Re: Forensic divination magic [was: Circle of Darkness, now NGC]

Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] Forensic divination magic [was: Circle of Darkness, now NGC]
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 11:54:59 -0600
From: John C Wright
Reply-To: The GREYtalk Discussion List
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU

Scott wrote:
> The body is DEAD. Therefore, it is not a living thing. IF the body is Cymria's
> remains, then the spell would confirm that, yes, the dead body of Cymria is right
> there on the floor. IF the body is someone else and NOT Cymria, the spell would
> not locate the body lying on the floor -- thus proving that Cymria, if not still
> alive, had at least not met her end here as it appeared.

My question was never about the body being dead. The way the spell reads (and the point to remember is that it is a low-level divination and therefore not infallible), is that the caster must know for certain what the 'true' body of Cymria is like when they cast the spell.

Example: Martin the Priest of Nunsuch...casts locate object to discover the location of the shroud of balin. All of the information that Martin knows describes the shroud as being of x height and x weight and x dimensions etc. When he casts the spell, locate object will lead him to the object (even if in truth the object is actually pants of gunn or the shirt of tina). The spell cannot differentiate between what it is believed to be looking for and what it is intended to be looking for. If Martin goes one further and has a piece of the shroud there, and casts the spell, even though the shroud is really atablecloth, the spell will indicate its location and not give any reason for the caster to suspect that the object is anything other than what it is thought to be.

So in the example of the body I had stated, the fact that there is a body available and that the priest is trying to locate said body, will lead to the spell revealing that the body does indeed lay right before the caster. Even though the body is not the body of who the caster thinks it is.

Now while locate object would not reveal such information, the fourth level spell divination might very well, so long as the caster went about asking his questions in a logical and consistent manner, and did not automatically assume that the body before them was in fact the body of Cymria.

I hope that makes my view a bit more understandable, but I am glad to have feedback. The point about mid-level divinations is one I had not yet covered for the body, and am glad it was brought up so that I have my answers ready when my group gets to this point. Hmmm....then again they don't have divination as a major sphere to any of their priests...ah well best to cover all the bases beforehand.

John Wright