Reincarnate spell icon: a serpent swallowing its tail
Icon by Lorc, CC BY 3.0

Reincarnate 5e spell

5th-level transmutation · 2024 version below

Casting time
1 hour
Range
Touch
Components
V, S, M (Rare oils and unguents worth at least 1,000 gp, which the spell consumes)
Duration
Instantaneous
School
Transmutation
Level
5

You touch a dead humanoid or a piece of a dead humanoid. Provided that the creature has been dead no longer than 10 days, the spell forms a new adult body for it and then calls the soul to enter that body. If the target's soul isn't free or willing to do so, the spell fails.

The magic fashions a new body for the creature to inhabit, which likely causes the creature's race to change. The GM rolls a d100 and consults the following table to determine what form the creature takes when restored to life, or the GM chooses a form.

d100Race
01-04Dragonborn
05-13Dwarf, hill
14-21Dwarf, mountain
22-25Elf, dark
26-34Elf, high
35-42Elf, wood
43-46Gnome, forest
47-52Gnome, rock
53-56Half-elf
57-60Half-orc
61-68Halfling, lightfoot
69-76Halfling, stout
77-96Human
97-00Tiefling

The reincarnated creature recalls its former life and experiences. It retains the capabilities it had in its original form, except it exchanges its original race for the new one and changes its racial traits accordingly.

Classes that can cast Reincarnate

ClassFirst availableSpellcasting ability
Druid spells9th character levelWisdom

Reincarnate 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 hour
Range
Touch
Components
V, S, M (rare oils worth 1,000+ GP, which the spell consumes)
Duration
Instantaneous
School
Necromancy
Level
5
Classes
Druid

You touch a dead Humanoid or a piece of one. If the creature has been dead no longer than 10 days, the spell forms a new body for it and calls the soul to enter that body. Roll 1d10 and consult the table below to determine the body's species, or the GM chooses another playable species.

1d10Species
1Roll again.
2Dragonborn
3Dwarf
4Elf
5Gnome
6Goliath
7Halfling
8Human
9Orc
10Tiefling

The reincarnated creature makes any choices that a species' description offers, and the creature recalls its former life. It retains the capabilities it had in its original form, except it loses the traits of its previous species and gains the traits of its new one.

2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.

Other 5th-level transmutation spells

Browse: all 5th-level spells · transmutation spells