Mass Cure Wounds

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• Level: 5
• School: Abjuration
• Class: Bard, Cleric, Druid
• Casting Time: Action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instantaneous

A wave of healing energy washes out from a point you can see within range. Choose up to six creatures in a 30-foot-radius Sphere centered on that point. Each target regains Hit Points equal to 5d8 plus your spellcasting ability modifier.

Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. The healing increases by 1d8 for each spell slot level above 5.

Tactical Usage

Mass Cure Wounds serves as a critical battlefield triage tool, capable of returning multiple wounded allies to fighting effectiveness in a single action. Cast it during intense combat when multiple party members have suffered significant damage, prioritizing positioning to capture as many wounded allies as possible within the 30-foot radius. The spell excels in clustered combat situations where melee fighters are grouped together, allowing a single casting to heal the entire front line simultaneously. Time the casting after major enemy area attacks have wounded multiple allies, maximizing the spell's efficiency and impact. Use it strategically when facing enemies with ongoing damage effects, providing substantial healing that can offset multiple rounds of damage. Position yourself carefully to ensure maximum coverage while maintaining safety from enemy area effects. The spell's substantial healing output makes it invaluable for recovering from ambushes or when facing overwhelming opposition.

Spell Combinations

Mass Cure Wounds synergizes excellently with protective spells cast immediately afterward, such as Mass Stoneskin or Guardian of Faith, creating comprehensive defensive packages for the entire party. Combine it with inspiration effects like Bardic Inspiration or Guidance to enhance the effectiveness of subsequent actions by the healed allies. The spell works well with battlefield control magic that groups enemies away from allies, ensuring safe positioning for optimal healing coverage. Use it alongside revival magic like Revivify when dealing with multiple casualties, bringing unconscious allies back to meaningful hit point totals. Pair it with spell slot recovery abilities to maintain access to this powerful healing throughout extended encounters. The spell complements summoning magic by healing both party members and summoned creatures within the same area. Combine with teleportation effects to quickly reach optimal casting positions when allies are scattered across the battlefield.

Material Component Details

Mass Cure Wounds requires only verbal and somatic components, making it one of the most accessible high-level healing spells without material cost concerns. The lack of material components ensures the spell remains available even when equipment is lost, stolen, or restricted during captivity scenarios. This accessibility makes it particularly valuable for emergency healing situations where complex spellcasting might be difficult or dangerous. The spell can be cast while wearing armor and maintaining other equipment, as the somatic component involves gestures that channel healing energy rather than precise manipulation. Some clerics prefer to use holy symbols as focuses anyway, believing it enhances the divine connection and healing potency. The straightforward component requirements make the spell reliable in challenging environmental conditions or when under pressure from enemy forces.

Creator Notes

Mass Cure Wounds represents a significant healing investment that can dramatically alter encounter dynamics, requiring careful consideration when balancing challenging combat scenarios. The spell's ability to heal multiple targets simultaneously makes it extremely action-efficient, potentially negating multiple rounds of enemy damage in a single casting. When designing encounters, consider how the spell affects the overall challenge rating and whether enemies should have tactics to prevent clustered healing opportunities. The spell creates interesting tactical decisions about positioning and timing, encouraging players to coordinate their movements and defensive strategies. Be mindful of how the spell interacts with environmental hazards or enemy abilities that force party separation. The spell's high level means it's typically available during mid to high-tier play, where encounters should be designed to challenge groups with access to powerful healing abilities.

Environmental Interactions

The healing energy manifests as visible waves of restorative power, potentially revealing the caster's position to enemies or alerting them to the magical healing taking place. The spell functions normally in most environmental conditions, unaffected by weather, lighting, or atmospheric conditions that might impair other magical effects. Areas of desecrated or corrupted ground might interfere with the healing energy, potentially reducing effectiveness or creating harmful side effects in extremely evil locations. The spell works underwater, in extreme temperatures, or other harsh conditions without penalty, making it valuable for healing in dangerous environmental situations. Anti-magic fields completely negate the spell's effects, preventing healing within such areas. The spell's area effect might interact with certain magical environmental features, potentially creating enhanced or diminished healing zones in areas of concentrated magical energy.

