In 5e's version of the flesh to stone spell, if the spell is maintained for the full minute duration, the effect (petrification) lasts until "removed".
How can this petrification be removed?
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asked Sep 21, 2014 at 18:43
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5 Answers
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Petrified is a condition, like sickened or poisoned. Many spells can remove harmful conditions — Greater Restoration lists petrification. It is currently the only one, short of Wish.
Wish can either emulate Greater Restoration directly (its "duplicate a spell" functionality), or as part of a greater effect healing all hit points and removing all conditions that Greater Restoration can, on up to twenty creatures all in one go (at some cost to the caster).
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\$\begingroup\$ Ahh, indeed. I was looking at dispel magic, but that doesn't seem to apply, and there's no spell "stone to flesh" - but, yep, indeed Greater restoration it is! \$\endgroup\$ Sep 21, 2014 at 19:14
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4\$\begingroup\$ The DMG, released after this question-and-answer, does not contain any magic items that specifically remove petrification. The only reference to petrification is the wand of wonder, which states, "The petrification lasts until the target is freed by the greater restoration spell or similar magic." \$\endgroup\$– sadaqahJan 11, 2015 at 19:56
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1\$\begingroup\$ @Trish: That seems to correspond to the cleric's Divine Intervention feature. \$\endgroup\$– V2BlastSep 24, 2018 at 22:10
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1\$\begingroup\$ Could you support why dispel magic would not (or would) work in this case? \$\endgroup\$ Dec 27, 2019 at 18:18
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1\$\begingroup\$ @Medix2 Sure — I can certainly see it argued that it might (with a successful check, of course), especially with the "until the effect is removed" wording. I guess it comes down to: after the duration of the spell is complete, is it a magical effect, or is the victim just non-magical petrified stone? I think there's a good reason to rule this way for a lot of games: Dispel Magic is simply too cheap a "get out of $situation free" card. \$\endgroup\$– mattdmDec 27, 2019 at 18:33
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The 5e Monster Manual notes that Basilisk stomach acid is useful in potions of stone to flesh so… there's that. It's just a narrative hook at the moment, but perhaps the DMG will flesh that out further (or maybe they'll just leave that as an exercise for the DM, which would be fine since it's pretty easy to guess what that potion does).
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1\$\begingroup\$ How would you use a potion of stone to flesh, anyway? Wouldn't it only save you from the initial stage of the not-quite-petrified? \$\endgroup\$ Oct 19, 2018 at 12:09
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2\$\begingroup\$ @vonBoomslang Potentially an Oil of Stone to Flesh would be more useful. Something the party can use to save their allies? This is a pretty cool idea for a hook to save a downed party member when you don't have access to greater restoration \$\endgroup\$– linksassin ♦Oct 20, 2018 at 0:46
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Outside of the Restoration and Wish spells, and the acid from a Basilisk stomach, there is also the cockatrice feathers that can be transformed to a balm that you apply on a person who was petrified within the last 24h (MM p. 42).
The main problem here is... you need to find the cockatrice within those 24h because the balm has to be made from fresh feathers. So this is probably not an easy one to perform (especially if you have to carry the statue of your friend without breaking it...)
Maybe if you were to capture a live cockatrice and keep it around while you are adventuring.
answered Nov 29, 2015 at 22:26
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1\$\begingroup\$ Heh, I'll be sure to try that sometime ;-). \$\endgroup\$ Sep 15, 2016 at 9:28
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\$\begingroup\$ Love the last sentence. We have a PF question about having a cockatrice as a familiar! 8^D \$\endgroup\$ Sep 15, 2016 at 17:44
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\$\begingroup\$ @KorvinStarmast, I was more thinking of a cockatrice in a box than a familiar... But that would work too. \$\endgroup\$ Sep 15, 2016 at 19:18
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1\$\begingroup\$ So I have checked the MM and I do not find balm part. Which Monster's Manual are you referring to? Is it the 5e? \$\endgroup\$ Oct 19, 2018 at 11:12
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1\$\begingroup\$ @Skylivedk Oh my! It is in 4e (Monster Manual 2). I would have sworn that I saw it in 5e. It's still fun to accept such lore, though. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 19, 2018 at 16:31
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Petrified is a condition, there are currently two spells that remove it. Greater Restoration as mentioned here, and Wish, the 9th level spell.
Usually there are also consumables (potions/salves/oils) that will remove petrification, however we have not seen any of those yet (we'll likely see them with the DMG though). You can also make it a plot element to find someone who can remove petrification.
answered Sep 21, 2014 at 19:28
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3\$\begingroup\$ I've gotta say, I'm somewhat surprised (and impressed :-D) that this might actually pose a real problem to some parties \$\endgroup\$ Sep 22, 2014 at 7:56
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\$\begingroup\$ @EamonNerbonne you should have seen our 4e party stumble when our rogue got sucked into a tapestry and was petrified. No ritual available and no spell that worked. This shouldn't be as big a prob in 5e, but definitely was an opportunity for an amusing interlude at our table \$\endgroup\$ Sep 22, 2014 at 9:39
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\$\begingroup\$ Now that the DMG is out, I don't see anything -- have I missed it? \$\endgroup\$ Apr 29, 2015 at 16:06
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Also want to add that the Bard College of Spirits has an ability option called Tale of the Angel that can cure the petrified condition as well
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1\$\begingroup\$ Hi, welcome. :) Good find! The class feature is called Tales from Beyond. It can be helpful to flesh out your answer and reference the source and add relevant detail, e.g. "Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft" p.28. Also, from reading it, it seems you can't just choose Tale of the Angel. It's a 1/12 chance when you roll the dice. \$\endgroup\$– SenmurvMar 5 at 10:17