Alarm 5e - D&D 5th Edition Spell Book

Alarm 5e spell scroll. Includes the spell's name
Alarm 5e Image

Alarm 5e Spell Effects

1st-level abjuration (ritual)


Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S, M (a tiny bell and a piece of fine silver wire)

Duration: 8 hours


You set an alarm against unwanted intrusion. Choose a door, a window, or an area within range that is no larger than a 20-foot cube. Until the spell ends, an alarm alerts you whenever a Tiny or larger creature touches or enters the warded area. When you cast the spell, you can designate creatures that won't set off the alarm. You also choose whether the alarm is mental or audible.


A mental alarm alerts you with a ping in your mind if you are within 1 mile of the warded area. This ping awakens you if you are sleeping.


An audible alarm produces the sound of a hand bell for 10 seconds within 60 feet.


All information about Alarm 5e comes from the DnD Player's Handbook.

Classes That Can Cast Alarm 5e

The following classes gain access to casting Acid Splash 5e as part of their normal class spell availability:


Alarm Usefulness

Alarm 5e is a very useful spell depending on your party's adventuring style, and chances that you'll be ambushed. Theoretically, alarm should be a top-tier spell almost no matter what adventure your group is undertaking. However, as I can personally attest to, some groups prefer combat encounters over roleplay or exploration-type encounters.


Obviously, alarm is not a combat-based spell, so that's why its effectiveness really depends on how your group plays. It should be noted that ritual-cast spells do not consume spell slots, and they do not need to be prepared first, before they may be used. This means that even if you spend your prepared spell slots on other utility spells or combat-based spells, you may still cast alarm at any time.


Given that alarm, even as a 1st-level spell does not take up a spell slot to cast, it should be a staple for probably every artificer, ranger, and wizard, regardless of how your group plays. You never know when being alerted to someone entering your warded space may provide you with a drastic advantage.

Combine Alarm 5e with the Following Spells

One of the most fun parts of playing D&D is the interaction so many spells have with one another. Since games like DnD allow for near-unlimited player creativity - especially when it comes to roleplaying-based spells like alarm 5e - you can really create some interesting combinations.


One idea you can use is to combine alarm 5e with silence 5e. Any area that you ward with alarm would then also take on a complete lack of sound. Of course, silence requires concentration, and only lasts for 10-minutes, so it would't be practical to use to ward an area while sleeping, or potentially even for taking a short rest.


However, you could cast alarm 5e on an area and silence it, as a trap. Whenever someone walks into the alarm area, they're deafened from silence, and so if your party has eyes on them, you can attack without them having any indication that the attack is coming (perhaps aside from the silence effect itself, if the target's particularly perceptive).


Alarm 5e Counters

There are many ways to deal with alarm 5e, though many of them show up beyond 4th level (such as dispel magic, which is a 3rd-level abjuration spell, attainable by some classes at 5th-level). Other options include scrolls or magic items that may disable the effect.


Short of having expensive resources or powerful dispel magic effects, the best way to deal with an alarm spell is to go around the spell effect's area of coverage. Of course, this approach may not always be effective, such as in a case where you need to pass through an alarm-warded cave, or break into an enemy's alarm-warded camp.


It is worth noting, however, that alarm 5e only alerts its caster to "creatures" who enter the warded space, not - say - arrows or damaging spells such as acid splash 5e. So, if you can find someone to attack in an area affected by alarm, getting in an ambush round for attacks may be a good way to deal with the effect, as well.

Alarm-Type Spells in Eternity TTRPG

In the Eternity TTRPG Game System (my own independently-published TTRPG), every class has its own unique spells and abilities, which all have combat application. Instead of having spells that are broken down into "combat-based" and "roleplay-" or "exploration-based," all spells can be used creatively by players in a way that fits with the spell's intent.


This means that a player casting the sage spell "Blessed Light" (which heals allies) could also cause an effect like brightened light in a dark cave, or something similar. The only restrictions on using spells or abilities in roleplay scenarios is that the creatively-determined effect can't be more powerful than the spell would otherwise be in combat, beyond what its name would imply its capabilities should be, or beyond its originally intended effect.


Below is one spell, as an example, that could be an Eternity TTRPG equivalent for the alarm 5e spell.

Silhouette of figure holding a deer mask with antlers in front of a forest backdrop.

