Can I change appearance multiple times with one casting of Disguise Self?

Question

The Disguise Self spell states:

You make yourself - including your clothing, armor, weapons, and other belongings on your person - look different until the spell ends or until you use your action to dismiss it.

A cursory glance at the description has always left me with the impression that you cast it, choose your new appearance, and then you are stuck with that appearance until the spell ends, you cast another, or you dismiss it.

However, one does not have to read it that way. The spell indicates you can make yourself look different until the spell ends. It doesn't say you can't constantly change your appearance during that time.

So for example, could I cast the spell to look like a servant, then change my mind and look like a guard?

Answer 1

No. The change only happens once: Upon casting.

You make yourself - including your clothing, armor, weapons, and other belongings on your person - look different until the spell ends or until you use your action to dismiss it.

Emphasis mine. The intent of this line is to state that the change in appearance lasts for the entire duration of the spell, not that you may continuously update your appearance.

There are other spells or abilities that allow you to make modifications or changes during their Duration and they have specific language allowing you to do so. The spell Alter Self is the closest example to your question since it deals with changing appearance:

You transform your appearance. You decide what you look like [...] At any time for the duration of the spell, you can use your action to change your appearance in this way again.

Emphasis mine. The exception proves the rule in this case; since Alter Self specifically mentions you are afforded the chance to change. Spells or abilities that do not denote that you can, do not allow you to.

Answer 2

Nope, you're stuck with the first appearance you choose.

Disguise Self doesn't specifically say you can't change your appearance but that doesn't mean you can either.

If we look at a spell such as Alter Self, its description specifically says you can change your appearance with that spell:

You transform your appearance. You decide what you look like [...] At any time for the duration of the spell, you can use your action to change your appearance in this way again.

Disguise Self, however, includes no such wording. Therefore you're unable to alter what you look like for the duration of Disguise Self.

Answer 3

Not unless you are a level 6+ Illusionist Wizard

OneCritWonder's & Purple Monkey's answers are correct.

However there is one thing that would allow you to change appearance mid-duration - the School of Illusion wizard's Malleable Illusions feature (PHB, p. 118):

Starting at 6th level, when you cast an illusion spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can use your action to change the nature of that illusion (using the spell's normal parameters for the illusion), provided that you can see the illusion.

If you had this feature, you could change the appearance created by disguise self with an action.

Answer 4

Yes, you can additionally change the way you look (using this magic).

The description of the magic says very clearly: "You make yourself - including your clothing, armor, weapons, and other belongings on your person - look different until ..."

Magic does not create an image - nowhere in the description of magic does it say that it creates an image. It changes the way you look. And how you look like is a dynamic process.

The illusion can be static only if the creature is also static. Because creature has behavior, the illusion must reflect that behavior. I need to be able to "dress" or "undress" if I make the appropriate movements. I need to be able to take my hat off my head to congratulate a passing higher, etc.

Dozens of simultaneous changes in the illusory appearance are possible and necessary just to move the creature from the shade to the sun / from the covenant to the wind. With an argument for a stronger reason, the creature can focus (systematically use 1 or more actions) and change the way it looks.