Speak With Dead

By casting speak with dead, the cleric opens a mystical channel to the afterworld, permitting him or her to ask a dead creature several questions. As with most spells that concern the afterlife, the length of time that the soul has departed is a factor—the longer the creature has been dead, the more powerful the casting cleric must be to initiate contact. The cleric must be able to speak the dead creature’s language and must have some portion of its bodily remains available as the focus of the spell.