Druid - Core Class Spell

Wolf Shape (Magic - Shapeshift): you shapeshift into a wolf. You gain +2Initiative and +3Speed, but you have -1Resilience, -1Dodge, and -1Will. You can also see in the dark and you have a heightened sense of hearing and smell. Monsters will not attack you if they only see you in “Wolf Shape” unless you attack them. You can cast Spells while in “Wolf Shape,” but you can only make physical attacks at 1Range. Leaving “Wolf Shape” is an Instant Action.

You can only benefit from one

“Shapeshift” form at a time. You can instead choose to continually maintain this Spell for

3Inspiration.

  • (Nature's Wrath) You shapeshift into a werewolf. Gain either +3Strike Bonus or +3Faith. All other effects are the same. If you leave “Wolf Shape” but then shapeshift back later in the Battle, you still get the benefits of this Critical. You can instead choose to continually maintain this Critical for 6Inspiration (and 0Wisdom).
  • (Nature's Healing) You shapeshift into a werewolf. Every turn, roll d20. If you roll 18-20, heal +1HP. This Critical allows you to heal 1HP above you normal max HP. Every time you heal with this effect, you are also Fatigued, giving -1Resilience, -1Dodge, and -1Will for 1Day Duration (can stack without limit). If you leave “Wolf Shape” but then shapeshift back later in the Battle, you still get the benefits of this Critical. You can instead choose to continually maintain this Critical for 5Inspiration (and 0Wisdom).
  • (Primal) Instant Action. When you use this Critical, you can’t use any more Wisdom this turn. 


It wouldn't be beyond the scope or intention of the "Wolf Shape" spell to say that the character's heightened senses of hearing and smell would provide an alarm effect whenever anyone unknown by the party might enter the area. Since the Wolf Shape spell effect can be maintained indefinitely, it would also be no problem for a party to go to sleep with the "wolf" in their midst, providing continual protection via their perception.


Curious to learn more? Check out the Eternity TTRPG Core Game!

Druid - Core Class Spell

Wolf Shape (Magic - Shapeshift): you shapeshift into a wolf. You gain +2Initiative and +3Speed, but you have -1Resilience, -1Dodge, and -1Will. You can also see in the dark and you have a heightened sense of hearing and smell. Monsters will not attack you if they only see you in “Wolf Shape” unless you attack them. You can cast Spells while in “Wolf Shape,” but you can only make physical attacks at 1Range. Leaving “Wolf Shape” is an Instant Action.

You can only benefit from one “Shapeshift” form at a time. You can instead choose to continually maintain this Spell for

3Inspiration.

  • (Nature's Wrath) You shapeshift into a werewolf. Gain either +3Strike Bonus or +3Faith. All other effects are the same. If you leave “Wolf Shape” but then shapeshift back later in the Battle, you still get the benefits of this Critical. You can instead choose to continually maintain this Critical for 6Inspiration (and 0Wisdom).
  • (Nature's Healing) You shapeshift into a werewolf. Every turn, roll d20. If you roll 18-20, heal +1HP. This Critical allows you to heal 1HP above you normal max HP. Every time you heal with this effect, you are also Fatigued, giving -1Resilience, -1Dodge, and -1Will for 1Day Duration (can stack without limit). If you leave “Wolf Shape” but then shapeshift back later in the Battle, you still get the benefits of this Critical. You can instead choose to continually maintain this Critical for 5Inspiration (and 0Wisdom).
  • (Primal) Instant Action. When you use this Critical, you can’t use any more Wisdom this turn. 


It wouldn't be beyond the scope or intention of the "Wolf Shape" spell to say that the character's heightened senses of hearing and smell would provide an alarm effect whenever anyone unknown by the party might enter the area. Since the Wolf Shape spell effect can be maintained indefinitely, it would also be no problem for a party to go to sleep with the "wolf" in their midst, providing continual protection via their perception.


Curious to learn more? Check out the Eternity TTRPG Core Game!

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Jacob Tegtman Eternity TTRPG Creator

Author - Jacob Tegtman

Dear reader, I hope you enjoyed this article. Tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine since I was 6 years old. I've played just about every game from Dungeons and Dragons to video games like Final Fantasy. These games have inspired me, made me laugh, made me cry, and brought me endless hours of enjoyment.


I started Eternity TTRPG - and the indie tabletop game that goes along with it (Eternity Shop) - to share my love of gaming with others. I believe that in our technology-driven age, tabletop games help bring a sense of magic and community back into our world.


If you love the site, please share it with others! I have lots of gaming-related material for you to peruse and use in your own gaming sessions. If you have any questions about the site or want to contribute, just send me a message using the "Contact" page, which you can find in the site's footer.

