In the desert, magic stretches your supplies. It doesn’t replace them. The spells below work as written in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, except for the changes shown here. Foraging, hunting and iron rations still matter. Printable version: Magic & Supplies - Player Handout.pdf.
The terms
| Term | Meaning | Slots |
|---|---|---|
| Raw ration | Fresh food: meat, fruit, fish, berries. Spoils at dawn. | 1 each |
| Iron ration | Dried, salted or sealed. Keeps. | 3 per slot |
| Water ration | One full waterskin. | 1 each |
Each character eats 1 food ration and drinks 1 water ration a day, at the start of their Rest (or in the 4th watch if they don’t rest).
Who can cast what
| Spell | Level | Classes |
|---|---|---|
| Create Food and Water | 3rd | Cleric, Paladin |
| Goodberry | 1st | Druid, Ranger |
| Create or Destroy Water | 1st | Cleric, Druid |
| Purify Food and Drink | 1st, ritual | Cleric, Druid, Paladin; Pact of the Tome |
| Tiny Hut | 3rd, ritual | Bard, Wizard |
At this table
| Spell | As written | At this table |
|---|---|---|
| Create Food and Water | Food and water for 15 people for a day. | 3 raw rations and 3 water rations, plus 1 of each per slot level above 3rd. Casting it takes your watch action. The food spoils at dawn and can’t be preserved. |
| Goodberry | 10 berries, each a full day’s food. | Each berry still heals 1 HP, but all 10 together are only 1 raw ration. They wither at dawn. |
| Create or Destroy Water | Up to 10 gallons (about 20 water rations), more with higher slots. | 2 water rations per slot level. Destroying water works as written. |
| Purify Food and Drink | Removes poison and disease from food and drink. | Works as written: makes tainted meat and fouled water safe. Salt isn’t poison, so it won’t make brine drinkable. |
| Tiny Hut | A ritual. For 8 hours, a dome that keeps out creatures, spells and weather. | Not a ritual: every casting costs a 3rd-level slot. The dome keeps out heat and weather only; creatures and objects pass in freely. It makes the camp Sheltered, but not Hidden or Defensible. |
Why: casting one 1st-level spell shouldn’t feed a whole party for a day. With these changes a caster covers part of the party, and everyone else still has to earn their supper.
Example: a party of six. The cleric spends a 3rd-level slot and a watch on Create Food and Water: 3 raw and 3 water. The druid adds Create or Destroy Water with a 1st-level slot: 2 more water. That’s 3 food and 5 water. The other three meals come from foraging, hunting or the pack.