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As GM, I am having a now-deceased 30th-level wizard's spell last after his death. It is a spell to conceal an object in a Dimensional Pocket keyed to one of the right bloodline who knows the password. I do not know a spell that can do this, so I'm looking for ammunition to use against the rules lawyers in my group who will say that a spell effect ends with a wizard's death.

The circumstances are that a specific family of wizards who guarded an ancient key to the revival of a certain being concealed it in a powerful dimensional lock, and whenever they were about to die they taught their successor both the Sealing Spell and the keyword to open it, and entrusted them with the artifact. As a last act they perform the Sealing Spell on an object their heir possesses, because being more skillful wizards their magic is stronger at that age. The heir to the 30th level wizard is going to meet with the party and initially fight them and, should they be smart and not kill her, they will hear her story and the evil which she guards; whereas should they kill her, they won't know until later that the evil is even afoot. I want my party to think this time, instead of just killing everything and believing there isn't anything to be gained by keeping adversaries alive.

In this instance, instead of an object that might be stolen, the wizard sealed it into a dimensional space near his daughter's shoulder so that it might be safer.

Can a spell effect last after the caster has died?

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You're the DM, so you can make anything in the world true in your game.

For ammunition in particular, ask your rules lawyers where it says both that every spell ends when the caster dies and where it says that the DM isn't allowed to create unique magical spells or effects as part of their job creating the game's setting.

NPCs you create aren't bound by the rules that constrain the players. If they were, the world would be a boring and predictable place to "adventure" in.

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Yes, absolutely.

Unless the spell requires Concentration or some other form of caster input on a regular basis, there's nothing stopping a spell from continuing after the caster dies.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Best answer because, AFAIK, all spell effects with a duration last until the duration expires, regardless of the status of the caster. \$\endgroup\$
    – LegendaryDude
    Commented Oct 27, 2016 at 17:31
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Yes, absolutely.

If you're still doubtful, remember that there's always the possibility of a permanency spell (which happens to state that "The DM may allow other selected spells to be made permanent").

If still in doubt, remember that the DM sets the rules.

It's your job to make the story fun. Don't be afraid to break some rules now and then.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ +1. Though your players will then expect to be able to do the same should they reach the required power level. \$\endgroup\$
    – Nigralbus
    Commented Sep 25, 2012 at 9:16
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Nigralbus Yes they might want to be able to cast that spell as well, but one can always add many varied and difficult to get as well as expensive components to cast it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Vethor
    Commented Sep 25, 2012 at 17:06
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    \$\begingroup\$ I belive the remedy is in the spell itself. A.) Its known to only one person Currently and its quite specific in its function and would be almost useless to the PC's. \$\endgroup\$
    – Novian
    Commented Sep 26, 2012 at 3:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ It is meant to seal away any object so that its aura, influence, and physical form are Undetectable and that only a descendant of the caster or the caster them self can open the locked dimensional space and only with the correct password. Its kinda like a combination of sequester dimensional pocket and Nystyls magic aura with a keyed lock type spell. what could they possibly need to hide with such a powerful spell? \$\endgroup\$
    – Novian
    Commented Sep 26, 2012 at 3:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Novian Players could find loads of uses for such a spell - especially if it can target a creature, or an object that contains a creature. More to the point, in my experience D&D 3.5 camapigns tend to gradually transition players from "How can we survive this dungeon?" through "how should we tackle this problem" to "Let's build a castle and have a major impact on the fate of the world!" Your spell sounds like it would be very useful to players in that last stage. \$\endgroup\$
    – GMJoe
    Commented Sep 26, 2012 at 5:23

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