Eternity Races Jadori and Treant

By Shawna Tegtman • July 6, 2026
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMheJn1MOd8 Transcription [00:00:00] Hey guys, and welcome back to Eternity TTRPG, where we talk about Eternity in itself, D&D, and anything related to tabletop role-playing. Um, a few weeks ago, we started talking about the different races that you find in Eternity, which you can also use in D&D or other tabletop role-playing, and we had covered humans, Aeteri, and Empyrean. Um, so we're just gonna keep that rolling, and I'm gonna cover two more. We're gonna talk about the Jadori and the Treant. Um, and these two are very different, but they link together so well. It reminds me kind of like, of yin and yang, okay? So let's just jump right in, okay? So Jadori and Treant are linked together because of the lore that you find with them, and I'm gonna keep the lore short and sweet because when you start talking lore, it can [00:01:00] just landslide into, you know, an hour-long video, and that's not what we're looking for. Um, so Jadori and Treant, um, Treant is Trees, it's, um, I've seen it be cactus, bushes, any kind of floral really that you find in nature. Um, so if you ever wanted to play a tree and be friends with the forest, there you go. Jadore is gonna be this lion-like, um, character that has jade for their claws and their fangs, which is kind of where they get their name, Jadore. So they are very aggressive and protective of their, you know, animal counterparts. So these two work together in the lore. So the Treant race and the Jadore race are tasked with cre- not [00:02:00] creating, they're tasked with protecting, um, the Tree of Life, and this Tree of Life, think like blue people avatar giant tree where all life is at, and it's a great meeting location. It's just this interconnected forest, and these two races are tasked with protecting it, the Treants, the floral side of it, the Jadore, the fauna side of it, and what one side lacks, the other picks up. However, lore-wise, they actually fail at this. There's some kind of ultimate betrayal that happens, and they ultimately fail, and the Tree of Life is destroyed, and rather than having this vast green area, you now have this desert, and that happened many, many years ago in the lore, like hundreds, thousands. I'm not 100% sure, but that's lore for you. In present times, the Tree of Life is attempting to grow back, and it's [00:03:00] still this massive tree, not like it used to be, but still pretty massive, and Treants and Jadore are returning to it to, you know, protect it again and try not to fail again. At least that's the idea in the lore. Real quick to interrupt. Eternity TTRPG is releasing a card game battler which emulates combat from the D&D tabletop role-playing genre. Sparks of Eternity: Emanation is fast-paced, easy to learn, and features six classes from your favorite TTRPGs. Each class deck comes with its own set of unique abilities, which everyone plays at the same time, so there's never any downtime at your table. Each turn, everyone's characters levels up, giving players access to even more options. If you're interested in taking a look, we have our pre-sales page live now, packed with details. No payment info needed. Just let us know if you want an email when the product becomes available. Now, back to your video So jumping into them a little bit [00:04:00] separately, yes, they're super intertwined, and they're opposites of each other, but on a separate side, right? Jadori is this lion race that is super protective of everything fauna related, and they are a beast master of sorts, right? Because they're gonna work with all of these different creatures, bring them together, protect them, rule them, in a sense. And very aggressive, very protective, very blunt. Um, and one thing that we see with Jadori with their stats and everything is that they have very high agility, which is gonna lend itself to, um, the strength and how quick you are with your turns, um, how hard you hit. It's definitely more of a melee race. Um, so a beast master class or a judge or a lancer or I believe barbarians, berserkers, those are gonna be really good [00:05:00] with Jadori. Um, they also really don't care about politics or really have much influence when it comes to anything except protecting the tree When we move over to their opposites with treants, um, treants, once again, don't care politically. They just care about protecting the forest They care about protecting the floral, right? So that's gonna be your trees, your flowers, your bushes, anything that grows. Um, they are very druidic, um, so druids are gonna be great races for them, or any caster really, because when you start looking at their stats, they are the complete opposite of Jadori. So their strength, their agility is low. They can barely move because you're supposed to be this lumbering tree. However, their spirit is super high, if not one of the highest, um, of all the races. So they're a very good caster class. Like I [00:06:00] said, druids. Um, in the world of Eternity, you've got, like, pyromancer, cryomancer, your oracles. They're really good for those kind of classes. But you don't really wanna see a berserker tree. That doesn't completely make sense in this case. However, to each their own. Do what you want. Um, so that kinda covers both of these races and how they're intertwined. Um, obviously there is so much more lore when you start getting into Eternity and diving into that game, and we hope to have a book out at some point showing this lore and showcasing it to share it, right? Um, for now, we'll just talk about it on the channel and keep things going, and we'll show you some more races, uh, next time, okay? As always, keep it going, and if you wanna see more of anything going on with Eternity, head to, uh, eternityttrpg.com. And as always, these races can be combined into D&D. You just gotta get [00:07:00] a little creative. See ya.
D&D books and dragon art collage with text: “Help! Get My Girlfriend to Play D&D”

