to behind full cover from the creature that hit me if possible” and I would accept that as valid.

[@ThomasHDBass]

If you know you will encounter a spellcaster, Enhance Ability on your spellcasting ability might be an interesting option to buff your counterspelling. E.g., if you have +5 and need to counter a 7th level spell with a 3rd level slot, your chance will go up from 40% to 64%. And you could trigger it on you casting Counterspell or Dispel Magic.

[@Bidniss.]

Contingency is so much fun that I gave a custom magic items to one of the Liches in the campaign I'm currently running that allows them to upcast contingency to hold higher level spells. I can't wait to see the party's reaction when the Barbarian gets hit with a maze after his first hit on the Lich, and I'm equally as excited to see what the party wizard does with the item after (if) they defeat the Lich!

[@rcschmidt668]

I was looking for a comment where an opponents or BBEG would be using Contingency. I am making plans.

[@quincykunz3481]

As the DM you can do what you wish, but rules as written contingency can only target the caster, so the only person they could maze would be themselves.

[@rcschmidt668]

@@quincykunz3481 Good point. It does make them harder to kill. So does having illusions and simulacra.

[@Bidniss.]

@@quincykunz3481 that's true, thanks for catching that one haha. I guess maze could still be used as a safe place for the Lich to huff themselves up while the party deals with the minions.

[@MyRegularNameWasTaken]

Next up should be top 10 Glyph of Warding spells!! Similar ability to buff yourself but without the fear of Concentration!

[@Kurotekken]

Antiquing is the first word I thought of. Thank you so much, Kelly.

[@BlackShadow1991]

Those are some very fun and good ideas :) Thanks for the guide, Dudes!

[@TheGeminiZodiac2]

So, aside from the flex of rising from the dead, why wouldn’t you use contingency on a healing spell when downed rather than use revivify? You get more health back, don’t have to wait until your death saves run out, and it costs nothing.

[@DrScott-i9r]

If you’re really getting ganged up on, or taking a huge hit, getting 15 hp may not save your bacon .

[@TheGeminiZodiac2]

@@DrScott-i9r But spending 300 gold to get 1 seems worse, is my point. Frankly, using contingency to save yourself from death just seems like the worst way to use it overall. Planning for failure and all that

[@DaraelDraconis]

I think it makes perfect sense for Contingency to be able to detect circumstances you personally otherwise can't -after all, the condition can potentially be "if I die…" (or even, if you're feeling canny, "If I have been dead for nine rounds", thereby allowing for someone else to cast Revivify without burning your contingency and only firing it off in the event of a TPK or similarly dire situation) - so one that might be useful in some campaigns is Contingency(I am being observed by invisible or ethereal means within my sight range): See Invisibility.

[@666DarkOverlord]

If you know that you are about to go into a big battle the next day if you're a bladesinger you could have haste stored in the contingency with the trigger being when you activate your bladesong, that way it triggers using only the same bonus action that you would use going into a tough fight anyway and you have haste from the first turn of the fight even if you don't have a round to trigger buff spells before initiative starts and keep slots available for dealing damage or protecting sometimes that one last slot is what can push a fight over the edge to win, if you're able to pair it up with something that allows you to heal in any way aswell that extra slot being saved from being spent on hasting yourself can mean the difference between a downed ally outright dying and you being able to pop them back up before that last death save roll or killing attack happens. I've got a bladesinger who has a dragonmark of healing from eberron kinda makes a different flavour of paladin using INT instead of CHA for damage output so they can have more utility outside of battle aswell as more slots available to help teammates or trigger battlefield control stuff and am 100% planning to take contingency for this reason.

[@lukesandadordoceu4835]

The "pre determined choice" for dimension door doesn't even make sense rules wise, since the spell isn't cast when you cast contingency. The description specifies that you expend the spell slot for the contingent spell, but it is only cast when the condition is met. For DD, you choose the destination when you cast the spell, so in the case of it being your contingent spell, you would choose the destination when the condition is met and the contingent spell is effectively cast

[@billbenedict4664]

"You cast that spell-called the contingent spell-as part of casting contingency, expending spell slots for both, but the contingent spell doesn’t come into effect." It looks like you do actually cast the spell at the time of casting contingency. I'm afraid I'm one of those DMs who would rule you have to pick your destination at the time of casting. Consider the case of being knocked unconscious, incapacitated, or some other case that prevents you from choosing a destination in the moment, but triggers the Dimension Door. Where would you go then when you are unable to decide?

[@lukesandadordoceu4835]

@@billbenedict4664 true, I misremembered the description. Altough I would still say that you only need to choose when the effect comes to take place. If you had to choose beforehand, I would say it's only useful in such an example: you plan some kind of trap and have your companions/ minions waiting to strike while you are the bait, getting the targets to a point of your choice; as your condition, you have a codeword or similar that activates DD and the strike team makes its move against the targets. In this situation, you'd probably know where you want to go within range beforehand

[@ItsShatter]

If you put the trigger for polymorph as “when targeted by an attack that would reduce me to 0 hit points” would that work to basically intercept the attack so that it hits your polymorphed form, rather than in original form that would result in unconsciousness?

