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Aura Of Life

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Aura of Life
  • Level: 4
  • School: Abjuration
  • Class: Cleric, Paladin
  • Casting Time: Action
  • Range: Self
  • Components: V
  • Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

An aura radiates from you in a 30-foot Emanation for the duration. While in the aura, you and your allies have Resistance to Necrotic damage, and your Hit Point maximums can't be reduced. If an ally with 0 Hit Points starts its turn in the aura, that ally regains 1 Hit Point.

Tactical Usage​

When to Choose Aura of Life:

  • Essential against undead enemies and necrotic damage sources
  • Excellent for maintaining party sustainability in prolonged battles
  • Strong choice for protecting against level drain and energy drain
  • Valuable for ensuring downed allies return to consciousness

Positioning Strategy:

  • Center yourself to maximize ally coverage within 30-foot radius
  • Maintain concentration while staying mobile for optimal aura placement
  • Coordinate with party movement to keep critical allies protected
  • Use terrain features to protect yourself while projecting the aura

Anti-Undead Tactics:

  • Provides significant protection against vampire energy drain
  • Counters wight and wraith life force reduction attacks
  • Essential defense against necromantic spells and effects
  • Allows party to survive encounters with powerful undead

Spell Combinations​

Healing Synergies:

  • Healing Word: Bring allies to consciousness, then aura sustains them
  • Mass Healing Word: Multi-target healing combines with aura protection
  • Cure Wounds: Direct healing supplements aura's automatic recovery
  • Prayer of Healing: Group healing during short rests

Protective Combinations:

  • Bless: Additional protection for the whole party
  • Shield of Faith: Extra AC for yourself while concentrating
  • Protection from Evil and Good: Additional undead defenses
  • Circle of Power: Stack resistance effects for maximum protection

Material Component Details​

Verbal Components Only:

  • Simplicity: No material components required for this divine magic
  • Accessibility: Can be cast even when restrained or disarmed
  • Stealth: Verbal component may alert enemies to magical activity
  • Reliability: Not dependent on component availability or theft

Roleplay Opportunities:

  • Describe the holy words or prayers that create the aura
  • Reference divine energy manifesting as protective radiance
  • Use casting as moment of spiritual communion
  • Emphasize the spell's connection to life-affirming divine power

Creator Notes​

Adjudication Guidance:

  • Emanation moves with caster and affects anyone within range
  • Automatic 1 hit point recovery occurs at start of ally's turn
  • Necrotic resistance affects both damage and ongoing effects
  • Hit point maximum protection prevents level drain effects

Encounter Design Considerations:

  • Significantly reduces threat level of undead encounters
  • Allows sustained battles against necrotic damage sources
  • Creates tactical positioning considerations for optimal coverage
  • Provides reliable way for unconscious characters to return to action

Balancing Notes:

  • 4th-level slot cost appropriate for strong defensive utility
  • Concentration requirement limits simultaneous magical options
  • 10-minute duration covers most combat encounters
  • Radius encourages party cohesion and tactical positioning

Environmental Interactions​

Aura Properties:

  • Emanates from caster in perfect 30-foot sphere
  • Passes through walls and obstacles without obstruction
  • Moves with caster, maintaining relative positioning
  • Visible as faint radiance to those with magical sight

Undead Interactions:

  • Provides resistance to all necrotic damage sources
  • Prevents level drain, ability score reduction, and hit point maximum loss
  • Does not harm undead creatures within the aura
  • Counters most negative energy effects automatically

Terrain Considerations:

  • No physical barriers affect aura propagation
  • Caster mobility determines ally protection coverage
  • Consider positioning relative to enemy threat sources
  • Vertical distance counts toward 30-foot radius

Common Rulings & Clarifications​

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Does the aura heal living creatures above 0 hit points? A: No, only unconscious allies with 0 hit points regain the 1 hit point.

Q: Can the aura prevent instant death effects? A: It prevents hit point maximum reduction but not effects that kill outright.

Q: Does necrotic resistance stack with other resistances? A: Resistance doesn't stack; you either have it or don't.

Q: What happens if the caster becomes unconscious? A: Concentration ends and the aura disappears immediately.

Alternative Applications​

Non-Combat Uses:

  • Exploration: Protection while investigating necromantic ruins
  • Diplomacy: Demonstrate divine favor during negotiations with undead
  • Ritual Protection: Safeguard during dangerous magical ceremonies
  • Camp Security: Overnight protection against energy-draining creatures

Creative Problem-Solving:

  • Protect party during forced exposure to necrotic environments
  • Maintain ally consciousness during interrogation resistance
  • Provide sustainable healing during extended skill challenges
  • Counter environmental necrotic hazards or cursed locations

Aura Magic:

  • Aura of Purity: Protection against disease and poison
  • Aura of Vitality: Active healing aura
  • Circle of Power: Spell resistance aura
  • Antilife Shell: Protective barrier against living creatures

Anti-Undead Magic:

  • Protection from Evil and Good: Individual undead protection
  • Turn Undead: Direct undead control
  • Destroy Undead: Eliminate lesser undead
  • Dispel Evil and Good: Remove various supernatural effects

4th-Level Alternatives:

  • Freedom of Movement: Motion protection
  • Guardian of Faith: Stationary protective spirit
  • Death Ward: Individual death protection
  • Divination: Information gathering magic

Scaling Analysis​

Level Progression:

  • Early Access (Level 7): Significant protection for mid-level undead threats
  • Mid Game (Levels 9-15): Essential for major undead encounters
  • Late Game (Levels 17+): Still valuable against high-level necrotic effects

Party Protection Value:

  • Small Groups: Easy to maintain full party coverage
  • Large Parties: Requires strategic positioning for maximum effect
  • Mixed Levels: Protects weaker allies from devastating energy drain

Long-Term Viability:

  • Necrotic resistance remains valuable throughout campaign
  • Hit point maximum protection becomes more important at higher levels
  • Automatic revival prevents action economy loss
  • Essential tool for undead-heavy campaigns

Narrative Flavor​

Extended Description: As you speak the sacred words of life and protection, divine energy wells up from within your spirit, manifesting as a warm, golden radiance that spreads outward in all directions. This holy aura carries the blessing of life itself, creating a sanctuary where the forces of death and decay cannot fully take hold. Allies within your presence feel strengthened and protected, their life force shielded from the hungry darkness that seeks to drain away their vitality, while those who fall in battle find their spark of life gently rekindled.

Sensory Details:

  • Visual: Warm golden radiance emanating from caster
  • Thermal: Comforting warmth countering the chill of undeath
  • Spiritual: Sense of divine protection and life-affirming energy
  • Emotional: Feeling of hope and resilience against dark forces

Cultural Context: Aura of Life represents the ultimate expression of divine healing magic, transforming the caster into a beacon of life force that sustains and protects their allies. Different faiths may manifest this differently—some as pure radiant light, others as natural vitality—but all share the fundamental principle of life triumphing over death through divine intervention.