A Potion of Growth in D&D 5e makes you one size category larger and gives you several benefits from the enlarge effect of Enlarge/Reduce. Under the current 2024 rules, those benefits last for 10 minutes without requiring Concentration.
The older 2014 version is considerably longer-lasting at 1d4 hours, which is why different D&D references may appear to contradict one another. If your group uses legacy rules, make sure you are looking at the correct version of the item.
Potion of Growth 5e Quick Reference
| Feature | 2024 Rules |
|---|---|
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Item type | Potion, consumable |
| Duration | 10 minutes |
| Concentration | Not required |
| Size | Increases by one category |
| Strength checks | Advantage |
| Strength saving throws | Advantage |
| Extra damage | 1d4 with enlarged weapons or Unarmed Strikes |
| Attunement | Not required |
| Drink or administer | Bonus Action |
The current Potion of Growth works by granting the enlarge portion of Enlarge/Reduce rather than by giving you an entirely separate set of statistics.
What Does a Potion of Growth Do?
Drinking the potion changes your size and grants three main mechanical benefits: better Strength checks, better Strength saving throws, and additional damage on qualifying attacks.
Your Size Increases by One Category
Your creature size increases one step. For example:
- Small becomes Medium.
- Medium becomes Large.
- Large becomes Huge.
Your worn and carried equipment changes size with you. If you drop an enlarged item, it immediately returns to its normal size. Thrown weapons and ammunition return to normal after they hit or miss their target.
The increase in creature size can also affect other rules, including carrying capacity and which creatures you can grapple or shove.
You Have Advantage on Strength Checks and Saves
While enlarged, you have Advantage on Strength ability checks and Strength saving throws.
This can help with physical tasks that call for Strength, such as forcing an object, overcoming certain environmental obstacles, or making an Athletics check. It can also improve your chances when an effect requires a Strength saving throw.
The potion does not increase your actual Strength score. A character with Strength 16 still has Strength 16 after drinking it.
Your Attacks Can Deal an Extra 1d4 Damage
The current Enlarge/Reduce spell adds 1d4 damage when you hit with an enlarged weapon or an Unarmed Strike.
This makes Potion of Growth particularly useful for characters who can make several attacks. A character who lands three qualifying attacks during a turn can potentially apply the extra 1d4 to each hit.
The potion does not give you Advantage on those attack rolls. Its Advantage applies to Strength checks and Strength saving throws, not weapon attacks.
Potion of Growth: 2024 vs. 2014 Rules
The biggest source of confusion around Potion of Growth is that two official versions remain relevant to 5e players.
| Rule | 2014 / Legacy | 2024 / Current |
|---|---|---|
| Rarity | Uncommon | Uncommon |
| Duration | 1d4 hours | 10 minutes |
| Concentration | No | No |
| Size increase | One category | One category |
| Strength checks | Advantage | Advantage |
| Strength saves | Advantage | Advantage |
| Extra attack damage | 1d4 | 1d4 |
The duration difference changes how the item is used. The legacy Potion of Growth can potentially remain active for several encounters or a long period of exploration. The current 10-minute version is much more tactical and is usually best consumed shortly before or during an encounter.
Neither duration is universally correct for every 5e campaign. Use the version that matches the rulebooks your group has chosen.
What Becoming Larger Does Not Give You
The word “growth” can make the potion sound like a general upgrade to a character’s physical statistics, but its benefits are specific.
Your Strength Score Does Not Increase
Advantage on Strength checks does not change your Strength modifier. If your Strength score is 18 before drinking the potion, it remains 18 afterward.
Your AC and Hit Points Stay the Same
The enlarge effect does not provide an Armor Class bonus, temporary Hit Points, or an increase to your Hit Point maximum.
Your Reach Does Not Automatically Increase
A creature normally has a reach of 5 feet unless another rule specifically changes it. Becoming Large by itself does not give a character 10-foot reach.
For example, a Medium Fighter enlarged to Large still normally has 5-foot reach with a longsword. A weapon or feature that separately changes reach follows its own rules.
How Becoming Large Changes Carrying Capacity
Potion of Growth does not directly increase your carrying capacity, but changing size can do so.
Under the 2024 carrying-capacity rules, Small and Medium creatures can carry up to 15 times their Strength score in pounds. Large creatures can carry up to 30 times their Strength score.
| Size | Carry | Drag, Lift, or Push |
|---|---|---|
| Small or Medium | Strength × 15 lb. | Strength × 30 lb. |
| Large | Strength × 30 lb. | Strength × 60 lb. |
| Huge | Strength × 60 lb. | Strength × 120 lb. |
Consider a Medium character with Strength 18. Normally, the character can carry 270 pounds. If the potion makes that character Large, the limit becomes 540 pounds. The maximum amount the character can drag, lift, or push becomes 1,080 pounds.
That gives the potion uses outside combat, especially when a party needs to move a heavy object, lift an obstacle, or transport unusually heavy equipment.
