Speak with Dead

  • Level & School
    3rd-level necromancy
  • Casting Time
    Action
  • Range
    10 feet
  • Components
    V, S, M (burning incense)
  • Duration
    10 minutes
  • Classes
    Bard, Cleric, Wizard

You grant the semblance of life to a corpse of your choice within range, allowing it to answer questions you pose. The corpse must have a mouth, and this spell fails if the deceased creature was Undead when it died. The spell also fails if the corpse was the target of this spell within the past 10 days.

Until the spell ends, you can ask the corpse up to five questions. The corpse knows only what it knew in life, including the languages it knew. Answers are usually brief, cryptic, or repetitive, and the corpse is under no compulsion to offer a truthful answer if you are antagonistic toward it or it recognizes you as an enemy. This spell doesn't return the creature's soul to its body, only its animating spirit. Thus, the corpse can't learn new information, doesn't comprehend anything that has happened since it died, and can't speculate about future events.

Speak with Dead 5e 2024 vs. 2014 edition differences

The 2024 version adds the wizard class, clarifies the corpse must have a mouth, and states the spell fails if the creature was undead when it died, not just if it was undead later. It also changes "hostile" to "antagonistic" and "you are hostile" to "you are antagonistic toward it."