how much can regenerate do?

[Iampower]

i've got an idea for a character. an elf with the charlatan background. due to their past, they had cosmetic surgery to make their ears rounded and human so there is no illusion to be dispelled. cure wounds and such likely won't grow the ears back since there is no wound left. would regenerate and heal grow the ears back? what else do you think would do it, polymorph ending?

[Amnestic]

The target’s severed body members (fingers, legs, tails, and so on), if any, are restored after 2 minutes. If you have the severed part and hold it to the stump, the spell instantaneously causes the limb to knit to the stump.

We can be picky about terminology ("what does it mean to be 'severed' versus 'ground down' etc. etc.") but I don't think it would regrow the elf ears for the same reason I wouldn't have it heal a person's pierced ears and push their earrings out. But I'd also be flexible - if a player wanted it to heal their ears back to elf-size then doesn't really break my immersion to let that happen. Maybe I'd say they needed to do 'fresh' damage their ears to give something for the regnerate spell to latch onto but that's more fluff since they're gonna get healed either way.

[nickl_2000]

Regenerate would definitely grow the ears back, as I would consider part of a body cut off as a "severed limb."

Heal, Healing Word, and Cure wounds just give back HP (i.e. heal trauma). At this point, the plastic surgery on the ears wouldn't be considered trauma. Polymorph ending just puts you back to the way you were at the beginning, so that wouldn't do it either.

Frankly outside of regeneration, I don't see any other way that they would go back to the way they started.

[Porcupinata]

Frankly outside of regeneration, I don't see any other way that they would go back to the way they started.

Being raised from the dead by either Clone or True Resurrection would create a new body that had pointed ears.

[nickl_2000]

Being raised from the dead by either Clone or True Resurrection would create a new body that had pointed ears.

Ohh, good call. Resurrection will bring it back as well "This spell closes all mortal wounds and restores any missing body parts." Reincarnate would as well, if you got luck and rolled a new elf.