If you want to add high-level illusion spells to your repertoire, it’s hard to ignore Simulacrum. The thing about illusion spells is that you need to be creative to get the most out of them.
There are a ton of great uses for Simulacrum in 5e, but it’s hard to come up with them on the spot. That’s why I wrote this write-up on the best uses for Simulacrum based on my experience, previous campaigns, and community input. Here are my favorite ones!
My top Simulacrum uses in 5e
There are a ton of fun uses for Simulacrum in 5e that should be at the top of your mind both in and outside of combat. This is not a ranking from best to worst, as the strength of each use will fully depend on the situation you are in.
1. Combat support
Combat support is the one use that Simulacrum excels at. When you cast the spell in combat, you instantly have an ally that backs you up. Simulacrum can fight alongside you and help you take out stronger foes much more easily.
Your duplicate is also a great way to soak up damage and disrupt the action economy of your opponents. Whenever you are targeted by strong single-target spells, your duplicate can be positioned to take the impact.
2. Escape more easily
A well-entrenched creature can waste a lot of your pursuers’ time. If you give your Simulacrum a quick fort using the mold earth spell, you can significantly boost its defenses. If you have a duplicate with high defense and a way to keep attackers busy for a while, you can easily escape quite a few situations and deal some chip damage to your opponents too.
If you have the time and want to deal significant damage to your pursuers, your copy can set up dangerous traps and try to dwindle their numbers.
3. Scouting
A great way to get more information about your surroundings without risking your life or losing a ton of resources and health. If you are using the Simulacrum for scouting, you should choose a creature with great sight and intelligence. Darkvision is also very useful when you are trying to scout a dungeon or navigate through a fog cloud.
4. Survive traps
Disabling traps is just such a hassle. You can use simulacrum in 5e D&D to just walk into the trap and have it go off. While this will waste quite a valuable level 7 spell, it does save you a ton of time. Of course, you can also use your Simulacrum to go where you think there is a trap. If there is no trap, you still have your reliable ally to back you up in a fight!
This use is particularly useful if you are dealing with traps that only work once, like a pressure plate that sets off a magic fireball explosion.
5. Foil ambushes
Ambushes take quite a while to set up. Foiling them by using an illusion like this is going to give your enemies a lot of headaches if they expose themselves. Of course, you do need to make sure that your Simulacrum is reason enough to make your opponents attack. If they ignore it and give you a false sense of security walking further, you are back to square one.
6. Diversion
Having a strong illusion that can deal damage – unlike minor illusion– and take quite a bit of a beating can give you a perfect diversion. You don´t have to get creative. Just summon a very defensive creature that can take a massive amount of damage or has the right resistances and immunities and charge head-on with it. While your enemy is wasting their spells and ammo, you can either get away or try and flank them.
This is just one of the many diversions you can do using Simulacrum. What other types of diversions can you think of?
7. Extra healing and buffs
Using Simulacrum is great to add a bit of healing and additional buffs while fighting. I really like to use this spell when your party is split up over the battlefield. That way, your cleric does not have to waste time moving around so the targets of his spells are within range. The illusion can be an effective healer for those too far away from the cleric and help out those who are injured.
8. Hard labor
Sometimes there just aren’t any quests to do, ancient ruins to explore, or monsters to hunt. Having an extra pair of hands to help you out doing farm work, working in the mines, or other work that brings in your coin to spend at the inn is always welcome. While a level 7 spell caster will have plenty of job opportunities in large cities, if you are visiting small hamlets, farm work should not be beneath you or your illusion.
This hard labour use is paticularly useful when you are looking for jobs that are very dangerous like exploring old mines and doing mountain work. Most will not take this job so the pay will be very decent.
9. Guard duty
Are you looking for some extra security while taking a long rest? Using a Simulacrum is a fantastic way to get more protection for your party. The illusion can warn you when enemy foes are approaching and fight those who are stealthy enough to get close, giving you valuable time to strike back.
10. Logistical help
Sometimes you just have a ton of treasure, materials, supplies, and so on that you need to move. A simulacrum can help you carry all the stuff you no longer have space for. This use is particularly useful if you are looking to get the most money out of your battles and really loot everything you find.
11. High-risk negotiations
If you need backup while going into a negotiation with hostiles, you can use your Simulacrum to help you both argue your position and aid you when things go wrong.
Some honorable mentions
| Simulacrum Use | Description |
| Delegate Tasks | Use the illusion to complete boring or difficult tasks, such as collecting firewood, setting up camp, or carrying heavy objects. |
| Hunting Buddy | Send your Simulacrum out to help forage for food, track game, or even assist in combat. |
| Sabotage Mission | Use your Simulacrum as a spy or saboteur, sending them on dangerous missions to gather intel, plant traps, or even assassinate key targets. |
| Personal Assistant | Employ your Simulacrum as a helpful assistant, having them help with research, take notes, or even perform clerical duties. |
| Bodyguard for Hire | Rent out your Simulacrum as a powerful bodyguard for nobles, merchants, or other wealthy clients, earning you a good coin. |
| Tactical Maneuvers | Use your Simulacrum to perform more complex tactical maneuvers, such as flanking enemies in combat, creating distractions, or setting up ambushes. |
| Trapmaker | Have your Simulacrum create traps while you’re running away, setting up a defensive perimeter to protect you from pursuers. |
FAQs
Does a Simulacrum have all spell slots?
No, in 5e DnD a Simulacrum does not have all its spell slots. The creature cannot regain expended spell slots, so once a spell has been cast (including Simulacrum) and you create this illusion, it will not be able to use those spells you have expended.
Can a Simulacrum create a Simulacrum in 5e and so on?
No, you cannot. While some sites say you can, they are not using the most up-to-date version of the spell rules. Those rules state that “Otherwise, the illusion uses all the statistics of the creature it duplicates, except that it is a construct.” Since the Simulacrum is classified as a construct and not a humanoid or a beast, it cannot be the target of a Simulacrum spell. To add to my argument, this use of Simulacrum was disallowed in Adventure League.
What happens to your Simulacrum when you die?
When you die, the Simulacrum will live on! There are only three ways that a Simulacrum ceases to exist in this world. They remain inert and endure indefinitely, unless they are destroyed, dispelled, or gain independence.
Some last tips
Like most Illusion spells, Simulacrum has many uses in 5e DnD. Most of these scale with how creative you are. While the best use of this spell is fully going to depend on the situation you are in, just knowing a few options will help you a ton.
If you use this list as a reference on what the best Simulacrum 5e uses are, I am sure you will get a lot of utility out of this level 7 spell. If you know any other great uses, please let us know and we will add it to the blog!