Can a Paladin's Cleansing Touch (inadvertently) Dispel Simulacrum?

Question

In our last D&D session, I was playing as a simulacrum of my PC that was sent by the BBEG after my PC had been captured. About halfway through the session, the party noticed I was reluctant to use my spells and was more afraid of damage than normal. The Paladin suspected I might be under the influence of some spell, so he offered to use Cleansing Touch. I figured the simulacrum would assume this functioned like greater restoration, so he willingly accepted the offer.

The DM and I weren't sure what should happen in this situation. My first inclination was nothing would happen because the simulacrum itself is a creature with no spells affecting it. However, it also seems valid that the spell Simulacrum is animating-"affecting"-the simulacrum (creature).

What are your interpretations?

Edit: I did some additional research on the question and I think I found some more information that might be useful.

There are some great responses on Reddit to address the "multiple spells problem" mentioned by @Someone_Evil. So I believe that part of the question can be addressed by the DM asking for the Paladin to be a bit more specific on what he is trying to remove. I'll update this further as I do more research.

Answer 1

You're probably fine

Firstly, let's establish whether simulacrum can be dispelled. (I'm going to be assuming the simulacrum is targeted and says itself willing - as is/was your case - because otherwise it would plainly not happen and/or be a different question.)

1. It has a duration of "Until Dispelled" which means it is a spell to be ended (and not just the effects of a spell with a duration of "Instantaneous").

2. It's probably fair to say that a simulacrum is affected by a spell: simulacrum where affecting means "causing it to be a creature rather than a pile of snow".¹ The exacts of what "affected by a spell" or a spell being "on" a creature is not well defined in the rules.²

Paladin's Cleansing Touch looks for a spell on a creature:

[Y]ou can use your action to end one spell on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch.

--- Player's Handbook, p. 85

Which presumably means "one spell affecting that creature". So there is a reasonable argument for simulacrum being endable by Cleansing Touch.

The (remaining) problematic bit is the "one spell" part. What it does mean is that it doesn't end all spells on the creature (as dispel magic does). But it doesn't say how that spell is chosen. Is it one spell of the Paladins choice? One of the DM's choice? One at random? Personally I would rule that it is one spell the Paladin knows about and chooses, meaning unless the Paladin wanted to (sort of) kill you for that session they wouldn't end the simulacrum on you. Unfortunately this ruling also makes the Cleansing Touch feature not do what the Paladin is trying to do to you (i.e. remove whatever unknown spell is affecting you). If your DM is crueler than me (don't let my username deceive) - but it doesn't sound like they are - they might rule otherwise.

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1: The alternate ruling is that only the original, in this case your (original) character that someone has stolen captured, and that the simulacrum is only an illusion-but-actual-creature that isn't being affect by, but is instead the effect of the spell. This would mean the spell can't be dispelled by Cleansing Touch at all (via the simulacrum).

2: This may be a contributor to so many questions on the site sharing the dnd-5e and spells tags.

Answer 2

The simulacrum can be dispelled

There are a few issues to tackle here :

• Is the simulacrum the bearer of the Simulacrum spell?
• Can the Simulacrum spell be dispelled by Cleansing Touch?
• How does Cleansing Touch choose which spell to end?

Let's answer those one by one.

Who is affected by the spell?

First, we have to find out who, or what is the target of the spell. There are some spells that target the caster, then gives them the ability to use the spell's magical effects on other creatures, after all.

Simulacrum has a range of Touch. This means that you are delivering the spell to a target you can touch, and not casting it on yourself to then use its effects.

Because of that, we can conclude that the target of the spell, and thus the creature carrying the spell, is our simulacrum.

Is the spell a valid dispell candidate for Cleansing Touch?

As of now, we know that the simulacrum is the target of the original spell. This Q&A seems to indicate that "Until Dispelled" spells are effectively "Permanent" spells, and thus are still affecting the creature.

This means that our simulacrum is under the effect of the Simulacrum spell at all times. Cleansing Touch states :

Beginning at 14th level, you can use your action to end one spell on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch.

Since the spell is still carried by the Simulacrum, it is a valid candidate for Cleansing Touch, and can be dispelled so.

How is the target spell decided?

There is no explicit guidance on how the spell to end is decided, so how this specific interaction works is up to the DM.

In my experience, I've always seen it used to end a specific, visibly negative condition caused by a spell, but never to end a condition such as this one, so this definitely seems like the kind of situation to discuss between player and DM.

Because this spell is not meant to harm the target, most rulings would probably be either that Cleansing Touch fails or does nothing, but an evil DM could very well decide that the spell is ended and the simulacrum "dies" on the spot.

Answer 3

The simulacrum would remain

Cleansing Touch states:

Beginning at 14th level, you can use your action to end one spell on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch.

As GcL states in their answer here, that Cleansing Touch only ends a spell, it doesn't undo spell effects.

The crux of the problem is in asking whether or not Simulacrum is an active spell or if it's simply the result of the spell.

It's an effect of a spell, not an active spell

In this case, we look at Simulacrum and see that it's a 12 hour casting time produce the final result: the simulacrum. Once the spell is complete, it has finished and there is no longer an active spell, just the remaining result.

The result of the spell can be dispelled via dispel magic as stated with regard to it's duration:

Until Dispelled

However, this is the only way listed (other than either reducing it to 0HP or casting the spell another time), to get rid of the simulacrum. The specific rule to dispel the simulacrum is unclear as to why it works, but dispel magic states:

Choose one creature, object, or magical effect within range.

In this case, we're looking at a magical effect (the result of casting simulacrum.) We're not removing the spell, but dispelling the magic effect created by the spell.

Additionally, and thank you Ryan Thompson, having a duration of "until dispelled' is functionally equivalent to permanent. There is no active spell going on, it's basically a permanent effect.

Since there is no ongoing 'spell' to end, Cleansing Touch will not end the simulacrum.

Willing/Unwilling

The other requirement with cleansing touch is that the creature be willing. It is highly unlikely that the simulacrum would be willing to be destroyed, but that it is up to the player controlling it.

Answer 4

You are probably dead

It is reasonable for the simulacrum to not realize the effects of the touch beforehand-- you figured it was basically a greater restoration, which would have been safe. The duration of a Simulacrum spell is 'Until Dispelled'-- the simulacrum's animation is an ongoing spell. Cleansing touch can dispel spells like that. The paladin thought you were acting weird and elected to dispel the spell that was making you do that, which is the Simulacrum spell-- if it was some other spell you would have been safe. That should be good enough, and the simulacrum should collapse into a pile of mundane ice and ruby dust, along with your character's equipment.