A sphere of annihilation is a fictional magic item in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
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Publication history
The sphere of annihilation appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original 1979 Dungeon Master's Guide. It also appeared in second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the 2nd edition Dungeon Master's Guide (1989).
The sphere of annihilation appeared in the third edition Dungeon Master's Guide (2000), classified as a minor artifact.
Description
A sphere of annihilation is a two-foot diameter black globe of absolute nothingness. A sphere of annihilation is actually a void - a hole in the continuity of the multiverse - and any matter which comes in contact with a sphere is instantly sucked into the void and utterly destroyed. Characters annihilated this way cannot be restored by any mortal magic.
A sphere of annihilation remains static, remaining in place as if it were a normal hole. A character can cause it to move through mental effort, as if by telekinesis; the more powerful a character is, the better that character can control and move the sphere of annihilation. Failure to establish control over a sphere of annihilation causes it to briefly move towards the character attempting to do so. If two or more characters attempt to control a sphere of annihilation, their attempts oppose each other. Should both fail, the sphere will gravitate towards the character with higher intelligence. Another magic item called the talisman of the sphere allows a character to better control this item.
Mordicai Knode of Tor.com called the item "the best minor artifact" in the game.