Can Sending...Speak With Dead?

[Cheesegear]

The Sending spell allows you to send - and receive - messages from other planes of existence.
Many afterlives are places you can physically go to, depending on your world/worldbuilding. They are, other planes of existence.

Can you Send - and receive - a message to/from someone who has died with a 95% success rate?

[PhoenixPhyre]

The Sending spell allows you to send - and receive - messages from other planes of existence.
Many afterlives are places you can physically go to, depending on your world/worldbuilding. They are, other planes of existence.

Can you Send - and receive - a message to/from someone who has died with a 95% success rate?

This entirely depends on the metaphysics of the setting. By default, as I understand it, the dead in the Great Wheel become petitioners and thus are only sorta the same person. So sending may, or may not work. And you have to be familiar with the person before they died (otherwise you're just familiar with their corpse). So it and speak with dead (which is best for interrogating random dead bodies and skulls you find IMO) have very different purposes.

[Composer99]

If the someone who has died is in a form such that they qualify as a creature, yes.

If not, no.

[Rukelnikov]

We used to rule it that way in 3.x, but as other said, it depends on what's the creature's afterlife like, if you are using the wheel, then what kind of petitioner they are is relevant, elysium for instnace wil make all memories from previous lives fade, and in the lower planes the styx river would erase all memories.

[Cheesegear]

If the someone who has died is in a form such that they qualify as a creature, yes.

Ah. That's a good catch.

[Unoriginal]

We used to rule it that way in 3.x, but as other said, it depends on what's the creature's afterlife like, if you are using the wheel, then what kind of petitioner they are is relevant, elysium for instnace wil make all memories from previous lives fade, and in the lower planes the styx river would erase all memories.

Regarding the Lowe Planes, only the Nine Hells start with the souls taking a dip in the Styx, so technically it'd be easier to contact Gramps if he died and went to Gehenna.

Of course Hades does also make who you were in life fade and like you and others said, quite a many places change you enough you no longer qualify for Sending, even if you do avoid the Styx.

Regarding the "form that qualifies as creature" part above, I would say the souls who float in the Astral toward the afterlife most fitting to who they were do not qualify, as there is no indicator they are aware of anything or capable of doing anything until they reach destination and are affected by the plane in question.

[Rukelnikov]

Regarding the Lowe Planes, only the Nine Hells start with the souls taking a dip in the Styx, so technically it'd be easier to contact Gramps if he died and went to Gehenna.

I didn't remember that, makes sense for the Devils to be the most thorough.

[Alcore]

Yes... If they are still able to identify as themselves.


From complete divine (a 3.5 supplement) that I read a long time ago a soul who makes it to the afterlife has a number of different things happen to it. Some come to a form of inner peace at witnessing the outer world reflex so well their inner mind that they murge into the plane. Sometimes 'God' gets hungry and eats you shortly after coming in (The Giant didn't build most of that lore wholesale for the comic). Most do tend to meander about 'as themselves' for a good length of time; usually as a petitioner but exceptions can exist. The rarest of them immediately turn into an outsider (high level, strong alignment tendencies) excepting in Hell where you need authorization to do so.


I don't fully remember but I think you can still be rezed even if consumed.

[Psyren]

Another wrinkle:

The creature hears the message in its mind,

It's an open question whether a dead creature's makeup includes one of those (at least in the form that the spell recognizes.)

[Necrosnoop110]

Another wrinkle:
It's an open question whether a dead creature's makeup includes one of those (at least in the form that the spell recognizes.)

Totally agree with you but just wanted to point out that I'd argue "mind" is much broader and far less physiologically/physically anchored than "brain" in this context. Especially, in a magical fantasy setting.

[Brookshw]

This entirely depends on the metaphysics of the setting. By default, as I understand it, the dead in the Great Wheel become petitioners and thus are only sorta the same person. So sending may, or may not work. And you have to be familiar with the person before they died (otherwise you're just familiar with their corpse). So it and speak with dead (which is best for interrogating random dead bodies and skulls you find IMO) have very different purposes.

In earlier editions the soul lost its memories as part of the process of traveling to their outer plane, subsequently the petitioner didn't have memories and wouldn't be able to answer questions.

[Rukelnikov]

In earlier editions the soul lost its memories as part of the process of traveling to their outer plane, subsequently the petitioner didn't have memories and wouldn't be able to answer questions.

IIRC that was plane dependant, I thought the ones that went to battle eternally in Ysgard kept their memories for instance.

