Invisibility in D&D | The Unseen | Wandering DMs S05 E20

Wandering DMs

Dan & Paul chat about the complications of invisibility in D&D, how to handle it, and how easily opponents can counter it, through the ages. How often have you cursed because of it?

In fiction, people or objects can be rendered completely invisible by several means:

• Magical objects such as rings, cloaks and amulets can be worn to grant the wearer permanent invisibility (or temporary invisibility until the object is taken off).
• Magical potions can be consumed to grant temporary or permanent invisibility.
• Magic spells can be cast on people or objects, usually giving temporary invisibility.
• Some mythical creatures can make themselves invisible at will, such as in some tales in which leprechauns or Chinese dragons can shrink so much that humans cannot see them.
• In science fiction, the idea of a "cloaking device".

In some works, the power of magic creates an effective means of invisibility by distracting anyone who might notice the character. But since the character is not truly invisible, the effect could be betrayed by mirrors or other reflective surfaces.

Where magical invisibility is concerned, the issue may arise of whether the clothing worn by and any items carried by the invisible being are also rendered invisible. In general they are also regarded as being invisible, but in some instances clothing remains visible and must be removed for the full invisibility effect.

This description uses material from the Wikipedia article "Invisibility", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.