False Life — Complete D&D 5e Spell Guide

Table of Contents

• •Quick Answer
• •Overview
• •Stat Block
• •When NOT to Use This
• •Spell Slot Efficiency
• •Pro Tips
• •Common Mistakes to Avoid
• •Usage Tips
• •Rules Notes
• •Synergies
• •Anti-Patterns
• •Tactical Modules
• •Countermeasures
• •False Life in the 2024 Rules
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Answer

False Life is a 1st-level necromancy spell for Sorcerers and Wizards. You gain temporary hit points: 1d4 + 4 (average 6.5) for 1 hour in the 2014 rules, or 2d4 + 4 (average 9) in the 2024 rules, where they last until they're used up or you finish a long rest. Each slot level above 1st adds 5 more. It targets only you.

Overview

False Life gives a fragile caster a buffer. A 1st-level wizard with 14 Constitution has 8 hit points. Six or nine temporary hit points on top of that is the difference between surviving an ogre's greatclub and going down to it.

Temporary hit points absorb damage first, and leftover damage carries over to your real hit points. They aren't healing and they don't stack with other temporary hit points. If you get more from another source, you keep whichever pool you choose.

The 2024 version is a clear upgrade. The dice went from 1d4 to 2d4, and the spell became instantaneous, so the temporary hit points no longer vanish after an hour. You can cast it in the morning and carry the buffer until you lose it in a fight or finish a long rest.

Stat Block

When NOT to Use This

• •In the middle of combat, when your action could end the threat instead. A 1st-level slot and an action for about 7–9 hit points is a poor trade once initiative is rolled.
• •When you already have more temporary hit points than the spell would give. They don't add together.
• •When someone needs healing. It targets only you, and temporary hit points can't be given to an ally.
• •(2014) More than an hour before the fight. They vanish when the spell ends.

Spell Slot Efficiency

When worth the slot: Levels 1–4, cast before a fight you know is coming. In 2024, cast it after a long rest and keep it all day.

When NOT worth the slot: Upcast at high level, where the same slot buys much stronger defense.

Upcasting

Each slot level adds 5 temporary hit points. That rate doesn't keep pace with the damage monsters deal at the levels where you have those slots.

Pro Tips

Tip #1: Cast it before you open the door.

Why it works: It isn't concentration, and the 2014 version lasts an hour. Casting it during the approach costs no combat action.

This avoids the mistake of: Spending your first turn in combat on a 7-point buffer.

Tip #2: In 2024, cast it right after a long rest.

Why it works: The 2024 spell is instantaneous, and temporary hit points last until they're used up or you finish a long rest. Cast at the start of the day, the buffer waits for the first hit.

This avoids the mistake of: Saving it for "when it matters" and never casting it.

Tip #3: Recast between fights if the buffer is gone.

Why it works: Temporary hit points don't stack, but once the first batch is spent, a new casting gives you a fresh pool.

This avoids the mistake of: Casting it again while you still have most of the first pool, which wastes the slot.

Tip #4: Use it to protect concentration, not replace the save.

Why it works: Temporary hit points keep you up longer, but you still make a concentration save when you take damage. The rules say temporary hit points are lost first when you "take damage," so the damage still happened.

This avoids the mistake of: Skipping the Constitution save because the damage hit temporary hit points.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Adding temporary hit points together

Why it's bad: They can't be added. If you have 6 and gain 9, you choose 6 or 9, not 15.

Do this instead: Recast only when your current pool is smaller than what the spell would give.

Treating it as healing

Why it's bad: Temporary hit points aren't healing and can't be restored by healing. At 0 hit points, gaining them doesn't make you conscious.

Do this instead: Use Cure Wounds or Healing Word to bring someone back.

Casting it on an ally

Why it's bad: The range is Self.

Do this instead: For a party-wide buffer, a cleric or paladin can cast Aid (more maximum hit points) or a bard or paladin can cast Heroism (temporary hit points each turn).

Upcasting it at high level (2014)

Why it's bad: A 3rd-level slot gives about 16.5 temporary hit points for an hour. The same slot could be Counterspell, Fireball, or Haste.

Do this instead: Cast it at 1st level, or skip it.

