“You realize the wilds of Gloomwood are full of dangers, don’t you, mage?”, asked the gruff man wearing boiled leathers and a chainmail vest. “Oh, yes, talk around the taverns is that they are to be avoided, if at all possible.” replied the wizard in his patch-ridden silk robes. The gruff man put a hand to his face. “And you’re planning on traveling through them in nothing more than a dress?” he continued, “I guess this is to be expected from the mind of a scholar.” The wizard grinned knowingly, “Don’t you worry about my safety. Us magic wielders know ways of protection that don’t infringe upon our comfort!”

Among the schools of magic in the tabletop classic Dungeons & Dragons, abjuration magic houses spells that protect and negate. This list contains spells of 3rd Level or lower that perform the acts of protection and negation spectacularly well. Higher-level spells have been excluded as they are not only inaccessible to most parties but also clearly effective.

10 Mage Armor

Mage Armor is probably the most well-known abjuration spell of all of Dungeons & Dragons. Its notoriety alone demands inclusion on this list. More than that, however, it’s simply a good spell to have active at all times. Mage Armor is a 1st Level spell that, as an action, creates a protective magical force around you for 8 hours.

Your base AC becomes 13 + your dexterity modifier. As far as most mages are concerned, without Mage Armor, it’s almost guaranteed that any creature who attacks you is going to land a hit. This 1st level spell gives you a little bit of breathing room. Though you don’t want to be the target of anyone’s attacks, it’s always best to prepare for the worst.

9 Sanctuary

This spell is a double-edged sword. While it provides an unparalleled amount of protection for the low cost of a bonus action, it also prevents an ally from affecting enemies if they wish to maintain the protection. Sanctuary is a 1st Level spell that wards a creature within 30-feet against attack. Any creature that tries to attack the warded target must first make a wisdom saving throw. If they fail, they must choose a new target or lose their attack.

However, if the warded creature makes an attack, casts a spell that targets an enemy, or deals damage to another creature, this spell ends. The best way to get mileage out of Sanctuary is by placing it on a caster that heals and buffs his or her allies. Sanctuary’s duration is not affected by actions taken to help your friends. Therein lies the key to unlocking the spell’s great potential.

8 Warding Bond

For any party that has a designated tank character, Warding Bond is a great addition to your team. This 2nd Level spell costs 1 action and lasts an hour. A creature you touch gains a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws, and has resistance to all damage as long as it remains within 60-feet of you. Also, each time it takes damage, you take the same amount of damage.

The spell is ended if you drop to 0 hit points or the target leaves the 60-foot range. Unless your tank is a Barbarian, resistance to all damage is a tremendous boon. Effectively doubling the hit points of a character. That being said, you will be taking damage when they do. So if Warding Bond is a spell you find appealing, you’re going to want some healing on hand!

7 Pass Without Trace

Sometimes you just need to be stealthy. Unfortunately, the fighter’s heavy armor and low dexterity score often makes that difficult for the rest of the party to achieve. One way to get around this conundrum is pass without trace. This 2nd Level concentration spell gives all creatures you choose within 30-feet a +10 bonus to their Stealth checks for up to 1 hour.

Furthermore, creatures affected by the spell cannot be tracked by magical means and leave behind no footprints. If you want your party to be stealthy, it’s as simple as casting Pass without Trace.

6 Lesser Restoration

Poisons, diseases, and other conditions are some of the most common problems a party faces. Lesser Restoration cures all of them, except for the frightened condition, yet many parties fail to take advantage of this spell’s wide applications. It’s a 2nd Level spell that, as an action, ends one disease or condition afflicting a target you touch.

The conditions cured by Lesser Restoration include blinded, deafened, poisoned, and paralyzed. There is a bevy of monsters that apply these conditions on a successful attack, and this one spell alleviates all of them.

5 Absorb Elements

Reactions are superbly important in Dungeons & Dragons. If your character doesn’t have one, you are missing out on an extra action every round. Thankfully, there’s more than a few spells that can be cast as a reaction. Absorb Elements is one of the better ones.

This 1st Level spell can be cast as a reaction when you take acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage. It gives you resistance to the triggering damage type until the start of your next turn and your next melee attack deals 1D6 additional damage of the triggering damage type. Failing a saving throw against a fireball is a lot less catastrophic when you have resistance to fire.

4 Armor of Agathys

All of these spells offer some form of protection, but Armor of Agathys protects and attacks. This 1st Level spell cast as an action has a duration of 1 hour. During that time, you gain 5 temporary hit points. If a creature hits you with a melee attack while you have these hit points, they take 5 cold damage. When you cast Armor of Agathys at a higher level, the temporary hit points and cold damage increase by 5 for each slot level above 1st.

In other words, a 3rd Level Armor of Agathys gives you 15 temporary hit points and deals 15 cold damage to any melee attacker as long as you have at least 1 of these temporary hit points remaining. More often than not, that’s 30 cold damage you will deal to attackers before they even break your temporary hit points.

3 Dispel Magic

Magical traps and effects caused by magic are some of the nastiest tools in the game. Thankfully, nearly all of them can be shooed away by Dispel Magic. As an action, this 3rd Level spell dissipates the magic on a creature, object, or the world at large within 120-feet.

Any spell of 3rd Level or lower instantly ends. Otherwise, a spellcasting ability check with a DC of 10 + the spell’s level is needed. On a success, the spell ends. You can cast Dispel Magic at a level equal to the magic present in order to avoid a need for the check.

2 Shield

It should come as no surprise that the abjuration school is home to the best reactive spells. After all, this is the school of protection. Shield is the reaction that answers physical attacks. Its a 1st Level spell that, as a reaction, gives you a +5 bonus to AC against a triggering attack. This bonus remains until the start of your next turn.

Furthermore, the spell magic missile is negated by Shield. Simple yet effective, Shield allows you to use your reaction to turn a hit against you into a miss. It’s great for any character across the board. If you have no other reactions, definitely look into picking up Shield.

1 Counterspell

While shield may be the answer to physical attacks, Counterspell is the answer to magical ones. It also happens to be one of the most annoying spells to have cast on you. As a reaction, this 3rd Level magic prevents another caster from casting a spell. If the creature is casting a spell of 3rd Level or lower, it fizzles away and the spell has no effect.

If the spell is 4th Level or higher, make a spellcasting ability check. The DC is 10 + the spell’s level. On a success, the spell fails. Like Dispel Magic, upcasting Counterspell automatically negates a spell of an equal or lesser level. Ironically enough, perhaps the best protection spell abjuration magic has to offer provides protection from magic itself.

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