Simulacrum
2024 Rules
- Level & School
- 7th-level illusion
- Casting Time
- 12 hours
- Range
- Touch
- Components
- V, S, M (powdered ruby worth 1,500+ GP, which the spell consumes)
- Duration
- Until dispelled
- Classes
- Wizard
You create a simulacrum of one Beast or Humanoid that is within 10 feet of you for the entire casting of the spell. You finish the casting by touching both the creature and a pile of ice or snow that is the same size as that creature, and the pile turns into the simulacrum, which is a creature. It uses the game statistics of the original creature at the time of casting, except it is a Construct, its Hit Point maximum is half as much, and it can't cast this spell.
The simulacrum is Friendly to you and creatures you designate. It obeys your commands and acts on your turn in combat. The simulacrum can't gain levels, and it can't take Short or Long Rests. If the simulacrum takes damage, the only way to restore its Hit Points is to repair it as you take a Long Rest, during which you expend components worth 100 GP per Hit Point restored. The simulacrum must stay within 5 feet of you for the repair.
The simulacrum lasts until it drops to 0 Hit Points, at which point it reverts to snow and melts away. If you cast this spell again, any simulacrum you created with this spell is instantly destroyed.
2014 Rules
- Level & School
- 7th-level illusion
- Casting Time
- 12 hours
- Range
- Touch
- Components
- V, S, M (snow or ice in quantities sufficient to made a life-size copy of the duplicated creature; some hair, fingernail clippings, or other piece of that creature's body placed inside the snow or ice; and powdered ruby worth 1,500 gp, sprinkled over the duplicate and consumed by the spell)
- Duration
- Until dispelled
- Classes
- Wizard
You shape an illusory duplicate of one beast or humanoid that is within range for the entire casting time of the spell. The duplicate is a creature, partially real and formed from ice or snow, and it can take actions and otherwise be affected as a normal creature. It appears to be the same as the original, but it has half the creature's hit point maximum and is formed without any equipment. Otherwise, the illusion uses all the statistics of the creature it duplicates, except that it is a construct.
The simulacrum is friendly to you and creatures you designate. It obeys your spoken commands, moving and acting in accordance with your wishes and acting on your turn in combat. The simulacrum lacks the ability to learn or become more powerful, so it never increases its level or other abilities, nor can it regain expended spell slots.
If the simulacrum is damaged, you can repair it in an alchemical laboratory, using rare herbs and minerals worth 100 gp per hit point it regains. The simulacrum lasts until it drops to 0 hit points, at which point it reverts to snow and melts instantly.
If you cast this spell again, any currently active duplicates you created with this spell are instantly destroyed.
Simulacrum 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences
Spells similar to Simulacrum
Clone 8th-level necromancy
Both create a durable backup or duplicate of a creature that lasts until dispelled and serve long-term support/utility rather than short combat bursts.
True Polymorph 9th-level transmutation
True Polymorph can permanently change one being into another form, producing a long-term transformative effect similar to making a new creature with lasting utility.
Gate 9th-level conjuration
Gate summons powerful extraplanar beings to your side and can be used to call allies, matching Simulacrum’s use of creating potent, controllable help at high spell level.
Conjure Celestial 7th-level conjuration
As a high-level summoning option that places a strong, friendly creature under your control for tactical use, it fills a similar support-and-action-economy niche in combat.
Planar Binding 5th-level abjuration
Planar Binding is commonly paired with summoning to force a creature into long-term service, mirroring Simulacrum’s function of creating a persistent assistant rather than a fleeting ally.