Guidance of the Wandering

This spell is a part of the Spiritual Link spell chain and can be found in the Spiritual Link rune stone.

This spell cannot be used in battle. Through connecting with the Spirit when in a deep meditative state, the mystic reaches beyond the veil of the living world and calls out to whatever wandering souls might linger nearby. These are not summoned spirits called with purpose and direction, they are the wandering remnants of those who have not or cannot move on, drifting through the world carrying only what they knew and experienced in life. They are under no obligation to answer, to be truthful, or to be kind.

Upon casting, roll a 1d6. The number rolled determines how many questions the caster may ask during this communion. Once those questions are exhausted or the caster ends the communion, the spell ends and cannot be recast in the same area for the remainder of the day for the wandering spirits will not be called twice.

The answers received are entirely at the GM's discretion and should reflect what a wandering spirit in that specific location might actually know from their time among the living. The following should be kept in mind:

• Spirits only know what they knew in life. Questions about current events, recent happenings, or anything that occurred after their death will yield confused, outdated, or simply empty responses. Questions about history, the nature of a place, buried secrets, or people and events from the past can be remarkably potent.
• Spirits may not know the answer. "I don't know" is a perfectly valid response. Not every spirit has useful knowledge and not every question has an answer among the wandering dead.
• Spirits may not answer clearly. Their responses may come as fragmented impressions, half remembered emotions, or confused and jumbled memories that require interpretation. The GM should feel no obligation to provide clean and direct answers.
• Spirits can lie. They are not bound by any oath of honesty. A spirit with reason to deceive, protect something, or simply cause mischief may do so freely. Players would be wise to consider the motivations of whoever might be wandering in a given location. Spirits of a light or order morality are more likely to be honest while those of a dark or chaos morality are more likely to be deceptive.
• Spirits may be angered. Should a question be deeply offensive, invasive, or otherwise provoke the spirit being communed with, the GM may determine that the spirit's anger manifests physically, potentially initiating an encounter. The mystic should choose their questions with care.
• All answers are given in a language the caster can understand.  The power of the Spirit acts as a perfect translator, translating with ease any spoken words into a language that the caster can understand. However it should be known that translation of words doesn't mean translation of language structure. The words may be spoken out of place with words that best fit the answer to be given sounding odd to the caster.
• Without Spiritual Sight, the caster cannot choose or direct which spirit responds. Whoever happens to be wandering nearby answers the call, for better or worse. With Spiritual Sight active, the caster gains enough perception of the spiritual world to identify and direct their communion toward a specific wandering spirit they can perceive, though that spirit is still under no obligation to cooperate.