In last nights game there was a bit of a rules discussion regarding the spells Locate Object vs. Locate Creature.
Background
The characters have found out about an NPC who may hold a lot of answers to the questions they are seeking. Said NPC has not been seen for some time and it is unknown if he is alive or dead. This is where the discussion kicked off.
If you are trying to find a body, is it a creature or an object? Does the absence of the soul mean, searching for the NPC has become an object or since it could be resurrected using certain spells does that mean even being dead the NPC is still considered a Creature?
One player had mentioned that the undead don't necessarily have a soul yet you can use detect creature to find a lich.
Unless you're in a small town the Locate spells aren't going to be very useful, because you need to be within 1,000 ft of your target to know where it is.
Is this NPC familiar to you, or have you seen them at least once from within 30 ft? If not, then the spell won't work either.
A lich is a creature, regardless of whether it has a soul or not.
There is some debate on these forums as to whether a corpse is still the creature, or is treated as an object for purposes of magic. There is no RAW answer. This would need to be answered by your DM for that particular campaign. Although JC has posted a tweet at https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/752915549294891008
A corpse is an object. An unconscious creature is a creature.
If it can move around on it's own, it's a creature. Anything else is an object. A body remains an object until you cast Raise Dead, or use some other feature on them lets them choose their own actions.
There is some debate on these forums as to whether a corpse is still the creature, or is treated as an object for purposes of magic. There is no RAW answer. This would need to be answered by your DM for that particular campaign. Although JC has posted a tweet at https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/752915549294891008
A corpse is an object. An unconscious creature is a creature.
Yea RAW is broken when it comes to dead creatures. I would suggest to allow for it to be a creature when needed and an object when that is best suited.
JCs tweet is problematic as pretty much all spells that are meant to bring a corpse back to life explicitly targets a creature. Meaning that spells such as True Resurrection or Revivify are basically just fluff in the spell list. And that the only way possible to bring back a PC from death is the Reincarnate spell. Somehow I think this is NOT what the designers intended.
In last nights game there was a bit of a rules discussion regarding the spells Locate Object vs. Locate Creature.
Background
The characters have found out about an NPC who may hold a lot of answers to the questions they are seeking. Said NPC has not been seen for some time and it is unknown if he is alive or dead. This is where the discussion kicked off.
If you are trying to find a body, is it a creature or an object? Does the absence of the soul mean, searching for the NPC has become an object or since it could be resurrected using certain spells does that mean even being dead the NPC is still considered a Creature?
One player had mentioned that the undead don't necessarily have a soul yet you can use detect creature to find a lich.
Unless you're in a small town the Locate spells aren't going to be very useful, because you need to be within 1,000 ft of your target to know where it is.
Is this NPC familiar to you, or have you seen them at least once from within 30 ft? If not, then the spell won't work either.
A lich is a creature, regardless of whether it has a soul or not.
There is some debate on these forums as to whether a corpse is still the creature, or is treated as an object for purposes of magic. There is no RAW answer. This would need to be answered by your DM for that particular campaign. Although JC has posted a tweet at https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/752915549294891008
If it can move around on it's own, it's a creature. Anything else is an object. A body remains an object until you cast Raise Dead, or use some other feature on them lets them choose their own actions.
<Insert clever signature here>
Dead creatures are objects.
Undead are creatures because they are no longer dead.
The wording of resurrection spells is a little tricky, but basically "creature that has died" is just the name of a specific object.
Yea RAW is broken when it comes to dead creatures. I would suggest to allow for it to be a creature when needed and an object when that is best suited.
JCs tweet is problematic as pretty much all spells that are meant to bring a corpse back to life explicitly targets a creature. Meaning that spells such as True Resurrection or Revivify are basically just fluff in the spell list. And that the only way possible to bring back a PC from death is the Reincarnate spell. Somehow I think this is NOT what the designers intended.