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Post by Scott on Nov 28, 2020 12:34:43 GMT -5
How compelling do you think this spell is? Say you kill somebody, and then you want to know where his treasure was hidden, or a command word, etc. would this spell work? The DMG expands a little bit: "be as evasive as possible if the questioned creature was not friendly to the character..." but that's pretty evasive itself.
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Post by geneweigel on Nov 28, 2020 15:21:03 GMT -5
Roll for reaction and roll for align if not obvious.
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Post by Scott on Nov 28, 2020 19:15:57 GMT -5
I think if some cleric and his party just killed some creature, and then cast a spell to ask where his treasure was hidden, I would default the reaction to as bad as it could be, since it appears that the dead can recognize the caster. I guess the PH and DMG imply that some kind of answer will be given, but it can be vague based on circumstances?
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Post by grodog on Nov 28, 2020 20:45:43 GMT -5
This is where spiritwrack should come into play Allan.
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Post by GRWelsh on Nov 29, 2020 3:24:57 GMT -5
In folklore such an answer would be given as a riddle, or couched in symbolism.
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Post by geneweigel on Nov 29, 2020 17:42:03 GMT -5
Here is a cheapo Lakofka spell that mentions "speak with dead" from DRAGON #58 (FEB 1982) that didn't make the UNEARTHED ARCANA (1985) cut even though it was considered "Gygax official" at the time of publication. Its fellow Lakofka spells made it into UA however this must have had something wrong with it:
Second Level
Death Prayer (Invocation)
Level: 2 Range: Touch Duration: Permanent Area of Effect: One corpse Components: V, S, M Casting Time: 1 turn Saving Throw: Neg.
Explanation/Description: By sprinkling holy water or unholy water (if the cleric is evil) over a corpse killed by an undead while chanting the spell, the cleric reduces the probability that the corpse will rise as an undead at some later time. Further, it protects the body from the spell Animate Dead that might be cast on the remains at some later time. The corpse is allowed a saving throw based on its level in life, but not to be better than 12 on d20 in any case, even with modifications due to spells or magic items. Corpses failing the appropriate saving throw rise as the appropriate undead in the normal manner. If the saving throw is made, the corpse crumbles into dust and be forever useless for any purpose. This applies to the victims of wights, wraiths, spectres and even vampires, in addition to ghouls, ghasts and other undead that “procreate” themselves. While under the protection of the Death Prayer, the victim cannot be contacted via Speak With Dead unless the caster of that spell is of a higher level than the cleric who originally cast the Death Prayer. If Speak With Dead is successful, the protection is cancelled and cannot be replaced. While under this protection, the victim suffers a -25% penalty to the chance of success of a Raise Dead or Resurrection spell. Dispel Magic will not remove the protection, but Wish or Limited Wish will. The fact that the spell is, in fact, in place cannot be detected by anything less than Limited Wish or Wish.
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