Would dispel magic end a concentration spell being held by the target?

[holywhippet]

Say you cast dispel magic on a creature. If that creature has a spell like bless on it then dispel magic might well remove it. But what if the target of the dispel magic spell was the caster of the bless spell and is holding it on themselves and some other allies, or even just on their allies? Would just the instance of the bless spell on that creature end or could the bless spell vanish entirely as it targets the creature's concentration on the spell?

As another example, if a creature has cast a summon type spell like conjure elemental then would casting dispel magic on the caster force the spell to end? Conversely, would casting dispel magic on the elemental be able to remove it from the battlefield?

[Dalebert]

No. The spell is not "on" the caster, i.e. he's not the target of the spell. However you can choose to target the magical effect specifically, Bless or a summoning spell for instance.

[Tanarii]

Dispel magic ends spells on the target. It doesn't matter how many other targets are also affected by the spell, it ends. If someone is blessed, you can target any person affected by the spell to end the entire spell.

[cyberfunkr]

The only thing to end a concentration spell, other than the casting willing it, is for the caster to lose concentration (damage, great amount of force, etc).

Casting "dispel magic" on the caster would remove the effect (say, "bless"), but would not remove it from anyone else affected by the spell. Similarly, casting "dispel magic" on the caster would have no effect on a summoned creature.

[Lord Vukodlak]

According to JC on sage advice No (https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/04/01/can-dispel-magic-be-used-to-end-banishment/)

[Keravath]

Dispel magic ends spells on the target. It doesn't matter how many other targets are also affected by the spell, it ends. If someone is blessed, you can target any person affected by the spell to end the entire spell.

I'm not sure your interpretation is correct.

From Dispel Magic:
"Choose one creature, object, or magical effect within range. Any spell of 3rd level or lower on the target ends."

"When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you automatically end the effects of a spell on the target if the spell's level is equal to or less than the level of the spell slot you used."

The first part says "any spell on the target ends", the second part says "ends the effects of a spell on the target" ... I would say that both are intended to mean ends the spell or spell effect on the target rather than the entire spell on all its targets though it is potentially ambiguous.

Dispel magic also allows the targeting of a magical effect ... however, is each instance of bless on different characters a separate magical effect? In this case, it could still only be used to cancel one instance of bless on one character rather then the entire spell on all creatures affected.

In addition, the text says "any spell" and "effects of a spell" ... so dispel magic can be interpreted to only dispel one spell effect on one target at a time.

[Beelzebubba]

Dispel magic ends spells on the target. It doesn't matter how many other targets are also affected by the spell, it ends. If someone is blessed, you can target any person affected by the spell to end the entire spell.

Nope, just the spell affecting one target.

That's why it says 'on the' target, not 'on all targets' or other more expansive language.

[Dalebert]

Good points. My interpretation is somewhere in between. If your target is a creature, you can end all effects on that creature. So Bless would end only on that creature, for instance, but so would Shield of Faith. If you choose the Bless spell itself as the target, which is an option, you end the Bless spell for everyone but other spells on that creature would remain. The creature in this case is not the target. The Bless spell is.

The key here is that a magical effect (presumably a spell since DM only dispels spells) is a valid target. You just need some element of that magical effect to be in range. That could be one edge of an illusion spell or a creature that is affected by the spell.

[Beelzebubba]

The key here is that a magical effect (presumably a spell since DM only dispels spells) is a valid target. You just need some element of that magical effect to be in range. That could be one edge of an illusion spell or a creature that is affected by the spell.

Sage Advice disagrees.


If dispel magic targets the magical effect from bless cast by a cleric, does it remove the effect on all the targets? Dispel magic ends a spell on one target. It doesn’t end the same spell on other targets.

That said, I see your point - 'all targets being affected with the single spell within 120 of you' - and it makes sense.

For lack of better terminology, if I get your drift, the spell is going 'broad' instead of 'deep', so instead of multiple effects ending on a single target, then only a single effect would end on multiple targets.

So, I wouldn't disagree with anyone ruling it the same way.

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I think the thing that catches me, though, is if the effect is detectable or not, which gets back to the 'do spells know what to target' problem.

So, Slow - yeah, sure, you see it, it's obvious, so you know what to target. Dispel away.

Bless? Bane? There's no obvious special effect, so how can it be targeted as an 'effect' without the dispeller using Detect Magic or True Sight beforehand to perceive the specific auras on everyone? I wouldn't allow it without some reliable detection method.

Same thing with Hex, or Mind Spike, or other magic with no described special effect.

Any opinions / further discussion on that?

[Asmotherion]

Dispel Magic dispels the Spell and Magical Effect. It does not affect Concentration from affar. Obviously, you cannot concentrate on a spell that has been dispelled, but neither can you directly dispel concentration.

You can however attack the caster, to make him fail his concentration, an easyer method, and less costly than Dispel Magic. Battle Tactics with casters 101.