[@user-mu8ok5xf8d]

Yes. You can also say if it would do (a specific amount of damage) or more cast this spell, so if you get hit hard you can use this to just take the damage

[@andrewhalverson6974]

Question: I always wondered if contingency would thematically work better if it followed the same parameters of what spells could work, but that it functions as a spell cast as a reaction, at any time, to cast any other spell you know, up to the level spell slot used to cast contingency (min. 6) It would amp up the diversity that a wizard can bring to bear, and free up prepared spells for non self/action spells. Thematically, I think of how a wizard is super smart, and it is a spell that supports the theme with mechanics. Unfortunately I've never gotten the opportunity to play test it done this way. I'd love to know what y'all think. Thanks for the awesome videos!

[@TheSensei88]

An trickster style character could have a lot of fun with this spell. Preparing mislead to be launched when you cast another spell (or a spoken command) Like... cast fireball (triggers mislead) and make the clone run in a direction, you going invisible on the opposite one, or trigger the casting of Seeming to be launched when surrounded or light flickers to make all enemies and allies look like you, or their boss... or furniture. Extra points if School of Illusion Wizard. Idk if it's the best use of a 6th level spell slot... but it's so fun.

[@thewretchedpleb7484]

Been playing a wizard/ tempest cleric in my first campaign and I had a thought about contingency once I saw it. An offensive use. Still learning and trying to remember the rules tho, so I'm not 100% certain on it. Definitely has problems though, like using 4 high level slots for a pretty niche combo. The thought was to turn myself into an i.e.d.... but lightning. Example: contingency+ chain lightning on myself, triggered by enemy proximity (got a couple ways to survive the damage). Then putting a spell glyph on my armor if the rules or DM allow, upcasting it to 5th level to use a 5th level lightning bolt, also triggered upon enemy proximity. If channel divinity is active and the enemies fail their saves it'd be easily over 100 total damage that ignores resistance. Not very useful for anything with counterspell or legendary resistances but I can imagine it clearing large but weak groups.

[@Jkim3591]

This is awesome content!! Definitely helpful for newer players!!

[@kalitasmarkov]

I like Revifify. Have an Abjurer 11/Armorer 9 planned out. Armor of Agethys upcast to deal damage and refill your ward with a Contingency on Revifify in case you actually go down. Great AC from armor and Int based attacks means you’re super SAD so you can take extra feats.

[@IgorLebreaud]

Great video, but I think you can't use shadow blade or spirit shroud with contingency, because both spells require bonus actions, right?

[@44R0Ndin]

You can control those spells with bonus actions, but they are cast with the main action, if memory serves. Same as with a Druid's wildfire spirit. Takes an action to summon, is controlled with bonus action.

[@cristiananao294]

​@@44R0Ndinit's the opposite, they are cast with a bonus action, then shadow blade becomes an ordinary melee weapon, and spirit shroud just surround you, no need of controlling

[@44R0Ndin]

@@cristiananao294 Yeah that's it, I was mistaken. I was thinking of the Spirit Guardians and Spiritual Weapon spells that Clerics get. Spirit Guardians just surrounds you with an AOE damage-dealing field, but Spiritual Weapon is indeed "cast with an action, controlled with a bonus action". Don't know what got into my head to make me post what I first posted.

[@cristiananao294]

@@44R0Ndin no worries mate, between actions and bonus actions it gets so confusing! I only happen to know these two because i play both a bladesinger (hence the shadowblade) and a cleric 😊

[@samuelbanks8499]

if your DM makes you declare your DD ahead of time, make it "I teleport backwards; to retrace my steps, as far as possible"

[@gormold4163]

As a potential argument in favor of being able to decide where to teleport as contingency activates: If contingency doesn’t pre-concentrate on the spell, clearly the spell can involve some level of focus at the moment of activation. It basically consolidates the casting process into whatever condition you set, then your will is used in the casting of the spell. If it instantly becomes something you concentrate on, it doesn’t make sense for it to not do the same thing for where you would like to be.

[@KyleTrek]

Gliph of warding stores a contegency in a page that when torn can be used by anyone I think

[@jasonfurumetarualkemisto5917]

But you can't move said book it's written on more than 10ft away from where you casted it

[@KyleTrek]

Portable hole? Make a bunch in that pocket space and you could have a library in your pocket and can whip it out anywhere and the item never moves from it's original casting spot in the hole.? Idk that or another similar pocket space trick

[@DrLongWang]

Interesting contingency ideas are using thoughts as contingents, i.e. If I want a dispelable effect to be dispelled and cannot dispel it myself cast dispel magic. Or if I notice an effect is coming and then do not make a plan on how to counter it within 6 seconds cast dispel magic. In the first cast you can dispel things like paralyzed since you can still thing and in the second this should work on effects that incapacitate you, since you cannot make a plan while unconscious the contingent factor of not having a plan occurs.

[@richard_n]

Fantastic video guys, very useful.

[@godsamongmen8003]

Use contingency for Plane Shift, and go to the demiplane that you made on a previous day. And of course that demiplane is full of glyphs of warding to get you buffed up.

[@Shaderox]

Plane Shift is a 7th level spell so it can't be used with Contingency.