- Casting time
- 1 action
- Range
- Touch
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- School
- Abjuration
- Level
- 2
You touch a creature and can end either one disease or one condition afflicting it. The condition can be blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned.
Lesser Restoration 5e spell
2nd-level abjuration · 2024 version below
How Lesser Restoration plays
You touch a creature and end one disease or one condition on it. The condition can be blinded, deafened, paralyzed or poisoned, and nothing else. It’s a 2nd-level spell with no costly component, and bards, clerics, druids, paladins and rangers all get it.
It’s the spell that makes a lot of monsters less frightening: a ghoul’s paralyzing claws, a spider’s poison, a Blindness/Deafness spell or the diseases carried by rats. It costs your action and you have to reach the target, so it’s at its best when the paralyzed fighter is next to you, not across the room.
When to pick Lesser Restoration
- Clerics and druids prepare their spells, so prepare it when you know what you’re facing: undead with paralysis, poisonous beasts, disease-carrying vermin.
- Paladins and rangers have fewer slots, but it’s their only spell that ends paralysis or blindness, which can decide a fight.
- Remember what it misses. Charmed, frightened, stunned, restrained, petrified and exhaustion aren’t on its list.
Common questions
What conditions does Lesser Restoration cure?
Blinded, deafened, paralyzed or poisoned, one per casting. It can end one disease instead.
Does Lesser Restoration cure charmed or frightened?
No. Greater Restoration ends a charm, and Calm Emotions suppresses both charm and fear on humanoids. Heroism makes a creature immune to being frightened.
Does it remove exhaustion?
No. Only Greater Restoration or a long rest with food and drink removes a level of exhaustion.
Can it end paralysis from Hold Person or a ghoul?
Yes, paralyzed is on its list, so it ends the paralysis from a spell like Hold Person or a ghoul’s claws. Any ally who can touch the target can do this instead of waiting for the next save.
Does Lesser Restoration cure every disease?
It ends one disease, but some diseases say what can cure them. After its first minute, an aboleth’s disease can only be cured by Heal or similar 6th-level magic.
Did the 2024 rules change Lesser Restoration?
Yes. It’s now a bonus action, so you can cast it and still act, and it ends the Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed or Poisoned condition. The 2024 version no longer mentions diseases.
Lesser Restoration compared with similar spells
| Spell | How it compares |
|---|---|
| Greater Restoration | 5th level: exhaustion, charm, petrification, curses and drained ability scores or hit points. |
| Protection from Poison | 2nd level: neutralizes a poison, then gives advantage on saves against poison and resistance to poison damage for an hour. |
| Remove Curse | 3rd level: ends curses, including attunement to a cursed item. |
| Heal | 6th level: 70 hit points and it ends blindness, deafness and every disease at once. |
Classes that can cast Lesser Restoration
| Class | First available | Spellcasting ability |
|---|---|---|
| Bard spells | 3rd character level | Charisma |
| Cleric spells | 3rd character level | Wisdom |
| Druid spells | 3rd character level | Wisdom |
| Paladin spells | 5th character level | Charisma |
| Ranger spells | 5th character level | Wisdom |
Lesser Restoration in the 2024 rules
The 2024 Player’s Handbook revised many spells, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new text. What changed from the 2014 version above:
- Casting time: 1 action → Bonus Action.
- Casting time
- Bonus Action
- Range
- Touch
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- School
- Abjuration
- Level
- 2
- Classes
- Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger
You touch a creature and end one condition on it: Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed, or Poisoned.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
Other 2nd-level abjuration spells
Browse: all 2nd-level spells · abjuration spells