Elves in arborea should probably remember their lives, probably multiple of those.

[PhoenixPhyre]

In earlier editions the soul lost its memories as part of the process of traveling to their outer plane, subsequently the petitioner didn't have memories and wouldn't be able to answer questions.

IIRC that was plane dependant, I thought the ones that went to battle eternally in Ysgard kept their memories for instance.

Elves in arborea should probably remember their lives, probably multiple of those.

Yeah. As I said, it's highly setting-dependent. And interpretation of the setting. And probably individual person-dependent. So the only sane answer is "ask your DM, but don't get too attached to it. If you are the DM...make a call."

[Brookshw]

IIRC that was plane dependant, I thought the ones that went to battle eternally in Ysgard kept their memories for instance.

Elves in arborea should probably remember their lives, probably multiple of those.

It was actually a functional of the Astral, buuut, all depends what edition you want to go with, ya know?

[Psyren]

Elysium and Hades are both designed to make you forget your existence more rapidly* IIRC.

*On an afterlife scale, but still.

[starwolf]

Creative use, and I would think so.

Raise dead/resurrection requires a willing soul, so if they have the presence of mind to be willing, sending should work.
If something about mind/state would prevent sending from reaching them, it may prevent raising them as well.

[Tanarii]

I'd say you'd have to be familiar with their 'petitioner' form for it to work. Not the creature before death.

[Psyren]

Creative use, and I would think so.

Raise dead/resurrection requires a willing soul, so if they have the presence of mind to be willing, sending should work.
If something about mind/state would prevent sending from reaching them, it may prevent raising them as well.

I don't know if I agree with that - you can be willing without being communicative or sapient. Even animals can be willing, but they generally can't converse with you.

[Witty Username]

The Sending spell allows you to send - and receive - messages from other planes of existence.
Many afterlives are places you can physically go to, depending on your world/worldbuilding. They are, other planes of existence.

Can you Send - and receive - a message to/from someone who has died with a 95% success rate?

I think I find the alternative funnier,
Kill that cleric, about an hour later you hear the slow clapping, "Congratulations, you minorly inconvenienced me, enjoy your few days of peace while my sworn brothers and sisters get the diamonds together, prepare good last words."

DM asks, "you may respond, do you have anything you would like to say?"

[Tanarii]

DM asks, "you may respond, do you have anything you would like to say?"

We just burned your body and you were the last Cleric in your cult who could cast True Resurrection. I hope you knew some Druids.

*party drops mic*

[PhoenixPhyre]

I think I find the alternative funnier,
Kill that cleric, about an hour later you hear the slow clapping, "Congratulations, you minorly inconvenienced me, enjoy your few days of peace while my sworn brothers and sisters get the diamonds together, prepare good last words."

DM asks, "you may respond, do you have anything you would like to say?"

I had a party who used it to taunt a lich they killed several times. She tried to return the favor, but...yeah. Didn't go so well for her.

[Bohandas]

You might get better mileage out of Lesser Planar Binding and/or Lesser Planar Ally.

[JackPhoenix]

In Eberron, you can... for a while, at least, before Dolurrh erase their memories and the soul fades away. How long that is is not stated, but I imagine the 10-day window for Raise Dead is a good measuring stick. After that... depends on what really happens to the soul.

Funnily enough, if you can locate them in Dolurrh, Plane Shift is a more reliable way to get the deceased back than magic designed for raising dead.

You might get better mileage out of Lesser Planar Binding and/or Lesser Planar Ally.

Wrong edition.

[Bohandas]

Wrong edition.

Oops.

I found this thread via the search for new posts thing and didn't see that it was in the 5e subforum

[Greywander]

D&D distinguishes between a creature's soul and their animating spirit. The soul goes to the afterlife and is what has the capacity to learn and form new memories. The animating spirit remains in the body and has the creature's old memories. This is why some kinds of undead will mime the things it used to do in life, as it remembers doing them but isn't able to adapt to it's new situation.

Speak with Dead calls up the animating spirit and allows you to ask it questions. Because it can't form memories, it can't take in new information, but it still has its memories from life and can answer your questions. Sending might be able to contact a soul, and while you could pass information along to them, they would not remember anything from when they were alive.

The distinction between the soul and the animating spirit is kind of weird, and maybe more trouble than it's worth, but it does allow for some interesting interactions. For example, it naturally restricts some of the things you can do with Speak with Dead to prevent it from being misused.