Vortex Warp 5e: Targets, Range, and Teleport Tactics

I love teleportation spells that reward looking at the whole battlefield, and Vortex Warp is one of the most flexible examples. Instead of moving the caster, it relocates another creature—rescuing an ally, breaking up an enemy formation, or placing the party’s specialist exactly where they are needed. Its generous range comes with precise restrictions on targets and destinations, so understanding those details is what turns the spell into a reliable tool.

Vortex Warp 5e — Quick Spell Reference

How Vortex Warp Works

Choose one other creature you can see within 90 feet. The creature makes a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC, but it can choose to fail the save. On a failed or voluntarily failed save, you teleport it to an unoccupied space you can see within the spell’s range.

The destination must meet every one of these requirements:

• It is within range of you, the caster.
• You can see the space.
• The space is unoccupied.
• It is on a surface or in a liquid capable of supporting the creature.
• The creature fits there without squeezing.

If the creature succeeds on its save, it stays where it is. Vortex Warp deals no damage and has no partial effect on a successful save. It is instantaneous, so it requires no concentration and cannot be maintained or redirected on a later turn.

Can You Cast Vortex Warp on Yourself?

No. Vortex Warp targets “another creature,” which specifically excludes the caster. The general rule allowing a caster to choose themself as a creature target does not override that restriction.

You can target an ally, enemy, familiar, summon, mount, or other creature as long as it is not you and the normal sight, range, and cover requirements are met. The spell cannot target an unattended object.

A familiar cannot deliver Vortex Warp for you through Find Familiar. That feature works only with spells whose range is Touch, while Vortex Warp has a range of 90 feet.

Willing, Unwilling, and Unconscious Targets

A willing creature can choose to fail the Constitution save, making an ally’s teleport reliable. An unwilling creature rolls normally. Magic Resistance, Legendary Resistance, and other features that apply to saving throws against spells can protect an unwilling target when their wording applies.

The spell does not automatically teleport an unconscious creature. The 2014 unconscious condition causes automatic failures only on Strength and Dexterity saving throws, not Constitution saves. The rules do not clearly say whether an unconscious creature can actively choose to fail this save, so a DM may need to decide that point. If it cannot choose, it still makes the Constitution save.

How Far Can Vortex Warp Teleport a Creature?

Both the target and the destination must be within 90 feet of the caster. The destination is not measured from the target’s starting space. This means the spell’s practical teleport distance can be greater than 90 feet.

For example, if a target is 80 feet east of you and the destination is 80 feet west of you, both points are in range even though they are about 160 feet apart. The theoretical maximum separation at the base level is 180 feet, with the caster positioned between two points on opposite edges of the range. Sight, cover, terrain, and the shape of the battlefield usually reduce that distance.

Upcasting increases the radius around the caster by 30 feet for every slot level above 2nd:

Spell Slot	Range from Caster	Theoretical Maximum Relocation
2nd	90 feet	180 feet
3rd	120 feet	240 feet
4th	150 feet	300 feet
5th	180 feet	360 feet
6th	210 feet	420 feet
7th	240 feet	480 feet
8th	270 feet	540 feet
9th	300 feet	600 feet

Higher slots do not change the number of targets, saving throw, destination rules, or casting time. They only increase the spell’s range.

What Counts as a Valid Destination?

Vortex Warp cannot place a creature into open air. The destination must be on a supporting surface or in a supporting liquid, so the common plan of teleporting an enemy high overhead for immediate falling damage does not work.

The surface must support the creature, and the space must accommodate its size without squeezing. A Medium creature needs an unoccupied space where a Medium creature can stand normally; a Huge creature needs a much larger destination. The spell has no explicit size limit, but finding a legal destination becomes harder as the target grows.

A liquid destination can be valid, which permits teleporting a creature into water when the space is visible and otherwise qualifies. The spell does not make the liquid safe, grant a swimming speed, or let the target breathe there. Whether an unusual substance or fragile platform can truly support a creature is a factual judgment for the DM, not an extra effect supplied by the spell.

The caster must see both the creature and the chosen destination. In addition, the general 2014 spellcasting rules require a clear path to the target, so a creature behind total cover cannot normally be selected even if a transparent barrier lets you see it. See the site’s cover rules for how total cover affects spell targeting.

Does Vortex Warp Trigger Opportunity Attacks or End a Grapple?

Teleportation does not provoke opportunity attacks. Under the 2014 rules, an opportunity attack is not triggered when a creature is moved without using its movement, action, or reaction. Vortex Warp instantly changes the creature’s location rather than making it travel through the intervening spaces.

Teleporting a grappled creature beyond the grappler’s reach normally ends the grapple. The 2014 grapple rules expressly end the condition when an effect removes the grappled creature from the grappler’s reach. You can instead target the grappler and move it away, provided it fails the save. The site’s grapple guide covers the underlying condition and escape rules.

