Speak with Dead (spell)
| Range | self |
| Duration | special |
| Area of Effect | 1 creature |
| Casting Time | 10 rounds |
| Saving Throw | none |
| Level | cleric (3rd) |
Speak with dead permits the caster to communicate with the soul of a dead intelligence who need not be humanoid. This discourse allows the caster to ask questions and receive knowledge that the creature had known in life; it does not presuppose knowledge or experience the creature may have gained in the afterlife.
The caster must know the name of the creature to be communicated with, and must also meet one of the following requirements: either, (a) hold an item that the dead is known to have owned in life, including a part of the dead's body; (b) stand within one hundred yards of a place where the dead is known to have lived or laboured; or (c) stand within ten yards of the gravesite of the dead. So long as any of these three requirements are met, and the caster knows the dead's name, communication can be made.
Discovery
| level | time dead | no. of questions | length of answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 to 6 | 1 week | 2 | 15 seconds |
| 7 to 8 | 1 month | 3 | 30 seconds |
| 9 to 11 | 1 year | 4 | 45 seconds |
| 12 to 14 | 10 years | 5 | 1 minute |
| 15 to 17 | 100 years | 6 | 90 seconds |
| 18 to 20 | 1,000 years | 7 | 2 minutes |
| 21 or more | 10,000 years | 8 | 3 minutes |
The amount of information that can be learned is dependent upon the caster's level. Below 12th level, the caster can speak only to the recently dead, and ask few questions.
WORKING...
The dead who speaks will give meaningful information for the length of their answer, limited only by the dead having none to give; if the dead does ramble somewhat in their answers, the substance will still equal the ‘length of answer’ described above.