How do I get My Girlfriend to Play D&D? Floral Dragons Field Guide

By Shawna Tegtman • July 1, 2026
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeVWenMXd68 Transcription Hey, y'all. How's it been? So one of the questions that I hear so often is, " How do I get my girlfriend, my wife, my significant other to play D&D with me or other tabletop role-playing games," right? I always also hear, like, I hear from my husband's friends, "You are so lucky you have a wife that wants to do these things with you." It was not always like that, okay? Five years ago when I met this man, and he was like, "I am into Fan Expo, and animes, and ren fairs, and tabletop role-playing, and D&D," and I just looked at him like, "What are you talking about? What are those things, and why are you into them? They just seem really silly." Um, of course, now five years later, I enjoy them with him, um, but it wasn't always like that, okay? So we spent a lot of time trying to figure out what would [00:01:00] get me into it, right? And of course, I did my first campaign, created my first character, and something that I really liked about that character is that it had a familiar, um, a summon that was its buddy, right? And, you know, I'm the kind of person that if I have a little furry friend, it's makes everything better. Real quick to interrupt. Eternity TTRPG is releasing a card game battler which emulates combat from the D&D tabletop role-playing genre. Sparks of Eternity: Emanation is fast-paced, easy to learn, and features six classes from your favorite TTRPGs. Each class deck comes with its own set of unique abilities, which everyone plays at the same time, so there's never any downtime at your table. Each turn, everyone's characters levels up, giving players access to even more options. If you're interested in taking a look, we have our pre-sales page live now, packed with details. No [00:02:00] payment info needed. Just let us know if you want an email when the product becomes available. Now, back to your video So that's one of the things that I want to bring up that you could potentially use to help get your significant other into tabletop role-playing. Um, and one of the things that I've found that I actually really like, I found it last year at Gen Con, is made by Hit Point Press, okay? So we were just walking the aisles at Gen Con, and I found it out of nowhere, It made me change my look a little bit, and it was, like, exactly what I wanted from a game rather than just constantly seeing the I don't know. It's just, it's weird when you're looking at it from a female perspective versus a male perspective. Um, and anyway, Hit Point Press had this item, and it is called The Floral Dragons Field Guide. And it is beautiful artwork, which really drew me in, [00:03:00] but it takes these everyday whimsical flowers and turns them into dragons. It is so beautifully illustrated. , There was a wisteria dragon, a dandelion dragon, , oh, goodness, the cherry blossoms. The cherry blossom dragon is probably my favorite. But what this did for me was give me a really beautiful outlet, but also a way to dive into the world and my own way to connect, right? So this field guide is 5e D&D compatible, which is great, right? And it was this whole field guide and idea of just finding these different dragons in the world around us, and it brought an everyday whimsy to my life 'cause now I don't just see a flower, I see the dragon that it could be, or perhaps the fairies that are in it. And I think that is the way to [00:04:00] get your significant other, wife, girlfriend, to connect with you on these tabletop role-playing games, is to bring the whimsical into your everyday life. Okay? So go out on that walk, point it out, and say, "Hey, maybe a fairy lives there." Now, obviously, not all w- women are this way. Um, I just happen to be that way, and I feel like there are a lot of women that are that way, that want to find that whimsy in life, that whimsical thing. So this guide that I found, um, it actually sold out in a lot of different versions at Gen Con, and I was able to get the box set. So it had the field guide, but it also had flashcards of each dragon, and then it had, uh, a DM screen. So super pretty art on one side showcasing all the dragons, and the other side showing how they can poison, paralyze, and do all the mean things that- You know, [00:05:00] we just like to do sometimes. That it goes into your role-playing game, right? 'Cause if you're gonna sneak up on some, um, fungi dragon, right, you would hope they would do something back to you. 'Cause you know, fungi in normal life can be good or bad depending on how you consume it. So it just kind of makes sense. Um, so anyway, that was one thing that helped me connect into this tabletop role playing world, was bringing the whimsy into my normal everyday life. And this guide, The Floral Dragon's Field Guide by Hit Point Press, did just that for me. Of course, there's other things that have come up over time, and I do hope to dive into those more because every woman's different and every woman finds what they enjoy and how they can connect with their significant other. Um, but this is just one way that has worked for me. Um, and like I said, you can take pieces of this field guide that I found, put it into just about any tabletop role playing game. Of course, if you wanna know [00:06:00] more about the one that my husband created, that's gonna be at eternityttrpg.com. And of course, I have to hype him up 'cause he's amazing. Um, but as always, you can head over there and like, comment, subscribe and we'll jump more into his game, other D&D stuff, other tabletop role playing and just see what we can find in life. Bye, guys.
Streamer at desk with “Eternity TTRPG Races” text overlay, in a gaming room

