Rules Index | GM Screen

Mastering Intrigue / Spells of Intrigue / Low-Level Play (1–6)

Necromancy

Source Ultimate Intrigue pg. 158
There are a few necromancy spells that are similar enough to divinations that their information-gathering ability is worth considering.

Speak with Dead: This spell—and other similar spells such as call spirit—operate much like spells such as speak with animals, allowing the caster to talk with a witness who is otherwise inaccessible.

This might seem like a surefire way to ruin any murder mystery, but there are mitigating factors that need to be taken into account. First, the corpse’s knowledge is limited to what the creature knew while it was alive. A murderer’s best recourse to avoiding this spell is using a disguise or stealth, so that the victim doesn’t learn the killer’s identity. Second, if the corpse is in no condition to speak, that stops speak with dead (though there are spells that can repair a corpse). Third, the spell allows a saving throw, and whether or not it succeeds, the spell fails for the next week, so a murderer can cast speak with dead herself to forestall future castings. Such precautions on the part of the murderer, however, give the PCs more information about her, so it advances the plot and the investigation in an interesting way. Finally, the corpse’s answers are brief, cryptic, and repetitive; a corpse could provide an interesting clue that furthers the investigation, rather than allowing the PCs to abruptly solve the whole thing.

Archives of Nethys

Rules Index | GM Screen

Necromancy