Usage Tips

• •Ogre test: An ogre's greatclub deals 13 (2d8 + 4) in both editions. A 1st-level wizard with 8 HP drops to 0 from an average hit. With 2014 False Life (avg 6.5), the same hit leaves the wizard at 1 or 2 HP. With 2024 False Life (avg 9), the wizard is left at 4.
• •Wolves: A 2014 wolf bite deals 7 (2d4 + 2). The 2024 wolf bite deals 5 (1d6 + 2). Average 2024 False Life absorbs almost two 2024 bites.
• •Instant death check: You die outright when damage reduces you to 0 and the leftover equals or exceeds your hit point maximum. Temporary hit points absorb damage first, which shrinks the leftover.
• •Read the concentration rules and death saving throws. Compare defensive spells: Mage Armor, Shield, and the spell guide index.

Rules Notes

• •Range Self. You gain 1d4 + 4 temporary hit points (2014) or 2d4 + 4 (2024).
• •Each slot level above 1st adds 5 temporary hit points.
• •2014: Duration 1 hour; the temporary hit points last for the duration.
• •2024: Instantaneous; the temporary hit points last until depleted or until you finish a long rest.
• •Temporary hit points are lost first when you take damage. Leftover damage carries over to your hit points.
• •They can't be added together, and healing can't restore them.
• •At 0 hit points, gaining temporary hit points doesn't restore consciousness. The 2014 SRD says they can still absorb damage directed at you in that state.

Synergies

• •Fiendish Vigor (warlock invocation): In 2014, cast False Life on yourself at will as a 1st-level spell, with no slot or material components. In 2024 (Level 2+ Warlock), cast it without a slot and take the highest number on the die instead of rolling: 8 + 4 = 12 temporary hit points.
• •Chthonic tiefling (2024): Learns False Life at character level 3 and can cast it once per long rest without a slot.
• •Mage Armor: Fewer hits land, and the ones that do hit the buffer first.

Anti-Patterns

• •Casting it on round one when you could cast Sleep or Shield instead.
• •Recasting it while the first pool is still mostly full.
• •(2014) Casting it at the start of a long day of travel and expecting it to last.

Tactical Modules

• •Morning buffer (2024): Cast at 1st level after a long rest. Carry 6–12 temporary hit points into the first fight.
• •Pre-fight buffer (2014): Cast it within the hour before a planned assault, along with Mage Armor.
• •Warlock (2024): Fiendish Vigor before every fight for 12 temporary hit points at no cost.

Countermeasures

• •Threat: One big hit blows through the buffer. Response: Use Shield to prevent hits instead. Fallback: Stay out of reach.
• •Threat: Temporary hit points from another source arrive. Response: Keep the bigger pool. Fallback: Save the slot.
• •Threat: The 2014 spell expires. Response: Recast it if the fight is still coming. Fallback: None needed in 2024, where the buffer lasts until a long rest.

False Life in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 Player's Handbook keeps False Life as a 1st-level necromancy spell for Sorcerers and Wizards, with a casting time of an action, range Self, and 5 extra temporary hit points per slot level above 1st.

Two things changed. The base amount went from 1d4 + 4 (5–8) to 2d4 + 4 (6–12). The duration went from 1 hour to instantaneous, so the temporary hit points follow the general rule: they last until depleted or until you finish a long rest. The material component is now "a drop of alcohol."

The Fiendish Vigor invocation also changed. The 2014 version lets a warlock cast False Life at will as a 1st-level spell. The 2024 version requires warlock level 2 and gives the maximum roll every time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does False Life do in 5e?

It gives you temporary hit points: 1d4 + 4 for 1 hour in the 2014 rules, or 2d4 + 4 that last until a long rest in the 2024 rules. Each slot level above 1st adds 5.

Does False Life stack?

No. Temporary hit points don't add together. If you cast it again or gain temporary hit points from another source, you choose which pool to keep.

Does False Life require concentration?

No, in either edition.

Can you cast False Life on someone else?

No. Its range is Self.

How long does False Life last?

In 2014, 1 hour. In 2024, the spell is instantaneous and the temporary hit points last until they're used up or you finish a long rest.

Do you still make concentration saves if temporary hit points absorb the damage?

Yes. Temporary hit points are lost first when you take damage. You still took damage, so you still make the Constitution save to keep concentration.

How much does False Life give when upcast?

5 more temporary hit points per slot level above 1st. At 3rd level, that's 1d4 + 14 (avg 16.5) in 2014 or 2d4 + 14 (avg 19) in 2024.

Can warlocks cast False Life?

Not from the warlock spell list in the SRD. Warlocks get it through the Fiendish Vigor invocation, which lets them cast it on themselves without a slot.

Citations: SRD 5.1 (2014 rules), SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules)

Includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, licensed under CC BY 4.0.