Not every restraint disappears. Manacles, a net carried with the creature, or another effect that remains attached may arrive with the target or continue to apply. Check the specific source of the restrained or grappled condition rather than treating teleportation as a universal condition remover.

Teleporting Creatures into Hazards and Spell Areas

The destination does not have to be comfortable or strategically wise; it only has to satisfy Vortex Warp’s stated requirements. That can allow you to place a failed target beside a frontline ally, in a prison cell you can see, in deep water, or inside an existing magical area when the chosen space is legal.

Vortex Warp itself never deals damage. Any hazard or spell at the destination uses its own trigger and timing. An effect that activates when a creature enters its area or ends a turn there may apply, while an effect that deals damage for moving through a measured distance may not trigger from instantaneous teleportation. For example, do not assume that arriving inside Spike Growth deals damage for spaces the target did not move through.

This distinction prevents a tactical combination from becoming an invented spell effect. Confirm that the destination can support the target, then read the other hazard’s exact wording to determine what happens on arrival.

Best Uses for Vortex Warp

Vortex Warp is strongest when position matters more than immediate damage. Its reliable use on willing allies and riskier use on enemies create two different tactical roles.

Useful ally-focused plays include:

• Pulling a wounded companion away from melee without provoking opportunity attacks.
• Placing a melee ally next to an isolated enemy without spending the ally’s movement.
• Moving a slow ally across a gap, difficult terrain, or another obstacle when a legal destination is visible.
• Relocating a grappled ally beyond the grappler’s reach.
• Putting a healer or specialist within reach of someone who needs help.

Against enemies, the Constitution save makes the spell less predictable. Successful uses can remove a guard from a doorway, separate an enemy from its support, pull a ranged attacker into melee, or return a creature to an existing control area. Constitution is often a strong monster save, so check the likely target rather than assuming the spell is equally effective against everything.

The spell is also useful outside combat. It can move another creature past a visible obstacle, across a damaged bridge, from one balcony to another, or out of a dangerous location. It cannot move the caster, and it cannot reach a destination the caster cannot see.

Class Features and Metamagic Interactions

The native spell lists are artificer, sorcerer, and wizard. Wizards can prepare it as a flexible positioning option, while sorcerers can modify it with 2014-era Metamagic:

• Distant Spell doubles the spell’s range, expanding both the valid target area and destination area.
• Heightened Spell can impose disadvantage on an unwilling target’s first saving throw against the spell.
• Twinned Spell can affect a second eligible creature under the 2014 version of that Metamagic because Vortex Warp normally targets only one creature and does not have a range of Self. Each target still needs a legal destination.

Those statements use the 2014 sorcerer features. The 2024 versions of Metamagic—especially Twinned Spell—have different rules and should not be substituted into a 2014 character without checking the chosen ruleset.

At 11th level, an artificer can choose Vortex Warp for Spell-Storing Item because it is a 2nd-level artificer spell with a casting time of 1 action. The creature using the item produces the spell’s effect and makes the relevant target and destination choices under that feature’s rules.

Is Vortex Warp a Good Spell?

Vortex Warp is an excellent utility and battlefield-positioning spell when the party can exploit movement more effectively than direct damage. It has long range, works automatically when a willing creature chooses to fail, requires no material component, and leaves concentration free for another spell.

Its limits are meaningful. Casting costs an action and a 2nd-level slot, the caster cannot target themself, both endpoints require sight and range, the destination must fit and support the creature, and hostile targets can resist with a Constitution save. Those restrictions make it a tactical tool, not unrestricted forced teleportation.

The spell is particularly valuable in parties with strong melee allies, persistent control areas, vulnerable back-line characters, or battlefields with large differences in elevation and access. In a simple fight where every creature is already in the right position, another spell may produce more immediate value.

Rules Version and Source

Vortex Warp was published for the 2014 fifth-edition rules in Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos. It does not have a separate revised spell entry in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, so there is no materially different 2024 version to compare here. This guide and its quick-reference table use the published Strixhaven spell and the 2014 core rules.

Vortex Warp FAQ

Can Vortex Warp teleport a target into the air?

No. The destination must be on a surface or in a liquid that can support the target without squeezing.

Can Vortex Warp move a flying creature?

Yes. A flying creature is still a creature and can be targeted normally, but its destination must be a legal supporting surface or liquid rather than an open-air space.

Does an unwilling creature take damage on a successful save?

No. A successful Constitution save prevents the teleport completely, and the spell deals no damage on either result.

Can Vortex Warp move more than one creature?

The spell normally targets one creature. A mount and rider, or two creatures grappling each other, remain separate creatures; selecting one does not make the other an additional target. A 2014 sorcerer’s Twinned Spell is a separate feature that can create a second target.

Does Vortex Warp require concentration?

No. Its duration is instantaneous, so it can be cast while you maintain a different concentration spell.

Can you use Vortex Warp through a familiar?

No. A familiar can deliver a spell only when its range is Touch. Vortex Warp’s range is 90 feet.