Banishment 5e: Planar Targets, Duration, and Saves

I’ve always found Banishment exciting because one failed save can change an encounter without dealing any damage. Its result depends on where the target belongs: a local creature waits in a demiplane, while an extraplanar creature may be sent home for good. The caster then has to protect concentration long enough to make that second result stick.

Banishment 5e — Quick Spell Reference

How Does Banishment Work in 2014 D&D 5e?

Choose one creature you can see within 60 feet. It makes a Charisma saving throw. On a success, the spell has no effect. On a failure, the creature disappears to another plane while the caster maintains concentration, for up to 1 minute.

The destination and the result at the end of the minute depend on whether the creature is native to the plane where Banishment was cast. The spell does not allow the caster to choose a destination.

What Happens to a Creature Native to the Current Plane?

A creature native to the current plane goes to a harmless demiplane. It is incapacitated there and remains until the spell ends. It then reappears in the space it left, or the nearest unoccupied space if that space is occupied.

Maintaining concentration for the full minute does not permanently remove a native creature. The demiplane is temporary holding space, not a permanent prison. Because the creature is incapacitated, any spell on which it was concentrating ends when Banishment takes effect.

When Does Banishment Send a Creature Home Permanently?

A creature native to another plane returns to its home plane after failing the save. If Banishment ends before the full minute passes, the creature returns to its former space or the nearest open space. If the caster maintains the spell for the entire minute, the creature does not return automatically.

“Native” is not the same as creature type. A fiend encountered in the Nine Hells is on its native plane, while a humanoid born on another plane might be extraplanar during an adventure on the Material Plane. When a creature’s origin is unclear, the DM must determine which plane counts as its native one.

The result is permanent only in the sense that this casting does not bring the creature back. The creature still exists on its home plane and could return by other planar travel.

Concentration and Casting Banishment on Yourself

Losing concentration returns the target immediately. Damage can force a concentration save, and becoming incapacitated ends concentration without a roll. Allies should protect the caster rather than assuming the removed enemy is gone.

A caster can target themself if they can see themself, but doing so on their native plane is ineffective: arriving incapacitated in the demiplane ends their concentration, so the spell ends and they return. It is not a reliable substitute for planar travel.

Casting Banishment at Higher Levels

Each slot level above 4th adds one target. Every target must be visible and within 60 feet when the spell is cast, and each makes its own Charisma save. Concentration governs the entire casting, so losing it returns every creature still affected.

Spell slot	Maximum targets
4th	1
5th	2
6th	3
7th	4
8th	5
9th	6

The site’s upcasting guide covers how a higher slot changes spell level even when a spell lists only one direct benefit.

Banishment: 2014 vs. 2024 Rules

The 2024 version reduces the range from 60 feet to 30 feet and changes the material component to a pentacle. Every failed target first goes to a harmless demiplane. If the full minute passes, only an Aberration, Celestial, Elemental, Fey, or Fiend is transported away permanently, and it goes to a random location on an associated plane chosen by the DM.

That replaces the 2014 test based on a creature’s native plane. The Charisma save, concentration, one-minute duration, incapacitation, and additional target per higher slot remain. The rest of this guide uses the 2014 rules.

FAQ

Does Banishment allow another saving throw each turn?

No. The target makes one Charisma save when the spell is cast.

Can Dispel Magic end Banishment?

Yes. Dispel Magic can end the ongoing spell, returning affected creatures whose banishment has not already become final.

Is a permanently banished creature dead?

No. An extraplanar creature remains alive on its home plane; this casting simply no longer returns it.