What spells are available to resurrect characters?

Question

What official spells exist that can be used by characters to resurrect their fallen comrades in Dungeons & Dragons? Which classes can cast them and at what level?

Answer 1

There are a small number of spells available for resurrecting players as listed below. The time limit is the maximum amount of time you have to cast this after the character dies—for example, you can't cast Revivify once one minute has passed after the character's died.

Note that Bards have access to the Magical Secrets class feature, which lets them learn any of these spells not listed under the Bard class. For the spells that are listed for the bard class, they won't have to expend this feature to learn them.

\$\begin{array}{|l|c|l|} \hline \textbf{Name} & \textbf{Level} & \textbf{Classes} & \textbf{Time limit} \\ \hline \text{Revivify} & \text{3rd} & \text{Cleric, Paladin} & 1\,\text{minute} \\ \text{Raise Dead} & \text{5th} & \text{Bard, Cleric, Paladin} & 10\,\text{days} \\ \text{Reincarnate} & \text{5th} & \text{Druid} & 10\,\text{days} \\ \text{Resurrection} & \text{7th} & \text{Bard, Cleric} & 100\,\text{years} \\ \text{True Resurrection} & \text{9th} & \text{Cleric, Druid} & 200\,\text{years} \\ \text{Wish} & \text{9th} & \text{Sorcerer, Wizard} & \text{Depends} \\ \hline \end{array} \$

Or, with more information:

• Revivify

  • Classes: Cleric, Paladin
  • Spell level: 3rd
  • Minimum character level: 5 for Clerics, 9 for Paladins
  • Casting Time: 1 action
  • Maximum allowed time after death: 1 minute
  • Cost: 300 gp
  • Requires body: Yes
  • Restores body parts: No

• Raise Dead

  • Classes: Bard, Cleric, Paladin
  • Spell level: 5th
  • Minimum character level: 9 for Bards and Clerics, 17 for Paladins
  • Casting Time: 1 hour
  • Maximum allowed time after death: 10 days
  • Cost: 500 gp
  • Requires body: Yes
  • Restores body parts: No

• Reincarnate

  • Classes: Druid
  • Spell level: 5th
  • Minimum character level: 9
  • Casting Time: 1 hour
  • Maximum allowed time after death: 10 days
  • Cost: 1000 gp
  • Requires body: Yes, but only one small part
  • Restores body parts: Yes, but gives a completely new body

• Resurrection

  • Classes: Bard, Cleric
  • Spell level: 7th
  • Minimum character level: 13
  • Casting Time: 1 hour
  • Maximum allowed time after death: 100 years
  • Cost: 1000 gp
  • Requires body: Yes, but only one small part
  • Restores body parts: Yes

• True Resurrection

  • Classes: Cleric, Druid
  • Spell level: 9th
  • Minimum character level: 17
  • Casting Time: 1 hour
  • Maximum allowed time after death: 200 years
  • Cost: 25000 gp
  • Requires body: No
  • Restores body parts: Yes

• Wish

  • Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard

  • Spell level: 9th

  • Minimum character level: 17

  • Casting Time: 1 action

  • Maximum allowed time after death: Depends

  • Cost: None

  • Requires body: Depends

  • Restores body parts: Depends

  • Special: Wish can be used to cast any spell at 8th level or lower without any additional cost, so you can just choose any of the previous resurrection spells except True Resurrection.

    Theoretically, Wish can do much more than that, for example ignore the maximum allowed time after death, but that comes at a cost, described in the Wish spell, and may fail entirely or produce unwanted effects.

Honorable Mention (accessory spell):

• Gentle Repose

  • Classes: Cleric, Wizard
  • Spell level: 2nd
  • Minimum character level: 3
  • Casting Time: 1 action
  • Ritual: Yes
  • Special: Can be cast on a corpse, increases the maximum allowed time after death for all resurrection spells by 10 days.

Answer 2

Two spells are missing from the list given in the other very good response.

True Polymorph and Shapechange.

Both of these spells can be used to turn into a creature that have access to resurrection abilities.

True Polymorph can turn you into Ki-rin (from volo's guide to monsters) that has true resurrection as a spell. It is a 9th level spell available to Bard, Warlock and Wizard.

Shapechange does not give you the spellcasting ability of monsters you turn into, but it still gives Innate spellcasting. Here we can turn to the Planetar that can cast raise dead 3 times per day. Shapechange is a 9th level spell available to Druid and Wizard. It is notable for giving the Druid a way to resurrect someone without having to give them a new body.

Do note that if you cast these spells on a scroll or some other means, before you could normally learn them, you might run into the CR limit. The planetar is CR 16 meaning you must be level 16 or higher to turn into it with shapechange. The Ki-rin is CR 12, which means you need a friendly creature (could be yourself) of CR/level 12 or higher.