Eight New Healing Spells

Stands-in-the-Fire started a conversation over in Twitter about healing gameplay styles. Now, he’s talking about a lot more than D&D 5e there, but there are enough great ideas floating around in the thread that I wanted to write a bunch of new healing spells. A lot of the thread focused on how healers would like to deliver healing while doing something else, and how healing is most fun when it engages with risk creatively.

Abiding Balm

2nd-level abjuration (artificer, cleric, druid)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a garnet worth at least 50 gp)
Duration: Instantaneous

A creature of your choice that you can see within range regains 1d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier hit points. Until the beginning of your next turn, when it takes damage from any source, the creature can roll 1d6 and reduce the damage that it takes by the result.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level of higher, the healing increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 2nd, and the damage prevented increases by 1d6 for every two slot levels above 2nd.

Angelic Respite

2nd-level conjuration (cleric, paladin)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a feather from a celestial’s wing)
Duration: Instantaneous

In a rush of wings, an angelic presence rescues a nearby creature from harm. A creature of your choice that you can see or whose name you know within range regains 1d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier hit points. The stunned condition immediately ends on that creature, and it can use its reaction to fly up to 20 feet. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 2nd.

Bloodletting

1st-level necromancy (artificer, cleric, sorcerer, warlock, wizard)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a bone needle)
Duration: Instantaneous

A willing creature that you touch regains 1d12 + your spellcasting ability modifier, minus 1d8 hit points. When the d12 result is a 12, roll again and add the result. When the d8 result is 8, roll again and subtract the result. The result can be negative, resulting in a loss of hit points. This spell has no effect on elementals, undead, or constructs.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d12, and the subtracted value increases by 1d8, for each slot level above 1st.

Revision: A willing creature that you touch regains 1d12 + your spellcasting ability modifier hit points. If the d12 result is a 1, the target loses 1d8 hit points instead.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d12 for each slot level above 1st. Any of the rolls that result in 1 deal 1d8 damage to the target instead.

Death Offering

3rd-level necromancy (cleric, paladin, warlock)

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

You return a dead creature you touch to life, provided it has been dead no longer than 10 days. If the creature's soul is both willing and at liberty to rejoin the body, the creature returns to life with 1 hit point. Then you roll four death saving throws. If you accrue three failures within those four rolls, you die and can’t be affected by the death offering spell for 1 month. Die results of 20 are a single success that also negate one failure.

This spell also neutralizes any poisons and cures nonmagical diseases that affected the creature at the time it died. This spell doesn't, however, remove magical diseases, curses, or similar effects; if these aren't first removed prior to casting the spell, they take effect when the creature returns to life. The spell can't return an undead creature to life.

This spell closes all mortal wounds, but it doesn't restore missing body parts. If the creature is lacking body parts or organs integral for its survival--its head, for instance--the spell automatically fails.

Desperate Healing Word

3rd-level evocation (bard, cleric, druid)

Casting Time: 1 reaction, when a creature you can see within range takes damage or fails a death saving throw
Range: 60 feet
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous

The triggering creature regains 1d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier hit points. This healing takes effect before the result of the death saving throw. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the healing increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.

Offering of Mercy

1st-level necromancy (cleric, paladin)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

The creature that you touch regains 1d6 hit points, and you can choose to reduce your current and maximum hit points by 1d6. If you do, your target regains additional hit points equal to twice the die result + your spellcasting ability modifier. The reduction of your maximum hit points lasts until you finish a long rest. This spell has no effect on constructs.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing of the initial touch increases by 1d6, and you can choose to reduce your current and maximum hit points by an additional 1d6, for each slot level above 1st.

Soothing Word

2nd-level enchantment (bard, cleric, druid)

Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

A creature of your choice that you can see within range regains 1d6 hit points + your spellcasting ability modifier. The creature also has advantage on saving throws it makes against the frightened condition and the confusion spell for 1 minute. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.

At Higher Levels.  When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 2nd.

Surge of Vitality

2nd-level evocation (artificer, bard, cleric, druid)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a few cardamom seeds)
Duration: Instantaneous

A creature of your choice that you can see within range regains 2d6 hit points. Until the beginning of your next turn, it has resistance to necrotic damage, and the next time it hits with a weapon attack, it deals additional damage equal to your spellcasting modifier. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 2nd.

Design Notes

Several spell names and concepts were taken from suggestions from friends. Thanks, y’all!

Bloodletting is me trying to get D&D to do the Occultist’s risky healing effect from Darkest Dungeon. D8s are more likely to explode than d12s, of course, which is part of why +spellcasting modifier is important.

Probably the most in need of explanation is death offering. This is a bargain-basement raise dead with no expensive that carries a meaningful risk of killing the caster. There are things you can do to weight those odds, of course, but I hope there’s nothing you can do to reduce the rolls to a 0% chance of failure. I asked for help with the odds on Twitter; there were certain differences of opinion and approach, but I’m not good enough at probabilities to suss them out.

I was also specifically interested in breaking “evocation is the source of healing” here. Abjuration, conjuration, enchantment, and necromancy all get in on the game. Good heal-over-time effects are a bit of a trick in 5e because 5e doesn’t like a lot of start-of-turn management; also, a die value low enough to be okay for many rounds requires a higher-level spell slot than you want to use as the core of a character’s approach to healing.