Abjuration • Legacy Witch Exorcism
Cleanse
Cleanse drives hostile spirits, undead and outsiders from an area and can force a possessing spirit out of a creature or object. It is preserved as a legacy d20 Witch and Cleric spell rather than treated as an official modern-edition spell.
Cleanse at a Glance
| 5.5e / 2024 | No direct official spell by this name; use modern banishment, protection and exorcism effects |
|---|---|
| 5e / 2014 | No direct core spell by this name |
| Pathfinder 1e | Not a Pathfinder Witch spell by default |
| D&D 3.x Legacy | Witch 4, Cleric 4 |
Spell Rules by Edition
Cleanse — 5.5e / 2024
Status: no direct official spell by this name is used here. Do not import the legacy turning and possession rules into 5.5e automatically.
Cleanse — 5e / 2014
Status: no direct core spell by this name. Use edition-appropriate protection, turning, banishment or curse-removal magic.
Cleanse — Pathfinder 1e
Status: the preserved Cleanse spell is not added to the Pathfinder Witch list by default. Pathfinder exorcism and possession rules should be used instead.
Cleanse — D&D 3.x Legacy
| School | Evocation in the legacy source; functionally a protective/exorcism effect |
|---|---|
| Level | Witch 4, Cleric 4 |
| Components | V, S, M/Focus |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Range | Touch; legacy effect extends 10 ft. per caster level |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw | See text |
| Spell Resistance | Yes |
Cleanse functions as a non-destructive expulsion. Hostile spirits, undead and outsiders in the affected area are forced to leave rather than being damaged or destroyed. Undead are treated as turned under the older rules, but are never destroyed by this spell.
If a spirit is possessing a creature or object, that spirit receives a Will save. On a failure, it is expelled from the host and must flee the affected area.
Focus: a Witch’s ritual blade or another tradition-appropriate ritual focus, plus fine incense.
What Changed?
- D&D 3.x Legacy: Cleanse expels hostile spirits, undead and outsiders without automatically destroying them.
- Pathfinder 1e: no default Witch conversion is assumed.
- 5.5e / 2024 and 5e / 2014: use modern banishment, turning and possession rules instead of importing the legacy mechanic.
Counterplay and Rulings
- Spell Resistance: applies under the legacy rules.
- Possession: the possessing spirit receives the stated Will save; the host does not need to fail a separate save.
- Dispel Magic: because Cleanse is instantaneous, ordinary dispelling after the expulsion does not reverse what already happened.
- Mindless undead: can still be driven from the area; the spell does not depend on persuasion or fear.
- Not destruction: Cleanse cannot destroy undead or outsiders simply by forcing them away.
Using Cleanse in Play
Cleanse works best as a room-clearing or exorcism spell: reclaiming a crypt chamber, forcing a possessing spirit out of a victim, driving an outsider from a ritual site, or buying time to seal a haunted location.
Related Magic
Rules Sources and Licensing
Legacy source: Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks, Timothy S. Brannan and the Netbook of Witches and Warlocks team.
This page keeps the legacy mechanics edition-pure and does not invent a 5.5e or Pathfinder conversion.
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