D&D 5E - Commune with Dead

Publish date: 2024-05-08
From my homebrew spells, modeled after contact other plane:

Contact Spirit of the Dead
4th-level necromancy (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Self
Components: V, possibly M (see description)
Duration: 1 minute
You mentally contact the spirit of a specific dead person. You must know at least the name of the spirit you are trying to contact. Contacting a spirit can strain, or even break your mind. When you cast this spell, make a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw, modified as below.

Relationship with You or Someone Present
(at most one modifier applies)Save Modifier
Spirit is ancestor+2
Knew the spirit when it was alive+4
Successfully contacted the spirit before+6

Connection to Spirit
(at most one modifier applies)Save Modifier
Likeness or picture+2
Possession or garment+4
Signature/prized possession or body part, lock of hair, etc.+6

On a failure, you take 4d6 psychic damage and are insane until you finish a long rest. While insane, you can't take actions, can't understand what other creatures say, can't read, and can speak only in gibberish. A greater restoration spell cast on you ends this effect.

On a successful save, you can ask the spirit up to five questions. You must ask your questions before the spell ends. The spirit is under no compulsion to answer the questions, but you may try to persuade it or compel it to do so.

This spell is painful to spirits. A spirit that has successfully found a place in the afterlife can choose not to respond to this spell (and most powerful spirits will choose not to respond). However, a spirit in limbo or a wandering spirit (such as a ghost) must respond.

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