This article was co-authored by Lonny Foran and by wikiHow staff writer, Glenn Carreau. Lonny Foran is a Dungeons & Dragons Expert. He founded his YouTube channel, All Things DnD, in 2015. The channel has amassed 244K subscribers and over 54M views. His website, All Things DnD, is an online community hub for Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts, hosting a podcast, DnD guides, an NPC generator, quizzes, and more.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
This article has been viewed 76,049 times.
You’re having a ball winning a battle in Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, casting all kinds of powerful spells—but then your DM asks for a concentration check. What does that mean? Concentration (and concentration checks) essentially determine your character’s ability to focus on their spell despite adverse conditions, including, but not limited to, attacks from enemies. Ready to learn more about concentration? Read on for a complete guide to calculating (and improving) your character’s concentration in D&D 5e.
Things You Should Know
- Concentration checks measure a character’s ability to maintain their spell. Concentration may be broken when your character takes damage, dies, or is incapacitated.
- The DC (difficulty class) of a concentration check is either 10 or half of the total damage your character takes—whichever value is greater.
- Add 1d20 + your character’s Constitution saving throw modifier to calculate a concentration check. If you beat the check's DC, you maintain concentration.
Steps
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about role-play games, check out our in-depth interview with Lonny Foran.
References
- ↑ https://5thsrd.org/spellcasting/casting_a_spell/
- ↑ https://5thsrd.org/spellcasting/casting_a_spell/
- ↑ https://blackcitadelrpg.com/concentration-5e/
- ↑ https://blackcitadelrpg.com/concentration-5e/
- ↑ https://5thsrd.org/spellcasting/casting_a_spell/
- ↑ https://5thsrd.org/spellcasting/casting_a_spell/
- ↑ https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1224-how-concentration-works-in-dungeons-dragons
- ↑ https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1224-how-concentration-works-in-dungeons-dragons
- ↑ https://blackcitadelrpg.com/concentration-5e/