Can you use gentle Repose 5e on the undead?

As Per the description of a zombie, the fungally infected creature is considered a medium-sized undead creature. In dnd 5e, Gentle Repose only affects corpses or other remains, meaning that a creature affected by Fungal Infestation could not be affected by Gentle Repose.

A creative way to use Gentle Repose

There may be arguments that the spell is only defending against decay and undeath. The dark forces that power demon summoning magic would somehow know the difference between 24-hours-since-death blood and differently. Or an unusual DM might say that because the components call for coins to be stored on the corpse’s eyes, that the spell’s effectiveness for specific pieces or fluids is invalidated once said pieces or fluids are removed from the coin-eyed corpse since the coins are supposed to remain on the body for the duration of the spell. It’s really up to your DM. He might reward innovative, albeit unsettling, creativity.

Gentle Repose dnd 5e spell details

Level 2 ( Ritual)

School: necromancy
Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Touch
Components: V S M (A pinch of salt and one copper piece placed on each of the corpse’s eyes, which must remain there for the duration)
Duration: 10 days

Classes: Cleric, Wizard
You touch a corpse or other remains. For the duration, the target is protected from decay and can’t become undead.
The spell also effectively extends the time limit on raising the target from the dead since days spent under the influence of this spell don’t count against the time limit of spells such as raise dead.

Can multiple castings extend the duration of Gentle Repose?

Gentle Repose in dnd 5e stops the timer for resurrection. So the perfect timing of the spell would only have that timer increment by 1 minute every 100 days. A reincarnate spell, which has a timer of 10 days before no longer working, would give 14,400 minutes, or 1,440,000 days with perfect gentle repose timing. That means you get approximately 3,945 years to resurrect someone with a reincarnate spell if you time your gentle Repose perfectly. A true resurrection spell gives about 41.5 billion years with perfectly timed gentle Repose.

Do Paladins get gentle repose?

Yes, paladins in dnd 5e get gentle Repose. As long as you can cast the spell again before the duration ends, you are adequately stopping the clock for the 10-day window of the reincarnate spell.

In addition to a few of the new spells in Tasha’s, Paladins get a couple from the PHB: Gentle Repose, Prayer of Healing, and Warding Bond. Yep, that’s it for them!

Does that make a character unkillable?

The gentle repose spell does not affect living characters, so this would do nothing to make a character “unkillable.” Remember that choosing the reincarnate spell on a protected corpse does not ensure they will return to life. Provided that the creature has been dead no longer than 10 days, the spell forms a new adult body for it and then calls the soul to enter that body. If the target’s soul isn’t free or willing to do so, the spell fails.

p. 271 PHB (emphasis mine)

You may prevent a creature’s soul from returning to life for several purposes in the time between its death and ventured resurrection.

Can Druids learn Gentle Repose?

Circle of Spore druids also gain access to the 5e Gentle Repose spell, which says: You touch a corpse or other remains. For the duration, the target is protected from decay and can not suit undead.