Common Rulings & Clarifications

The spell affects up to six creatures of your choice within the 30-foot radius sphere, allowing selective targeting that can exclude enemies or unwanted recipients. The healing is applied simultaneously to all targets, not sequentially, meaning the effect resolves all at once rather than creature by creature. You must be able to see the central point of the sphere, but you don't need line of sight to individual targets within the area. The spell can target unconscious creatures, immediately stabilizing them and providing significant healing to return them to consciousness. Creatures that don't wish to receive healing can choose to be unaffected by the spell, though unconscious creatures are typically considered willing. The spell cannot exceed a creature's maximum hit points, with any excess healing being lost rather than providing temporary hit points. The spellcasting ability modifier is added to the total healing for each target individually.

Alternative Applications

Beyond direct combat healing, Mass Cure Wounds serves various utility and humanitarian purposes throughout different scenarios. Use it to treat multiple injured civilians, refugees, or NPCs who have suffered from disasters, attacks, or diseases affecting entire communities. The spell proves valuable in medical or rescue scenarios where conventional healing methods would be too slow to save multiple critically injured individuals. Apply it to heal summoned creatures, animal companions, or mounts that have sustained damage during adventures, maintaining the effectiveness of these magical allies. The spell can be used during downtime to accelerate recovery from lingering injuries or conditions that affect multiple party members simultaneously. Use it to demonstrate divine power or magical ability in social situations, creating impressive displays of healing magic that can influence negotiations or religious ceremonies. The spell serves as an excellent training tool for new healers, allowing them to observe large-scale magical healing effects.

Related Spells

Mass Cure Wounds belongs to the mass healing spell family, sharing mechanical similarities with Cure Wounds while affecting multiple targets instead of single individuals. Compare it to Mass Healing Word, which provides less healing but can be cast as a bonus action and affects more distant targets. The spell relates to other area-effect healing magic like Heal and Mass Heal, representing different points on the spectrum of healing power and efficiency. Consider it alongside protective mass spells like Mass Stoneskin or Mass Shield for comprehensive party support strategies. The spell shares tactical applications with other 5th-level support magic, competing for high-level spell slots with options like Greater Restoration or Circle of Power. Prayer of Healing provides similar multi-target healing but requires significantly more time to cast, making it more suitable for out-of-combat recovery. The spell connects to resurrection magic as an emergency response tool for situations involving multiple casualties.

Scaling Analysis

Mass Cure Wounds scales effectively with higher-level spell slots, gaining an additional 1d8 healing per target for each level above 5th, significantly increasing its total healing output. At 6th level, the spell heals 6d8 + modifier per target, while at 9th level it heals 9d8 + modifier, making it competitive with single-target healing spells when affecting multiple recipients. The spell's efficiency increases dramatically when healing multiple targets, as the spellcasting ability modifier bonus applies to each creature healed rather than being divided among them. Consider the spell's value compared to multiple castings of lower-level healing spells, particularly when spell slots are limited and action economy is critical. At higher levels, the spell becomes an essential tool for maintaining party effectiveness during prolonged high-level encounters where damage output often exceeds single-target healing capabilities. The spell's effectiveness scales with party size and clustering, becoming more valuable in larger groups that fight in coordinated formations.

Narrative Flavor

When cast, Mass Cure Wounds begins with the caster raising their hands while speaking words of healing and restoration that resonate with divine or natural power. The spell manifests as a brilliant wave of golden or silvery energy that expands outward from the chosen point, washing over allies with warm, restorative light. Each target touched by the healing wave feels immediate relief as pain diminishes, wounds close, and vitality returns to their body with renewed strength and energy. The healing energy appears differently based on the caster's divine tradition: clerics might channel pure divine radiance, druids could manifest nature's regenerative power as green energy with flowing leaf patterns, while bards might create harmonious waves of musical energy that mend both body and spirit. As the spell takes effect, recipients often feel not just physical healing but also emotional comfort and renewed determination to continue the fight. The wave passes quickly but leaves a brief, warm afterglow around each healed creature, serving as a visible reminder of the magical restoration they've received. The spell's completion is marked by a sense of renewed hope and solidarity among the healed allies, reinforcing their bonds and commitment to protecting one another.