Last Sight [3.5 spell]

[Lord Vukodlak]

I came up with this spell so tell me what you think.

Last Sight
Necromancy
Level: Clr 4, Wiz/Sor5
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: 10ft.
Target: One dead creature
Duration: 1 min/level
Saving Throw: Will negates; see text
Spell Resistance: No

This spell gives the caster a vision of the last minutes of life of the target dead creature. They perceive the vision through the eyes of the deceased allowing the caster to see the creatures death from its perspective.

The caster see's whatever the deceased saw automatically but may make additional spot checks to attempt to see what the deceased didn't notice. Though at a -4 penalty. [for example the caster may see through a disguise the deceased did not, or notice an invisible creature].

[demidracolich]

Bit weak for a4th or 5th level spell.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Well its probably more powerful then "speak with dead" which is a 3rd level spell.[which arcane casters normally can't cast]. So I made it a level higher.

Not all power of a spell is based in direct combat applications.

[superslacker]

Seems like it would be Divination, not Necromancy. And it seems either on par or perhaps even weaker than speak with dead, because this only allows you POV of the last few minutes of life as opposed to asking questions of the deceased, the answers to which might come from any point in their lifetime. That being said, fantastic spell, perfect for a murder mystery adventure.

[AmberVael]

I would consider Speak with Dead more powerful, really. Speak with Dead allows you to learn about a much broader range of subject matter than this spell.

Ninja'd, though I disagree on the school. Why? Because it's necromancy. The very word is derived from the idea of divination through contact with the dead. If this spell isn't Necromancy, nothing is.

[MountainKing]

I think it's a cool concept, and given that Speak With Dead has the potential to be outright useless, I'd say that 4th level would be appropriate. Sure, you might not see anything useful with the spell, but at least it's not hindered by the willingness of the spirit to give useful answers (nor is it limited to a set number of questions).

At the end of the day, a spell is only as powerful as you make it; it's not the size of the fireball that counts, it's how you wield it.


EDIT: Also, I think it could be debated either way; on the one hand, it has elements of divination, on the other, it has elements of necromancy. I think it's a little extreme to say that if this spell isn't necromancy, nothing is though. If it turned the target into an undead servant of some kind afterword, then I'd be right with you. However, it doesn't.

[AmberVael]

EDIT: Also, I think it could be debated either way; on the one hand, it has elements of divination, on the other, it has elements of necromancy. I think it's a little extreme to say that if this spell isn't necromancy, nothing is though. If it turned the target into an undead servant of some kind afterword, then I'd be right with you. However, it doesn't.

Necromancy, derived from the Latin Necromantia, or the Greek νεκρομαντεία, transliterated as nekromantía. It comes from two words: νεκρός (nekrós), and μαντεία (manteía). The first means corpse, and the later divination. Necromancy literally means corpse divination.

I will grant that our current word, Necromancy, is derived from that old word, and does not necessarily have to have the same meaning. Further, under DnD, Necromancy is specified as "spells [that] manipulate the power of death, unlife, and the life force. Spells involving undead creatures make up a large part of this school."

But seriously, with that past for the word, it seems really sad to allocate this spell to Divination.

Mechanically, given that Speak with Dead is Necromancy, I think it also fits in that category.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Lets end this debate its Necromancy, deal with it. I really don't want this thread derailed debating what school the spell belongs in. Seeing the last sight of a dead creature sounds Necromancy to me.
Lets focus on the rest of the spell please.

[MountainKing]

To be totally honest with you mate, there really isn't a whole lot about the spell to talk about. Most seem to feel it's cool in concept, while its usefulness and power level are relatively questionable based on perception and individual ideas about use.

Do you have anything to potentially add to the discussion mechanically? If not, I think that semantics over what school the spell could possibly be is pretty much all there is to talk about.

[Lord Vukodlak]

I thought about something of the memory being recorded onto a crystal or something so others can view the Last Sight and later I'll add in details about how intact the corpse has to be. I'm thinking just the head needs to be mostly intact.

[Lysander]

Question: how long does it take you to see the vision? Is it 1 minute/level in real time, starting with the furthest minute back you can see? For example, if you're level 20, do you start watching 20 minutes before death and it takes you 20 minutes to see the whole thing?

Or is it instantaneous, where you gain memory of 20 minutes of vision right away?

[Lord Vukodlak]

Question: how long does it take you to see the vision? Is it 1 minute/level in real time, starting with the furthest minute back you can see? For example, if you're level 20, do you start watching 20 minutes before death and it takes you 20 minutes to see the whole thing?

Or is it instantaneous, where you gain memory of 20 minutes of vision right away?

You'd view the 20 minutes as they happened like watching a video. I'll writing in something later about fast forwarding or rewinding once I figure out a good way to word it.

[Fortuna]

A neat spell. The Giant himself made a similar, if weaker, version in the Gaming section: Final Vision, which replays 1 round/level. He pegged it as a 1st level Cleric or Sor/Wiz spell from the Divination school (although I agree that it belongs in Necromancy). He also had the 'playback' in real time, but you can still notice things in the real world (albeit at a -2 on Spot and Listen). Going off that, I doubt that this is more than 3rd level.

[Zeta Kai]

1) If fear can be Necromancy instead of Enchantment, then so can this. Personally, I think that the cure/inflict wounds series should be Necromancy, as well.

2) More importantly, I think 3^rd level would be more reasonable mechanically, especially given the lengthy casting time.

3) It's a cool spell, conceptually. This is the kind of thing that I'd expect a mage would be able to do in a fantasy book, so it's very fitting.

[Lord Vukodlak]

1) If fear can be Necromancy instead of Enchantment, then so can this. Personally, I think that the cure/inflict wounds series should be Necromancy, as well.

In 2nd edition cure spells were necromancy