Level
4th
Casting Time
1 Action
Ritual
Range/Area
Self
Components
S, M *
Duration
Instantaneous
School
Divination
Attack/Save
WIS Save
Damage/Effect
You write one basic instruction on a sheet of flammable parchment, which then combusts, and the ashes left by the fire form a shape dependent on the type of instruction made. The instructions you can write are:
- Visualise - You write the name of a specific individual on the paper. The ashes form a basic picture of the person in question, including what they look like, what they are doing, and where they are. The picture is an instantaneous shapshot, and does not move, provide sound, or allow you to interact. The target of the spell may make a Wisdom saving throw. On a success, they know they are being watched.
- Locate - You write the name of a specific object or individual on the paper, along with a small circle. The ashes form a simple map of your immediate surroundings up to 120 feet in any direction from you, and a directional path from your current location to the target in question. If the object or individual is not within the 120 feet radius, the spell fails and the ashes form no picture.
- Question - You write a simple question on the paper regarding an event that happened in the last three hours, or three hours that you think will happen in the future. The ashes form a sentence that briefly explains the event in question. The ashes will not name any names of individuals that you haven't met. In such a case, they will simply describe "an individual" or equivalent. A description of the person, such as race, gender, or appearance will NOT be described. For example, if the sentence was "Who murdered Ashton?", the ashes might respond "Ashton was walking down a dark alleyway, when an individual lurking in the shadows emerged and stabbed him in the back." This option doesn’t take into account any possible circumstances that might change a future event in question, such as the casting of additional spells or the loss or gain of a companion.
- Detect - You sketch a small square on the paper with a line through it. The ashes form a basic photograph-like picture of your surroundings in the direct direction you are currently facing, as if your eyes were a camera. The sketch includes any individuals in your line of vision, and also includes any object or creature currently inhabiting the Ethereal plane.
The spell is notoriously unreliable to use when related to other strong spiritual forces. Messages written by this spell can be unintentionally influenced by strong willed individuals targeted by it, or by psionic and spiritual presences. In particular, the Question option is frequently distorted by humanoid targets involved in it, providing an obscured answer. However, the spell will never return false information in such an occurance, merely obscured or biased.
* - (A sheet of treated flammable parchment worth at least 15 gp, which the spell consumes)
Comments