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
Spare the Dying popularity
How popular is Spare the Dying? It is one of the most popular spells in the game, and is often chosen over other options when available. This spell is a proven favourite among spellcasters.
- Top 5% of all 5e spells
- Top 25% picked Artificer cantrip
- Top 25% of all cantrips
- Top 25% picked Druid cantrip
- Top 50% picked Cleric cantrip
Read about how this popularity data is calculated.
Spells similar to Spare the Dying
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 Aura of Life over Spare the Dying
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 Revivify over 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 Cure Wounds over Spare the Dying
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 Healing Word over Spare the Dying
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