How Potion of Growth Affects Grappling and Shoving
The current 2024 grappling rules work differently from the original 2014 system.
When you use an Unarmed Strike to Grapple or Shove, the target makes a Strength or Dexterity saving throw. The save DC is based on 8 + your Strength modifier + your Proficiency Bonus.
Because Potion of Growth does not raise your Strength score, it does not increase that DC.
Size still matters, however. You can Grapple or Shove only a creature that is no more than one size larger than you. A Medium character can normally attempt these maneuvers against a creature up to Large size. If the potion makes that character Large, a Huge target becomes eligible.
The potion’s Advantage on Strength checks can also matter if you are grappled yourself. Escaping a grapple can involve a Strength (Athletics) check, which benefits from that Advantage.
When Is Potion of Growth Most Useful?
The current 10-minute duration rewards careful timing. Its value is highest when several of its benefits matter in the same encounter.
For Characters Making Multiple Weapon Attacks
Fighters and other martial characters with multiple attacks can repeatedly benefit from the extra 1d4 when those attacks hit. A character who rarely attacks with weapons or Unarmed Strikes receives much less offensive value.
Against Large Physical Enemies
The larger size category can become important when grappling or shoving creatures that would otherwise be too large to target with those maneuvers.
During Strength-Heavy Challenges
Advantage on Strength checks and increased carrying capacity can make the potion useful during exploration, not just combat.
When Concentration Is Already Needed Elsewhere
A normal casting of Enlarge/Reduce requires Concentration. Potion of Growth specifically removes that requirement.
A spellcaster can therefore maintain Concentration on a different effect while benefiting from the potion, and a martial character does not risk losing the enlargement after taking damage.
The tradeoff is physical size. Becoming Large can be inconvenient in narrow corridors, cramped rooms, or other spaces where a bigger body is difficult to position.
What Happens If You Drink Another Potion While Enlarged?
The 2024 rules contain a specific system for combining potions called Potion Miscibility.
If a character drinks another potion while still under the effects of one, the DM rolls on the Potion Miscibility table. Outcomes vary considerably. Both effects might work normally, one or both might fail, durations or numerical effects might change, or unusual magical consequences can occur.
This means drinking several potions is not automatically a predictable way to stack magical benefits.
If two Potion of Growth effects survive the miscibility roll, whether identical enlargement effects produce an additional size increase is a separate rules interaction. The Potion of Growth description itself does not say that repeated doses increase a creature by another category each time, so players should not assume that multiple bottles automatically turn a Medium creature into Huge or Gargantuan size. The DM should resolve any overlapping size-changing effects using the rules being used for that campaign.
How Much Is a Potion of Growth Worth?
Under the 2024 magic-item rules, an Uncommon magic item has a standard value of 400 GP. Consumable magic items other than Spell Scrolls use half their normal value.
That gives Potion of Growth a standard rules value of 200 GP.
This is a benchmark rather than a mandatory shop price. The rules allow magic-item availability and transactions to depend on the campaign, and a seller might even ask for a service instead of gold.
Older campaigns using 2014-era pricing guidance may handle the item’s value differently.
Can You Craft a Potion of Growth?
Under the current magic-item crafting rules, a character can craft a Potion of Growth if the campaign provides access to the required materials and the character has the necessary proficiencies.
Crafting a potion requires:
- Proficiency in Arcana
- Proficiency with Alchemist’s Supplies or an Herbalism Kit
- Appropriate raw materials
An Uncommon magic item normally takes 10 days and 200 GP in materials to craft. Because Potion of Growth is consumable, both figures are halved.
| Requirement | Potion of Growth |
|---|---|
| Base crafting time | 5 days |
| Base material cost | 100 GP |
| Skill proficiency | Arcana |
| Tool proficiency | Alchemist’s Supplies or Herbalism Kit |
The DM determines whether suitable crafting materials are available, so having enough gold and downtime does not necessarily mean the potion can be made immediately.
Is Potion of Growth Worth Using?
Potion of Growth is most valuable for characters who can take advantage of several benefits at once. Strength-focused martial characters gain the most obvious combination: extra weapon damage, better Strength checks and saves, a larger carrying capacity, and access to larger grapple or shove targets.
The current version is also easier to use during combat because drinking or administering a potion takes a Bonus Action. Its main limitation is the 10-minute duration, which makes timing important.
For a ranged spellcaster who rarely uses Strength or weapon attacks, the potion may have limited value. For a Fighter, Barbarian, Paladin, or another character fighting at close range, it can be a useful tactical consumable.
Final Thoughts
The most important thing to know about Potion of Growth 5e is which ruleset your table uses. Under the current 2024 rules, it is a short-duration tactical potion that lasts 10 minutes. Under the legacy 2014 rules, the same item lasts 1d4 hours.
In current play, its strength comes from combining several modest advantages rather than delivering one enormous bonus. Increasing your size, improving Strength checks and saves, adding 1d4 damage to qualifying attacks, increasing carrying capacity, and avoiding Concentration can make it very effective when used in the right situation.
