Speak with dead was a necromancy spell or exploration ritual that allowed the caster to ask a corpse questions and receive answers.[2][10][12][13][14][1]
Effects
The corpse being subjected to this "reading" had to be intact enough to speak and the questions asked had to be in a language that the deceased understood.[2][10][12][13][14] The corpse also had to have been of an intelligent creature in life.[1]
The more complete the corpse, the more complete the answers.[2] The knowledge stored in the corpse after death was only that which the deceased knew in life. Answers were usually short, truthful, and cryptic, like a riddle. More experienced priests could ask more questions for a longer period of time.[2][12][13][14] For the older version of speak with dead, the longer the person had been dead, the higher the level of priest was needed to cast the spell.[12][13][14] For the ritual version, a maximum of three questions could be asked, depending on the skill with which the caster conducted the ritual.[1]
If the deceased was of a different alignment to the questioner, the imprint of the deceased on the corpse could resist speak with dead and negate the spell.[2][12][13] This spell also failed if the corpse was undead[2] or if the same corpse had been questioned within the past week.[2][12][13][15]
Realmslore
Tessaril Winter, Lord of Eveningstar, acquired an arcane version of speak with dead[9], which she used to interrogate all murder victims.[16] Her version could extract up to ten questions from a corpse, but the corpse got a chance to resist answering each question.[citation needed]
The Red Wizards of Thay also created an arcane version of speak with dead, which allowed exactly three questions.[10]
Components
The post-1372 DR version of this spell required only verbal and somatic components plus the priest's holy symbol or divine focus.[2] The older divine versions required burning incense as part of the casting, as did the Red Wizard version.[10][12][13][14] The later ritual version also required the burning of sanctified incense, costing 140 gp.[1]
The speak with dead that Tessaril Winter learned required a drop of the caster's blood, a sprig of mint, a sprig of parsley, and red or black gem worth at least 100 gp that had been crushed to powder.[9]
Appendix
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Rob Heinsoo, Andy Collins, James Wyatt (June 2008). Player's Handbook 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 312. ISBN 0-7869-4867-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Template:Cite book/Player's Handbook, 3.5 Edition
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 65. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 90. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.
- ↑ David "Zeb" Cook (August 1989). Player's Handbook (2nd edition). (TSR, Inc.), pp. 28, 214. ISBN 0-88038-716-5.
- ↑ David "Zeb" Cook (April 1995). Player's Handbook 2nd edition (revised). (TSR, Inc.), pp. 39, 271. ISBN 0-7869-0329-5.
- ↑ Cook, Findley, Herring, Kubasik, Sargent, Swan (1991). Tome of Magic 2nd edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 152. ISBN 1-56076-107-5.
- ↑ Richard Baker (1996). Player's Option: Spells & Magic. (TSR, Inc), pp. 186, 187. ISBN 0-7869-0394-5.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Ed Greenwood (1992). Haunted Halls of Eveningstar. (TSR, Inc), p. 9. ISBN 1-56076-325-6.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Steve Perrin (1988). Dreams of the Red Wizards. (TSR, Inc), p. 39. ISBN 0-88038-615-0.
- ↑ Gary Gygax (1978). Players Handbook 1st edition. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 24, 48. ISBN 0-9356-9601-6.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 David "Zeb" Cook (August 1989). Player's Handbook (2nd edition). (TSR, Inc.), p. 214. ISBN 0-88038-716-5.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 David "Zeb" Cook (April 1995). Player's Handbook 2nd edition (revised). (TSR, Inc.), p. 271. ISBN 0-7869-0329-5.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Gary Gygax (1978). Players Handbook 1st edition. (TSR, Inc.), p. 48. ISBN 0-9356-9601-6.
- ↑ Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams (August 2000). Player's Handbook 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 281. ISBN 0-7869-1551-4.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (1992). Haunted Halls of Eveningstar. (TSR, Inc), p. 14. ISBN 1-56076-325-6.