Shadow Spies
3rd-level necromancy (Bard, Cleric, Pale Master, Shaman, Sorcerer, Wizard)
- Casting Time: 10 minutes
- Range: 100 miles
- Components: V, S, M (black sludge or tar inside a cauldron worth at least 300gp)
- Duration: Concentration, up to 8 hours
While casting this spell, dark spectral smoke rises from the cauldron that you're using as a material component. The smoke reaches up to 300 feet upward, potentially revealing your dark magic to anyone nearby.
When you finish casting the spell, you conjure three shadowy spirits to spy on your enemies. The spirits are Medium, and they appear in unoccupied spaces of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you. Each spirit has the statistics of a specter, except that it has AC 10, 1 hit point, and it can't attack. When a spirit drops to 0 hit points or the spell ends, that spirit disappears.
When the spirits appear, you give them a description of one creature you want them to seek. If you do not, the spirits languish and do nothing. Once you finish your description, the spirits fly into the sky and go in different directions, cackling gleefully as they leave.
To determine how successfully the spirits search, the DM secretly rolls a number of d100s equal to the number of spirits conjured and consults the table for the results of each dl00 separately.
| Distance | Mishap | Failure | Partial Success | Total Success |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 2 miles | -- | -- | 01-50 | 51-100 |
| Between 2 and 5 miles | 01 | 02-34 | 35-67 | 68-100 |
| Between 5 and 10 miles | 01-03 | 04-50 | 51-80 | 81-100 |
| Between 10 and 20 miles | 01-05 | 06-65 | 66-85 | 86-100 |
| Between 20 and 50 miles | 01-08 | 09-70 | 71-90 | 91-100 |
| Between 50 and 100 miles | 01-12 | 13-80 | 81-95 | 96-100 |
| Unreachable | 01-15 | 16-95 96-100 | -- |
Distance. The spirits' ability to locate the target is partially determined by the distance to the target. The DM should keep the distance a secret when they roll on the table. If the distance is between two entries, choose the entry for shorter distances. "Unreachable" means the target is somewhere that the spirits cannot reach under any circumstances. Some examples of situations where the spirit cannot reach the target include:
- The target is more than 100 miles away or is on another plane of existence.
- The target is in a consecrated location or within an antimagic field, or is protected by a circle of salt or the magic circle spell
- The target is shrouded in a hidden location.
- The target is disguised beyond the spirits' abilities.
Total Success. The spirit returns just before 2d4 hours have elapsed. It successfully located the target and tells you exactly where they were found. The spirit also provides you with any additional information that could have been gathered from a Partial Success.
Partial Success. The spirit returns just before 8 hours have elapsed It wasn't able to locate the target, but it did find traces of the target's existence that can aid in tracking or investigating the target. For the next 48 hours, you have advantage on ability checks made to locate, track, or investigate the target and their lifestyle.
Failure. The spirit returns just before 8 hours have elapsed It found no traces of the target and can provide no additional information about the target.
Mishap. The spirit might return after ld6 hours have elapsed, or it might not return at alL having been trapped or reduced to 0 hit points. Either way, the spirit did not locate the target, and instead encountered a new source of danger. Perhaps the spirit found information that will place you in harm's way for knowing. Alternatively, the spirit might have attracted attention or upset someone, leading a new threat to come after you. The DM decides how the mishap occurs. If multiple spirits get this result, the mishaps do not stack.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the spell conjures one additional spirit for each slot level above 3rd.