Greater Restoration
Greater Restoration removes major magical debilitation. Fifth edition uses a 5th-level Abjuration with consumed diamond dust; PF1e and D&D 3.5e retain the older 7th-level restoration procedure.
At a Glance
| 2024 | 5th-level Abjuration — Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 5th-level Abjuration — Bard, Cleric, Druid |
| Pathfinder 1e | Cleric 7 |
| D&D 3.5e | Cleric 7 |
| Modern cost | Diamond dust worth 100+ gp, consumed |
| Legacy cost | PF1e: 5,000 gp diamond dust; 3.5e: 500 XP |
Choose Your Edition
Greater Restoration — 5.5e / 2024
| Level | 5th |
|---|---|
| School | Abjuration |
| Casting Time | Action |
| Range | Touch |
| Components | V, S, M (diamond dust worth 100+ gp, consumed) |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Classes | Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger |
Touch one creature and remove one of these effects:
- 1 level of Exhaustion;
- the Charmed or Petrified condition;
- one curse, including Attunement to a cursed magic item;
- any reduction to one ability score; or
- any reduction to the target’s Hit Point maximum.
Greater Restoration — 5e / 2014
| Level | 5th |
|---|---|
| School | Abjuration |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Range | Touch |
| Components | V, S, M (diamond dust worth at least 100 gp, consumed) |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Classes | Bard, Cleric, Druid |
Reduce the target’s exhaustion by one level, or end one of these effects:
- one effect that Charmed or Petrified the target;
- one curse, including Attunement to a cursed magic item;
- any reduction to one ability score; or
- one effect reducing the target’s Hit Point maximum.
Greater Restoration — Pathfinder 1e
| School | Conjuration (Healing) |
|---|---|
| Level | Cleric 7 |
| Casting Time | 3 rounds |
| Components | V, S, M (diamond dust worth 5,000 gp) |
| Range | Touch |
| Target | Creature touched |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw | Will negates (harmless) |
| Spell Resistance | Yes (harmless) |
The spell functions like Lesser Restoration, but on a much broader scale. It removes all permanent and temporary negative levels, dispels magical penalties to abilities, cures all temporary ability damage, restores all permanently drained points from all ability scores, removes fatigue and exhaustion, and clears insanity, confusion and similar mental effects.
Greater Restoration — D&D 3.5e
| School | Conjuration (Healing) |
|---|---|
| Level | Cleric 7 |
| Casting Time | 10 minutes |
| Components | V, S, XP |
| Range | Touch |
| Target | Creature touched |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw | Will negates (harmless) |
| Spell Resistance | Yes (harmless) |
| XP Cost | 500 XP |
The spell dispels all negative levels and can reverse level drain if the loss occurred no more than one week per caster level ago. It also removes magical ability penalties, cures all temporary ability damage, restores permanently drained points from every ability score, removes fatigue and exhaustion, and clears insanity, confusion and similar mental effects.
It does not restore levels or Constitution points lost because of death.
What Changed?
- 2024: the modern base class list expands to include Paladin and Ranger.
- 2014 and 2024: both use a 5th-level Abjuration with consumed diamond dust and a focused list of removable effects.
- Pathfinder 1e: a 7th-level Cleric spell with 5,000 gp of diamond dust and a 3-round casting time.
- D&D 3.5e: also Cleric 7, but uses a 10-minute casting time and a 500 XP cost instead of the PF1e diamond-dust cost.
Using Greater Restoration
Reserve it for effects that Lesser Restoration cannot touch. Curses, petrification, severe exhaustion, ability-score reduction and maximum-hit-point loss are the modern spell’s core jobs.
Plan for the cost. Fifth edition consumes valuable diamond dust. PF1e is dramatically more expensive, while 3.5e charges the caster XP instead.
Legacy editions treat it as major recovery magic. Negative levels, permanent ability drain and severe mental effects are central to the older spell in ways that do not map directly onto fifth-edition conditions.
Related Magic
- Lesser Restoration — the lower-level cure for common debilitating effects.
- Remove Curse — a cheaper answer when the problem is specifically a curse.
- Cleric Spells — core access across every edition here.
- Bard Spells — modern Bard access.
- Druid Spells — modern Druid access.
Sources and Licensing
- D&D 2024 Basic Rules — Greater Restoration. SRD 5.2 material is available under CC BY 4.0.
- D&D 2014 SRD 5.1. Material is available under CC BY 4.0.
- Pathfinder 1e Core Rulebook — Greater Restoration. Open Game Content under OGL v1.0a.
- D&D 3.5 SRD — Greater Restoration. Open Game Content under OGL v1.0a.
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