Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: 8 hours
You touch a creature and grant it a measure of protection from death.
The first time the target would drop to 0 hit points as a result of taking damage, the target instead drops to 1 hit point, and the spell ends.
If the spell is still in effect when the target is subjected to an effect that would kill it instantaneously without dealing damage, that effect is instead negated against the target, and the spell ends.
Verbal Component:
Mor Scutum Protectio
Verbal Component (Alternative):
Whether by magic spell or mundane sword, from deaths touch your soul I ward.
Classes: Cleric, Paladin
Domain: Life
Tags: Buff, Warding
Source: Player's Handbook [5th Edition] (page 230)
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Other Planes and Effects
Below is information about this spell as it relates to other planes and area of effects (i.e. underwater). Some of the information is pulled official D&D sources (such as books and the twitter feeds of D&D officials), but other information is derived from forums and online discussions. As always, it is up to the DM to decide how they wish to handle spell effects.
Underwater - Verbal Component
Official rules have been verified by Jeremy Crawford - "No rule prohibits verbal components from working underwater. Keep in mind that if you're talking, you're not holding your breath." Hence, while submerged underwater and holding its breath, a creature can cast a spell that requires a verbal component. After casting the spell, if the creature can't breathe underwater, it immediately runs out of breath. The creature can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round).
