You trace the scars of the dead upon your eyes, calling your gaze into the Astral Sea and binding a tether to the departed soul. Unlike Speak with Dead, this ritual does not allow the corpse to resist your questions with omission or deception, for in the ledger of Jergal, truth cannot be veiled.
You grant the semblance of life and intelligence to a corpse within range, allowing it to answer questions you pose. The corpse must still have a mouth, however decayed, and cannot be undead. The ritual pulls the soul itself into the tether. You may ask the corpse up to 5 questions. The soul is compelled to speak truthfully, though answers may still be brief, cryptic, or influenced by the soul’s perspective. If the creature has been dead for more than 100 years, the ritual requires an additional 1 minute of casting time per century as you search beyond the City of the Dead for its resting plane. The ritual fails automatically if the soul has been destroyed, willingly hidden by divine intervention, or claimed by a power greater than death. This spell does not return life to the corpse and does not make it friendly to you.
Casting this spell permanently burns your scar markings faintly white for the duration, and your eyes turn ghostly pale, with an oil slick of colour as you search through the planes of existence. On a failed Constitution saving throw (DC 10), the ritual goes wrong (see d20 table of effects).
At Higher Levels.
When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, you may ask one additional question for each slot level above 5th.
d20 Catastrophic Effects
1 | Echo of the Dead
The corpse speaks with hundreds of voices at once. All creatures within 30 ft. must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom save or become frightened until the end of their next turn.
2 | Grave Chill
Frost spreads across the ground. All creatures within 20 ft. take 2d6 cold damage, and the caster’s speed is halved for 1 minute.
3 | Soul Reversal
Instead of the corpse answering truthfully, the caster blurts out a personal secret (chosen by the DM).
4 | Tether Snap
The caster takes 3d8 psychic damage and their left or right eye scars white permanently (if not already). For 1d4 days, they hear faint whispers from lingering souls.
5 | False Guest
The wrong spirit answers. A wandering soul slips through, speaking lies, riddles, or begging until dismissed.
6 | Grave Wail
A banshee-like scream erupts from the corpse. All creatures within 30 ft. must succeed on a DC 15 Con save or take 2d6 thunder damage and be deafened for 1 minute.
7 | Corpse Explosion
The corpse bursts violently. All creatures within 10 ft. take 2d6 necrotic damage and must pass a DC 13 Dex save or be blinded by gore until the end of their next turn.
8 | Astral Backlash
The caster is hurled halfway into the Astral Sea. They are incapacitated until the start of their next turn and take 2d10 force damage.
9 | Hungry Soul
The soul lashes out. The caster must pass a DC 15 Charisma save or be possessed (as magic jar) for 1d4 rounds before it is expelled.
10 | Rift of the Dead
A tear opens. One random undead (CR 2 or lower) emerges hostile under the DM’s control.
11 | Bonefire
The corpse’s remains ignite in spectral green flame. The caster takes 2d8 fire damage and has disadvantage on concentration checks until the end of their next turn.
12 | Memory Leech
The caster loses one prepared spell of the DM’s choice for 24 hours, as the dead steal a fragment of their mind.
13 | Mourner’s Curse
The caster’s voice echoes with the wails of the dead. They cannot speak above a whisper for 24 hours.
14 | Shadowed Eyes
The caster’s vision is clouded with ghostly images. They suffer disadvantage on Perception checks relying on sight for 1 hour.
15 | Corpse Puppet
The corpse jerks to life for 1d4 rounds, attacking the caster before collapsing inert once more.
16 | Sapping Touch
The corpse drains vitality through the tether. The caster takes 2d6 necrotic damage, and their maximum HP is reduced by the same amount until a long rest.
17 | Ledger’s Weight
The caster feels the full weight of Jergal’s ledger. They gain 1 level of exhaustion.
18 | Silent Terror
The caster is overwhelmed by visions of the Astral Sea’s dead. They must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom save or be stunned until the end of their next turn.
19 | Bleeding Veil
Blood pours from the caster’s eyes. They take 1d10 damage and suffer disadvantage on attack rolls and spellcasting ability checks for 1 minute.
20 | Cataclysm
The ritual completely unravels. All creatures within 60 ft. take 6d6 necrotic damage, corpses in range animate as hostile zombies, and the caster gains a permanent white eye (if not already). They now hear whispers of the dead whenever they rest.