Spells for hiding, sneaking, and disappearing in a pinch.
I’ve wanted to make this for a while now. These spells stood out to me for their potential in the hands of a Rogue or any other slippery scoundrel who wants to sneak and lurk with the best of ‘em. I didn’t include spells like Mirror Image or Druid Grove, which protect but do not actually conceal you. Enjoy!
Teleportation spells -- At low levels, these strictly teleport you to a spot you can see within a limited range, so they’re probably more useful in escape acts and combat encounters than in recon.
Communication spells -- For talking to your buds from afar.
Changing shape Spells -- Your disguise proficiency is probably better than “Disguise self”, but Polymorph is another story entirely.
Expeditious retreat -- RUN FASTER HIDE FASTER.
Invisibility -- Become invisible for an hour or until you cast a spell/attack.
Rope Trick -- Climb a rope into a hidden pocket dimension. Neat! I also have a Homebrew equivalent of this spell which works a little differently.
Spider Climb -- Cartoons tell me that you won’t be seen if you hide between ceiling beams.
Knock -- Open or unlock doors, manacles, windows, anything. This spell is the inverse of Arcane Lock.
Wristpocket -- A literal pocket dimension--no clothes required. Secret Chest is bigger and lasts longer, but it requires you to hang onto an tiny chest which can certainly be stolen.
Phantasmal Force -- Screw you in particular. Perfectly fool one creature with an illusion that they can see, feel, smell, and hear. This illusion can even hurt them.
Pass Without Trace -- Get +10 to stealth and you and your buds can’t be tracked by nonmagical means.
Nondetection -- Hide from divination magic.
Blink -- (EDIT: I misunderstood this spell, but it is still useful, just for different reasons.) At the end of your turns you disappear to the material plane, meaning you can take all your actions, and then vanish before the enemy can hit you back. Extra bonus, you can reappear up to 10 feet away from where you disappeared, meaning you can potentially get out of jails/traps/difficult terrain without wasting your movement. Disappear from the material plane for a bit and walk around as a ghost. You also get to reappear at any point you can see within range, meaning you could cross a chasm or pass through bars with ease. Does the Ethereal plane have gravity? Are there any helpful ghosts nearby? Let your DM decide that. This spell grows up to be Etherealness at 7th level.
Leomund’s Tiny Hut -- Nap safely in a little opaque bubble. Not invisible, but small enough to be pretty inconspicuous.
Gaseous Form -- Literally slip through the cracks as a clous of smoke--for up to an hour. You can’t move very fast, but the point is getting out safely.
Greater Invisibility -- Become invisible for a minute, no restrictions.
Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum -- Ward a cube of space from various effects like scrying, dimensional travel, darkvision, etc.
Mislead -- Become invisible, create an illusion of yourself, and see through it’s senses. Who needs sleight of hand when you have sleight of whole body?
Contingency -- Set a trigger for a different spell to go off on yourself. For example, If you drop below 10hp, automatically cast Teleport. If you’re thrown into a lake, automatically cast Water Breathing. This spell seems super handy and interesting! Concentration spells still require some legwork on your part though. The personal Equivalent to Glyph of Warding.
Word of Recall -- Teleport yourself and your buds home, instantly.
Sequester -- Hide something or someone away in a state of suspended animation until [insert condition here] happens.
Demiplane -- Make a magic room which you can trap people in, and return to from anywhere. The Ultimate in Hammerspace.
Let me know if I should add any spells to my list! -X
