Tis not the moment still and dread, when sorcerers use their baleful power; when graves give up their buried dead, to profit by the sanctioned hour. -Matthew Lewis, The Monk

A cleric uses a magical glyph to seal an ancient crypt, trapping the evil within. A necromancer toils in a moonlit graveyard, animating a horde of undead minions. Many characters in Ravenloft possess the power to twist or even shatter the laws of nature for their own ends. Magic allows mortals to control men's minds, smite their foes with supernatural energies, or even grant life to the dead. In short, magic allows mortals to play at being gods.

Spellcasters native to Ravenloft have learned most of the limitations of magic through generations of research. Folklore is likewise filled with warnings against the risks of tampering with the laws of nature, though these superstitions often exaggerate or distort the truth. If a spell effect simply doesn't function in Ravenloft, most spellcasters believe that the effect is inherently impossible. They may even scoff openly at the though that such things may be possible in "other lands".

Spellcasters from other worlds have to learn how magic has been warped through trial and error. If you're playing an "outlander" spellcaster, you may want to skip this section to preserve the mystery and allow yourself to learn magic's secrets along with your character.

The Demiplane of Dread is isolated from all other planes, included the Material Planes of other worlds, hemmed in at all sides by the malevolent Mists. No spell, not even wish, allows one to escape from Ravenloft. Astral projection, teleport, plane shift, and similar domains cast for purposes of leaving the demiplane simply fail, as do effects that banish a creature to another plane of existence. These restrictions apply to magic items and artifacts that have properties that transport or banish creatures to other planes.

Magic that allows transit to the Border Ethereal, and thus the Feywild or Shadowfell, such as the etherealness spell, and the Etherealness feature of incorporeal undead, is the exception to this rule. Even plane shift can be used to enter the Shadowfell or Feywild reflection of the nearby area, and that is nearly the only regular use of that particular spell in Ravenloft.

For the purpose of spells whose effects change across or are blocked by planar boundaries (such as sending), each dread domain is considered its own plane. Magic that summons creatures or objects from other planes function normally in Ravenloft, as does magic that involves an extradimensional space. Any spells cast within such an extradimensional space (such as that created by Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion) are subject to the same restrictions as magic cast in Ravenloft.

Spells that allow contact with beings from other planes function normally, with one proviso: The darklord of the current domain you reside in can sense when someone is casting such a spell in their domain, and can choose to make themselves the spell's recipient, so that they are the one who is contacted instead. Alternately, the DM may rule it's the Dark Powers themselves who are contacted, and whose answers may or may not be accurate.

Spells in Ravenloft

• Alarm: Instead of hearing a mental ping when the alarm is triggered, the caster hears a scream.
• Antimagic Field: This spell can't overcome a closed domain border.
• Animal Friendship: If the animals are under the control of a darklord, they make the save with advantage.
• Animal Messenger: If the animal is under the control of a darklord, it delivers your message to them instead of the target you specify.
• Animate Dead: Casting this spell requires no material components but requires a powers check.
• Awaken: If you awaken a plant to humanlike intelligence, it slowly and inexorably absorbs the evil taint of the Realm of Dread from the very soil. Once a month, it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC = the number of months that have passed since it was awakened) or have its moral alignment permanently shift to evil.
• Banishment: This spell transports the target to a random location in Ravenloft, or if the domain borders are closed, to a random location in the same domain.
• Bestow Curse: Casting this spell requires a powers check.
• Bigby's Hand: The conjured hand is skeletal.
• Blink: This spell transports you to the Near Ethereal, not out of Ravenloft.
• Calm Emotions: If the creatures are under the influence of a darklord, they make their Charisma save with advantage.
• Ceremony (Atonement): This spell can't remove the effects of a failed powers check.
• Charm Monster: If under the control of a darklord, the save is made with advantage.
• Charm Person: If under the control of a darklord, the save is made with advantage.
• Circle of Death: Creatures killed by this spell must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or spontaneously animate as zombies or skeletons under the caster's control. Casting this spell requires a powers check.
• Clairvoyance: See scrying.
• Clone: If you grow a duplicate while the original still lives, the Dark Powers infuse the clone's flesh with its own life force, mirroring that of the original at the time the piece of flesh was taken. The duplicate's moral alignment is always evil and it will be obsessed with the goal of destroying the original so it can replace them.
• Command: If the target is under the influence of a darklord, the save is made with advantage.
• Commune: This spell contacts either the Dark Powers or the realm's darklord (DM choice).
• Commune with Nature: The radius of effect never extends beyond domain borders. You may attempt to sense the general location of the darklord as one of your three facts, so long as they're within range. If you select this option, however, the darklord gets a Wisdom save to avoid detection. Whether or not the darklord succeeds, they instantly become aware of your general location.
• Contact Other Plane: This spell opens a mental conduit to the darklord. You know only that you have contacted a powerful, malevolent force. The darklord need not answer truthfully; in fact, they need not answer at all. Neither party can make attacks through this mental contact but the darklord discovers your location to within two miles. The darklord may humor your questions or dispatch minions to hunt you down. Contacting a mind so filled with evil forces a Madness save. The darklord can willingly project thoughts of evil and despair at you; if they do, the Madness save is made with disadvantage.
• Contagion: Casting this spell requires a powers check.
• Control Weather: You cannot control weather past a domain border. The darklord may have control over the weather in their domain. If so, they can choose to contest your spell or allow it to work. Either way, they'll be aware of the changes you make.
• Create Undead: Casting this spell requires a powers check.
• Find familiar: The familiar can be undead instead of a celestial, fey, or fiend, and would be immune to features that turn undead if so. Any familiar summoned within Ravenloft is a Dread Companion.
• Find Steed: The mount can be undead instead of a celestial, fey, or fiend, and would be immune to features that turn undead if so. Any steed summoned within Ravenloft is a Dread Companion.
• Find the Path: A child's spirit appears and guides the caster to the desired location. The spirit can't be harmed and doesn't speak.
• Fog Cloud: Misty, harmless claws form in the fog.
• Gust of Wind: A ghastly moan accompanies the summoned wind.
• Mage Hand: The summoned hand is visible and skeletal.
• Maze: The surfaces of the demiplane's maze are made of mortared skulls and bones.
• Phantom Steed: The steed resembles a skeletal horse.
• Planar Binding: Summoned creatures are trapped in Ravenloft. Upon completion of their task, and finding they're unable to return to their home plane, they may seek revenge.
• Rary's Telepathic Bond: Characters linked together by the spell can't shake the feeling that something vile is telepathically eavesdropping on them.
• Scrying: The sensor is a ghostly, floating version of the caster's perceiving sense (an eyeball, a nose, etc). This sensor can be spotted with a Perception check, DC equal to the spell saving throw. The caster is vulnerable to attacks channeled through the sensor (such as a vampire's dominating gaze).
• Spirit Guardians: The spirits appears as ghostly, skeletal warriors, wicked cathedral gargoyles, or haunting silent angels.
• Wall of Stone: A wall created by the spell has ghastly faces sculpted into it, as though tortured spirits are somehow trapped within the stone.