Custom Races for Your Next D&D Game in Eternity TTRPG

By Shawna • June 26, 2026
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_sdjZdLByE Transcription Ateri, Kror, Empyrean, Esper, Human, Jadori, Stoneborn, Treant, and Yzarc. These are the nine races that make up the world of Eternity. We're gonna take some time and dive into three of these races, so here we go So the three we're gonna talk about today is gonna be human, Aeteri, and Empyrean. Okay? So to get started with human, human is gonna be your all-around class, right? They're the most diverse in the ways that they look, act, perceive the world. They have determination, ingenuity, and compassion that allows them to create these very powerful nations in the lore of eternity, right? More than all, though, they tend to be very emotional, which can lead to a lot of passion for the good, but it can also lead to corruption. So that's the thing that you have to worry about with humans is because of their passion level, they can just take things too far one [00:01:00] way or the other. Um, as far as, like, their stats and everything goes is they're gonna be your most even keel character, right? They're gonna be across the board even with their strength, their agility, their magic, their speed. They're really just a good race to pick for any class, especially as a gets, getting started race. Um, other thing about them is they have decent HP, um, right in the middle of any other race. So it's definitely just a good starting race, right? Real quick to interrupt, we now have free downloadable D&D cards at the Eternity TTRPG website that you can use at your table. Everything from combat actions to status effects. No more flipping through your book to see exactly what being petrified does to your character. You can just take our graphics, print them out at home, and slap them on your table for fun and easy reference. Grab yours today using the link below. [00:02:00] Now, back to the video Jumping into Aeteri is where we're gonna start, Aeteri actually means ascended in this world because the Aeteri are ascended humans because of an item from the lore. Okay? This item is called the Gift of Kings, and a human uses the Gift of Kings, and they can become a elf, for lack of a better word. It's a matter of is it going to be an ascended Aeteri elf or an Empyrean dark elf, right? So pretty cool right there. Um, but jumping in with the Aeteri, right? So they're ascended. They use this magical artifact. They transcended from human nature, and Because of their transcension, they have gained a lot of wisdom, their initiative is faster, and they have a lot of good trade-ons. However, a trade-off is that your HP is gonna be lower as an Eteri. So instead of starting with, like, three or four [00:03:00] health points, hit points, you only start with two. However, that's not as bad as the Empyrean. So jumping into Empyrean, um, as I said, the Empyrean is gonna be your dark elves or fallen humans, is what they've been termed. Um, their thought process is basically, "Nobody is good enough to use the Gift of Kings, and we're gonna enslave all of human, all humans," right? Um, because they're just, they're dark, and this is the way that they feel, right? So you have this balance going on of the Eteri being the ascended and the Empyrean being the dark. So you got that going for them. Thing about Empyreans, though, and what I don't necessarily like about them, is they only have one hit point. So you have to be very careful when you're navigating your different encounters because of that. However, they do have high magic, high agility, initiative, um, high wisdom, which [00:04:00] is all really good. And then one thing that happens with an Empyrean to counteract them having one hit point, is that when they fall to zero, they actually turn into a lich, and they have three turns to do whatever they want, cause as much damage, wreak as much havoc as they can before they fully fall, right? Um, so that's kind of neat, a kind of neat play. So you take this human, you let them use the Gift of Kings, and they're either gonna turn into an Eteri or a dark elf Empyrean. So either way, kind of cool stuff going on, right? Out of those three, let me know which one is your favorite, right? My favorite out of those three has to be the human, because they are even-keeled, and they're a really good starting point for someone that doesn't know how to play tabletop role-playing games, what they're really going after, and it pairs really well with any class, right? Because you can just [00:05:00] make it work. You're not teching for anything. Um, so let me know what you think. Would you prefer human, Eteri, Empyrean? And of course, if you wanted to look into these more on your own, please go to the Eternity website, eternityttrpg.com, and that's gonna get you some more information on those races along with other classes, right? Um, so let me know what you think. Like, comment, subscribe, and we'll see you next time for those other races.
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