Spare the Dying
2024 Rules
- Level & School
- Necromancy cantrip
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range
- 15 feet
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Classes
- Artificer, Cleric, Druid
- Source
- Player's Handbook (2024)
Choose a creature within range that has 0 Hit Points and isn't dead. The creature becomes Stable.
Cantrip Upgrade. The range doubles when you reach levels 5 (30 feet), 11 (60 feet), and 17 (120 feet).
2014 Rules
- Level & School
- Necromancy cantrip
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range
- Touch
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Classes
- Artificer, Cleric
- Source
- Player's Handbook (2014)
You touch a living creature that has 0 hit points. The creature becomes stable. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
Spare the Dying 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences
How popular is Spare the Dying in 5e?
Spare the Dying is the #10 most popular cantrip (of 49) and the #5 most picked Artificer cantrip (of 24).
Among cantrips, Spare the Dying ranks just below Toll the Dead and just above Thaumaturgy in popularity.
- #23 (of 567) most popular 5e spell
- #10 (of 49) most popular cantrip
- #5 (of 24) most picked Artificer cantrip
- #5 (of 22) most picked Druid cantrip
- #4 (of 9) most picked Cleric cantrip
Read about how this popularity data is calculated.
Spells similar to Spare the Dying
Cure Wounds 1st-level abjuration
Both are low-level, instantaneous ways for clerics and druids to aid an injured companion, though Cure Wounds requires touch and restores hit points.
Players prefer Spare the Dying over Cure Wounds
Aura of Life 4th-level abjuration
Clerics can use either spell to protect companions from dying, although Aura of Life works proactively across an area rather than stabilizing one creature.
Players prefer Spare the Dying over Aura of Life
Healing Word 1st-level abjuration
Like Spare the Dying, it is an instantaneous healing spell that helps an ally from a short distance and appears on the cleric and druid lists.
Players prefer Spare the Dying over Healing Word
Revivify 3rd-level necromancy
This cleric-and-druid spell also deals directly with an ally at the brink of death, using necromantic magic to return them to fighting condition.
Players prefer Spare the Dying over Revivify
Healing Spirit 2nd-level conjuration
Both support allies through magical healing, with Healing Spirit offering repeated recovery to nearby creatures instead of stabilizing a single unconscious target.
Players prefer Spare the Dying over Healing Spirit
Gentle Repose 2nd-level necromancy
Its necromantic purpose centers on delaying death’s consequences, making it thematically and tactically relevant to preserving fallen creatures.
Players prefer Spare the Dying over Gentle Repose