This guide mainly focuses on Dungeons and Dragons 5e. However, the spell has not changed so much over the years. So if you like vintage DnD, you can use the tips and ideas you find here too. The same goes for Pathfinder. The Pathfinder game has been based on Dungeons and Dragons edition 3.5 and shares the same rule set for this spell. So you can use as good as everything you read here for that RPG too. Just make sure you double-check certain things that I mention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This DnD spell gives you the ability to heal someone else. (ps: check out my guide on undead healing<\/a> if you want more game play info.) However, you will need to sacrifice your own hit points to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you cast life transference on another creature, NPC, or player, you will take 4d8 necrotic damage when doing so. However, the target of your spell will gain twice the amount of damage you take. The range of the spell is 30 feet or 9.1 meters. The ultimate amount of life that the caster loses and the target gains depends on the caster’s skill level.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a level 3 necromancy spell. So it is accessible to new players at the beginning<\/a> of their adventure. However, the spell is pretty complex to fully make use of, so someone who is entirely new to DnD might have a hard time getting the most out of the spell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For the smart people amongst us who are starting to think about game-breaking mechanics: No, you can not heal yourself for double the damage you do with the spell. You also can’t create a loop with two casters who just heal one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fun fact:<\/strong> Did you know that Life transference is the most potent spell out of all spells if we are talking about burst healing? There isn’t another spell in the game that can heal as many hit points in one go as this spell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ok, let’s look at this spell in depth. First, it does quite some damage to the caster, so you will need a party member who is out of harm’s way to cast it. Second, of course, the caster needs to be able to add this spell to their arsenal, so you will need to pick a class like a cleric or a wizard since you will need to be able to cast some magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best class to use life transference is the Life Cleric<\/a>. This is because the level 1 feature adds 5 hit points of extra health to the amount it heals. This is due to the perk Disciple of life. At level 6, it gets even more interesting; the caster will be healed for 5 hit points. This is the effect of the Blessed healer the Life Cleric gets. In other words, the amount of health the cleric loses gets mitigated by quite a bit.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you put this into percentages, the benefits are apparent. For example, the necrotic damage goes from 18 to just 13, while at the same time, the healing goes from 36 to 41. In other words, instead of getting healed x2, the target is getting healed x3.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another powerful class to pick if you want to make optimal use of this spell is the druid. You can use your circle of the shepherd at level 2<\/a> and unicorn spirit. This has the effect that every time you cast a spell using a spell slot that has the effect of restoring the HP of a creature, all other creatures which are within your aura will also get their hit points restored equal to your druid level.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Druids also have a circle of wildfire on level 6. This has the effect that every time you cast a spell that restores hit points when the wildfire companion is there, you will gain a D8 bonus on the role of the healing spell you cast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These two extra perks are not as good as Life Cleric, but they still make a massive difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The only time I would really start to take my stat distribution into account is if you are going to roleplay around the spell. Otherwise, I think it would be a bit too much of an investment for a spell that is pretty niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The primary stat to focus on is your constitution. The higher your hit points are, the more you will be able to use life transference to get your allies out of a pinch. This scales very well with if you are able to get the amount of damage you actually takedown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are going all out, you should also get your armor class up<\/a>. The reason for this is simple, the more hit points you can avoid losing to damage from your enemies, the more you can spend to heal your targets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bestow curse<\/strong> – If you cast bestow curse on yourself, and you select the option that your spell do an extra bit of necrotic damage to the target, your spell will get stronger. How does this work? Well, the target of the spell is you. This means you would take an extra 1d8 of damage when you cast life transference. This 1d8 changes into extra healing of 2d8 for your target. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Twinned spell?<\/strong> – An often asked question is if you can use the spell in combination with a twinned spell. The answer is no. The reason for this is that it affects you and another target. However, I must admit there is quite some debate about the wording, but I think the spell would be a bit too strong if you could use it on two targets simultaneously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vampiric touch<\/strong> – You can combine it with this to get a few of your hit points back. When vampiric touch hits your target, it will heal you half of the damage it deals with the target. The base damage of this spell is 3d6 necrotic damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Healing potions<\/strong> – A pretty obvious item to pair with this spell is the good old healing potion. You will need to make sure as a DM you don’t have a cleric just sipping away on these and doubling or even tripling their effect by using life transference on another player with the regained hit points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Circle of mortality?<\/strong>\u00a0– No, the Grave Clerics Circle of mortality does not apply here. You aren’t trying to heal a creature that has zero hitpoints left. In fact, you are rolling to deal damage to your own hit points. The circle of mortality is used for a creature or target that has no hit points left. However, your DM can decide to make it count anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Life](\"https:\/\/i.redd.it\/aockjgd24si21.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat is Life transference in 5e?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Necromancy spell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to optimally use life transference in DnD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The best class is Cleric<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Druid is second best<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Life](\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5d18194583eafe00013904a8\/1561862774232-IXXXD6PZ3VLYU4ANFR2T\/DnD_Lemmons+Grab+group+pic_web.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStats to focus on<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Items and spells to boost life transference<\/h3>\n\n\n\n