Divination: Hack to the Future
Usable By: Cleric
Spell Level: 4
School: Divination
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Duration: Instantaneous
Components: V, S, M (Incense and a sacrificial offering appropriate to your religion, together worth at least 25 gp, which the spell consumes)
Your magic and an offering put you in contact with a god or a god’s servants. You ask a single question concerning a specific goal, event, or activity to occur within 7 days. The GM offers a truthful reply. The reply might be a short phrase, a cryptic rhyme, or an omen.
The spell doesn’t take into account any possible circumstances that might change the outcome, such as the casting of additional spells or the loss or gain of a companion.
If you cast the spell two or more times before finishing your next long rest, there is a cumulative 25 percent chance for each casting after the first that you get a random reading. The GM makes this roll in secret.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
“Pwease DM, tell me, how does the campaign end? What happened to that one NPC we kicked in the groin and left to die? Will I ever find true love, or am I destined to eternally be alone because of my crippling need to be right?” - Every player to ever take Divination.
If you’ve ever asked these questions at the table and are looking for answers, boy howdy Divination is the spell for you! It puts a lovely burden on the DM, requiring them to figure that shit out on the fly!
Divination is a superbly designed spell. If you’re looking to glean information, it does what its upper level counterparts largely fail to do; it offers relevant information in small doses hard capped without literally killing the player to use (cough cough Contact Other Plane cough cough).
The best gameplay element this spell brings to the table is “false certainty”. You could ask your DM “Will we survive our delve into the medusa’s lair?” and get a resounding yes, only to find eternal life as a stone statue in her garden while your allies flee for their lives. Sure, you “survived”; you're just pulling a Han Solo. To counteract hyper specific terms, the DM has the power to become increasingly cryptic. “Will each individual make it out of the dungeon in good health?” could easily result in a response noting how “good health is guaranteed for those who take caution in their steps”. This works double for answering a player's question AND offering a clue foreshadowing a potential trap or encounter gimmick down the road.
I don’t love gold costs on spells generally, but here I think it serves somewhat of a useful purpose. Putting a reasonably small cost on cast nudges you to cast it only when you really need it, as opposed to just asking three questions each day for free. Other gold costs can feel pointless at some tables and gating at others; when the cost is for something that’s nice to have, but not necessary, and nearly all play groups can afford to cast it, gold can shine as a guidance tool to limit a spell towards its intended use pattern.
All in all, Divination is the best of the lot of information discerning spells in the PHB. If you want to see into the future, only to be flummoxed and bamboozled when the truth technically comes to pass but with unforeseen horrendous consequences, try it out!
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