Level
5th
Casting Time
1 Action
Range/Area
Touch
Components
V, S, M *
Duration
Instantaneous
School
Abjuration
Attack/Save
None
Damage/Effect
Exhaustion
You touch a creature and magically remove one of the following effects from it:
- 1 Exhaustion level
- The Charmed or Petrified condition
- A curse, including the target’s Attunement to a cursed magic item
- Any reduction to one of the target’s ability scores
- Any reduction to the target’s Hit Point maximum
So.... doesn't cure disease, poison, blindness, deafness. Not very "greater" to me.
What exactly does it mean by Diamond Dust worth 100+ GP?
I assume it means "an amount the DM considers 100gp worth". Whereas in-game the dust might not be worth the same amount depending on who you ask.
In my experience, it's usually just a player expending 100 gold in a place where they could reasonably access diamond dust (e.g. any big city)
Curing these conditions is the purview of lesser restoration. This spell is geared toward conditions that last longer/are worse/are hard to get rid of otherwise. Also, several other effects from spells and suchlike state that they can be removed with greater restoration in their descriptions (such as feeblemind/befuddlement). That said, if for some reason a player wanted to expend a 5th level spell slot and a costly material component to cure something that can be removed with a 2nd level spell, I would probably allow it.
Glad they actually gave this to Paladin this time around. It was weird they left it out of the Paladin spell list in the 2014 PHB.
Cleansing Touch "kinda" occupied the same space at level 14 by ending spell conditions ("kinda" being used loosely given some status effects specifically wanted you to use this spell); with Paladins losing that feature altogether with Restoring Touch, this is "kinda" a replacement for it at 17th level.
T4 Paladins don't really have a good use for their 5th level spell slot anyways (until level 20 anyways).
I agree with you, though it says the following as a possible effect if you cast "wish".
- Instant Health. You allow yourself and up to twenty creatures that you can see to regain all Hit Points, and you end all effects on them listed in the Greater Restoration spell.
I think most DMs would just give it to you as it is implied and you used a 9th level spell slot, but RAW it won't help you.