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This came up with our game last night, with the players suggesting it would be easier to see a creature invisible under water, and I suggested that an aquatic caster might, know a version of the spell that is 'better' under water than the default.

So does casting invisibility under water affect it or not?

I can see answers for other systems

nijineko
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Bucket
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1 Answers1

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Invisibility is affected by water

The spell description for Invisibility says:

Of course, the subject is not magically silenced, and certain other conditions can render the recipient detectable (such as stepping in a puddle).

Being fully immersed under water is in a way just a more extreme version of stepping in a puddle: your invisible form displaces the water, and the resulting empty space in the water is visible, like an air bubble under water would be.

The Rules Compendium also addresses how this works on p. 77 (Thanks to @Peregrin; note that the rules compendium cannot change the core rules, so read this more as a clarifying statement of intent):

An invisible target in the water displaces water, revealing its location. The invisible target is still hard to see and benefits from concealment

Nobody the Hobgoblin
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    The Rules Compendium (p 77) directly address this. "An invisible target in the water displaces water, revealing its location. The invisible target is still hard to see and benefits from concealment." – Peregrin Jun 22 '23 at 11:39
  • @Peregrin, thank you I will add this! – Nobody the Hobgoblin Jun 22 '23 at 12:19
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    Just for the sake of completeness, invisibility underwater is also adressed in the DMG (p 93): "An invisible creature displaces water and leaves a visible, body-shaped “bubble” where the water was displaced. The creature still has concealment (20% miss chance), but not total concealment (50% miss chance)." – Peregrin Oct 09 '23 at 10:33