D&D 5E Revivify - where did that come from?!?

Ancalagon · Mar 28, 2016

Hello

So as I'm reading through the forum I saw in passing a comment here and there about this spell. It took a while for me to catch on that this spell was *important* and I looked it up.

Did this spell originate in 5e or does it come from a previous edition?

So from a purely "magic" logical point of view, I have to concede that the spell makes sense. If a level 7 spell can turn back someone to life after years of being dad, and level 5 spell after days, then perhaps a level 3 spell can revive someone just after a few short moments of death. If a level 3 spell can create a fireball, it makes sense that a level 1 spell makes a burning hand. And we also know that well, with modern medicine someone who is dead might be brought back with emergency care if this death occurred but moments ago.

That being said, the *impact* is has on the game is huge. When someone drops to zero it's a big, dramatic moment. The injured PC has to be shielded from vindictive enemies that may perform a coup de grace on him/her, and must be healed/stabilized before death follows. But with this... eh just leave him/her, let's deal with the enemies and we'll revivify him/her right after. The dramatic tension is removed, and the overall risk are also reduced.

Is it just me?

Xeviat · Mar 28, 2016

I feel like it came from 4E. 5E can be swingy, so this spell serves as a "Protection from Oops" so character dependent plots aren't ruined. It's as bad on stories as Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection, it just shows up earlier.

Raith5 · Mar 28, 2016

I agree with both your points: the spell makes sense from a magic logic point of view and its pretty powerful for its level. I would much prefer for this to be cast within 2 rounds rather than a minute.

One other thing to note is that the spell does not have the Raise dead penalty on rolls till the character has four long rests.

The pressure on the cleric to prepare and use this spell would be massive.

feartheminotaur · Mar 28, 2016

In 4e raise dead was an 8th level spell (so, about 3rd level). I guess they wanted a way to raise the dead available at a level lower than 9th.

And yes, IMO, it does trivialize being dead.

feartheminotaur · Mar 28, 2016

feartheminotaur said:
And yes, IMO, it does trivialize being dead.

For the PCs.

AaronOfBarbaria · Mar 28, 2016

Ancalagon said:
Did this spell originate in 5e or does it come from a previous edition?

It is at least inspired by 4e giving at least some types of cleric an ability at 8th level to bring someone back from the dead without using the normal means, which I recall being a lengthy ritual but I might be misremembering as I didn't play much 4e and its been years since I did.

Ancalagon said:
eh just leave him/her, let's deal with the enemies and we'll revivify him/her right after. The dramatic tension is removed, and the overall risk are also reduced.

Is it just me?

The cost adds up pretty quickly if you let revivify be your "go to" in the situation you describe. It's pretty common, in my experience, for the players to hold on to every diamond they happen to find, and even seek out and buy a few more, just to try and have 1 or 2 uses held in reserve just in case all the shielding, healing, or stabilizing you describe fails.

FormerlyHemlock · Mar 28, 2016

Xeviat said:
I feel like it came from 4E. 5E can be swingy, so this spell serves as a "Protection from Oops" so character dependent plots aren't ruined. It's as bad on stories as Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection, it just shows up earlier.

Protection From "Oops", haha. That's great!

Part of me wants to eliminate this spell from the game. The other part of me takes note of the fact that no one in my entire campaign has yet been Revivified* even though a half-dozen PCs have died. (They tend to die at low levels or when the party is split--and no one really seems to want to play a cleric or paladin.) So maybe the spell is actually awesome because it incents the players to include a cleric in the party, and my players are just paying the price for not doing so.

Also, you still have to win the encounter before you can feasibly resurrect your fallen companion, so it's not like all the tension goes away.

* Wait, no! There was that one session when an NPC and I think a PC both got Revivified. It just didn't stick in my head because they didn't stay dead.

Illithidbix · Mar 28, 2016

Revivify existed in 3.5E in the Miniatures Handbook and then reprinted in the Spell Compendium (December 2005) to be precise
HAH! It wasn't 4E fault! Stop being mean to it!

It was however a 5th level spell. Not 3rd level. Needed to be cast *within 1 round* And more expensive.

Revivify

(Spell Compendium, p. 176)

Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Cleric 5,
Components: V, S, M,
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Dead creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

The diamonds vaporize from your hand as you cast this spell, and the vapors they give off wrap around your fallen companion, dragging her soul back into her mortal form.
Revivify miraculously restores life to a recently deceased creature. However, the spell must be cast within 1 round of the victim's death. Before the soul of the deceased has completely left the body, this spell halts its journey while repairing somewhat the damage to the body. This spell functions like raise dead (PH 268), except that the raised creature receives no level loss, no Constitution loss, and no loss of spells. The creature has -1 hit points (but is stable).
Material Component: Diamonds worth at least 1,000 gp.

CapnZapp · Mar 29, 2016

Ancalagon said:
If a level 7 spell can turn back someone to life after years of being dad, and level 5 spell after days,

You don't need a magic spell, you just need "the kids are moving out".

Or, possibly, a new young hot wife.

The Crimson Binome · Mar 29, 2016

As mentioned, Revivify goes back to late 3E / early 3.5, but it's been getting less-and-less restrictive with each passing edition.

The other big game-changer in terms of instant saves is Healing Word, which does go back only to 4E, but can stabilize an ally (and return them to the fight) from across the room as a bonus action.

D&D 5E Revivify - where did that come from?!?

Ancalagon

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Raith5

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feartheminotaur

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