Scrying: Need to know the name of the target?

[BDRook]

When casting the Scrying spell, do you need to know the name of the person you're trying to spy on? I only asked because I have a feeling the party I'm DMing for will soon try and scry on a main villain who keeps his identity a secret.

Or is it more you just have to picture their image in your head when casting? The wording on actually targeting the person you want to scry on is very vague in the spell description.

[ClintACK]

They have to be able to target the specific individual ("a particular creature you choose"). But they don't need a "true name" or anything like that. If they've met him (or even seen him) that's definitely enough, even if he gave them a false name. Even just having heard of him secondhand is good enough, with a +5 to the target's save.

If the target is really secretive -- hiding its identity, constantly changing disguises, and so on, I could see that being an even bigger bonus.


Where it gets complicated is in how specifically you have to be able to identify the "particular" creature.

Example: You see an army. You want to scry on "whoever is in command over there." I'd say that's not specific enough. You're just guessing that they even have a single commander.

Similarly, you couldn't scry on "the person who committed this murder." It's beyond the power of the spell to figure out whodunnit.

But, "the creepy guy from the bar last night" *is* clearly acceptable, because you've seen him, even if you never met or spoke.

*shrug*

I'd say if they know *who* the main villain is, in some sense, then they should be able to at least attempt to scry on him. But if they're just guessing that some hidden villain is behind all these dastardly plots, they're out of luck. (Or they need to use Commune or Contact Other Plane before they can try Scrying.)

[Segev]

To me, it comes down to whether or not they're trying to use scrying to discover his identity. "The commander of that army" would be a valid target if they're trying to scry out what he's up to, maybe spy on his meetings. But not to specifically determine which of those soldiers IS the commander. Similarly, scrying on "the Queen" would get you her royal majesty doing her duties, but it wouldn't get the handmaid that is the REAL Queen giving her chief body double orders. It would get the body double acting as Queen.

You could scry on "Batman" to discover that he's lurking in lower Gotham's upper skyscrapers tonight, and even that he's interrogating a thug about the Riddler's latest riddle. But if "Batman" were in his disguise as Bruce Wayne during a board meeting of Wayne Enterprises, you'd just get - at best - the board meeting, with no real indication that Bruce is Batman, and not, say, that Batman is just hiding in the shadows in the background. It might simply fail entirely as there is no "Batman" on whom to scry at that moment.

The spell will zero in on information that the caster knows enough to get. It won't zero in on the right question to ask. And since it can't answer "Who is Batman?" it won't reveal that information. Thinking on it more, to even get the Wayne Enterprises Board Meeting, you'd probably need something that already connects Wayne to Batman, like a lock of hair or a drop of blood.