Conjure Animals 5e: Creatures, Commands, and Scaling

Conjure Animals can turn one druid or ranger into an entire skirmishing force, which is both its appeal and its biggest practical problem. I think the spell works best when the player and DM agree on creature selection before initiative is already paused, then use group rolls and clear commands to keep eight summoned creatures from becoming eight separate delays. Summon Beast and Summon Undead instead use a single scaling stat block, which makes them useful comparisons for table speed and caster control.

Conjure Animals 5e — Quick Spell Reference

How Conjure Animals Works in the 2014 Rules

The caster summons fey spirits in unoccupied spaces they can see within 60 feet. Those spirits take beast forms and use the corresponding beast statistics. The caster chooses one of four quantity-and-challenge-rating options:

Caster’s choice	Maximum CR of each creature
One creature	CR 2
Two creatures	CR 1
Four creatures	CR 1/2
Eight creatures	CR 1/4

“Or lower” matters. Choosing the two-creature option allows forms of CR 1 or anything below CR 1; it does not promise exactly CR 1 creatures. Each summoned beast is also considered fey, disappears at 0 hit points, and vanishes when the spell ends.

The creatures are friendly to the caster and the caster’s companions. They are not mounts, familiars, or player characters unless another rule makes them so; they are summoned creatures governed by this spell.

Who Chooses the Exact Animals?

The spell tells the player to choose one of the four options, but it does not say that the player chooses the exact beast stat blocks. Official 2014 rules guidance clarifies the intended procedure: the player chooses the quantity/CR option and the DM chooses the creatures that appear.

Many groups let the caster request appropriate animals because that is faster and gives the player more agency. That is a table procedure, not a guaranteed benefit in the printed spell. Ask before preparing a plan that requires eight wolves, two giant eagles, or one particular swimming beast.

Useful requests can focus on a job rather than a stat block: “I need flying scouts,” “I need bodies to hold this corridor,” or “I need something large enough to carry an ally.” The DM can then choose legal forms that fit the location and campaign.

Initiative, Commands, and Control

Roll initiative for the summoned creatures as a group. They take their own turns on that initiative count rather than acting immediately when summoned or sharing the caster’s turn.

The caster can issue verbal commands without spending an action. A command can be specific—“attack that ogre”—or general—“guard this doorway.” If the caster gives no command, the creatures defend themselves from hostile creatures but otherwise take no actions. The spell does not require the caster to spend a bonus action every round to maintain an existing command.

Because commands are verbal, silence and communication can matter. The spell does not grant telepathy or a special shared language. The creatures obey the caster’s verbal commands as a feature of the spell, but the DM decides how an ambiguous instruction is carried out.

Concentration and Battlefield Practicalities

Conjure Animals lasts up to 1 hour only while the caster maintains concentration. Damage to the caster can therefore remove every summon at once. Staying behind cover, avoiding unnecessary melee, and coordinating defensive support often preserves more damage than squeezing out one extra attack.

The creatures must appear in unoccupied spaces the caster can see. A crowded room might not contain eight legal spaces, and walls or total cover can block placement. After appearing, each creature follows its own movement rules. A form without flight cannot cross a chasm merely because it was summoned on the far side.

Eight creatures can occupy space, threaten opportunity attacks, Help, grapple, or shove only when their statistics and the normal rules allow it. Their value is not limited to raw damage, but more bodies also mean more attacks, saving throws, and movement to resolve. Rolling identical attacks together and using average damage can help if the DM prefers that approach.

Casting Conjure Animals at Higher Levels

Upcasting multiplies the number summoned; it does not raise the CR ceiling:

Slot level	Creatures summoned
3rd or 4th	Normal number
5th or 6th	Twice the normal number
7th or 8th	Three times the normal number
9th	Four times the normal number

A 5th-level slot can therefore create two CR 2 creatures, four CR 1 creatures, eight CR 1/2 creatures, or sixteen CR 1/4 creatures. Before choosing a large group, consider whether the battle map and table pace can support it.

2014 vs. 2024 Conjure Animals

The 2024 version is a completely different spell in play. It no longer summons creatures with beast stat blocks or adds separate turns to initiative. Instead, it creates a Large pack of intangible animal spirits in a space within 60 feet. The caster can move the pack up to 30 feet when moving on their turn and gains advantage on Strength saving throws while within 5 feet of it.

The pack threatens creatures within 10 feet. Its movement near a visible creature, a visible creature entering that area, or a creature ending its turn there can prompt a Dexterity save for 3d10 slashing damage, limited to one save per creature per turn. It lasts up to 10 minutes rather than 1 hour, and higher slots add 1d10 damage instead of multiplying summons.

That redesign removes the creature-selection debate and reduces bookkeeping, but it also removes the 2014 spell’s scouts, mounts, grapplers, and independent bodies. Confirm which ruleset the campaign uses before building tactics around either version.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the player choose the exact beasts?

Under official 2014 guidance, the player chooses a quantity/CR option and the DM chooses the exact creatures. A table can agree to let the player propose forms.

Do summoned animals act immediately?

No. Roll initiative for them as a group; they act on that group’s turns.

Does commanding the animals use an action?

No. The caster’s verbal commands require no action.

Are the creatures beasts or fey?

They use beast forms and statistics, and the spell says each one is also considered fey.

Can Dispel Magic remove every creature?

Dispel Magic can end the ongoing spell, which makes all of its summoned creatures disappear. Breaking the caster’s concentration has the same result.