5th Level Divination (Ritual)
1 Minute+Casting Time
1 minute
Range
Self
Components
V
Duration
1 minute
Draconic
“Orakulvolthar Xithrenkrathul Chainulvolthar”
Elvish
“Istimë Sánië Gwedhi na-ilúvatár”
The most dangerous of all ritual divinations. The caster draws a complex summoning circle on the floor and places protective wards at the cardinal points. They sit at the center, surrounded by five candles — one for each question they may ask. The ritual begins with a chant of opening, and the caster's mind reaches beyond the Material Plane into the vast spaces between worlds. The sensation is terrifying: an infinite void populated by intelligences both ancient and alien. The caster must hold their identity firmly — their name, their purpose, their connections to the mortal world — or risk being overwhelmed by the cosmic static. Contact is made when one of these intelligences turns its attention to the caster: a pressure behind the eyes, a voice that speaks in concepts rather than words, an alien curiosity probing the caster's mind. Each question extinguishes a candle. When all five are dark, the connection severs. The return is jarring, and many casters experience headaches, nosebleeds, or brief disorientation. Some report strange dreams for nights afterward.
You mentally contact a demigod, the spirit of a long-dead sage, or some other mysterious entity from another plane. Contacting this extraplanar intelligence can strain or even break your mind. When you cast this spell, make a DC 15 intelligence saving throw. On a failure, you take 6d6 psychic damage and are insane until you finish a long rest. While insane, you can't take actions, can't understand what other creatures say, can't read, and speak only in gibberish. A greater restoration spell cast on you ends this effect. On a successful save, you can ask the entity up to five questions. You must ask your questions before the spell ends. The GM answers each question with one word, such as "yes," "no," "maybe," "never," "irrelevant," or "unclear" (if the entity doesn't know the answer to the question). If a one-word answer would be misleading, the GM might instead offer a short phrase as an answer.