Questions tagged [soul]
For questions primarily about creatures' souls, and game mechanics involving souls.
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Why are the Faithless condemned to the Wall of the Faithless after death?
If you live in the Forgotten Realms and die without worshipping a deity, you are sentenced to the Wall of the Faithless by Kelemvor to serve as another proverbial brick in the Wall.
But why does this ...
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Is it possible to destroy a soul?
Is there any method for a creature to destroy a soul, such that it is utterly wiped from the multiverse? No afterlife, no wall of the faithless etc etc
I was thinking about the nature of the ...
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What happens to a lich's soul when it dies with a Ring of Mind Shielding?
What happens to a lich's soul when it dies with a Ring of Mind Shielding? Normally, a lich's soul goes to the phylactery. But the Ring of Mind Shielding also takes a soul. Does the lich choose where ...
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Making a character without a soul?
I'm new to D&D, but I'm really interested in it. I've been building a character, but I've hit a spot that I'm not sure how to handle: making a human character without a soul.
I was thinking ...
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A dragon's soul trapped in a ring of mind shielding wants a new body; what magic could enable her to do so?
In my D&D 5e campaign, the characters fought and defeated a young dragon of mixed white and silver lineage, and found a ring of mind shielding on her body. Her original body was destroyed. ...
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Could both an alive and an undead version of a creature exist?
Say Bob the fighter dies heroically while fighting some cultists. His companions realise they are outmatched and decide to run. But first, they quickly cut off one of Bob's fingers and take it with ...
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What does it mean to be born with a spirit instead of a soul?
The HeroQuest write-up of the Kolat cult says, of Kolatings:
some attract dedicated practitioners from those disaffected and dispossessed people born with spirits instead of souls.
Does this ...
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Where does an unaligned creature's soul go after death?
In the DMG section on "Bringing Back the Dead" (chapter 1, p. 24), it describes what happens when a creature dies:
When a creature dies, its soul departs its body, leaves the Material Plane, ...
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Does an intelligent undead have a soul in 5e D&D?
Does an intelligent undead, such as a vampire, mummy, etc, have a soul? Is it the original soul of the person they were before?
There was already a question exactly like this specifically for 3.5e ...
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Do all creatures have souls?
Do all living creatures have souls in the D&D multiverse (Forgotten Realms in particular)?
The only hint I've found so far was from the Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes:
A nabassu can eat the soul of ...
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When does the soul leave the body after death?
In D&D (Forgotten Realms) lore, is there any kind of answer for how long it takes the soul to leave the body after death? If not, is there any answer implied by other rules or effects (such as ...
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Do you remember the name of characters who attempted to revive you?
On DMG page 24, under "Bringing Back the Dead", it states:
A soul knows the name, alignment, and patron deity (if any) of the character attempting to revive it and might refuse to return on that ...
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What is the complete lifecycle of souls in the Nine Hells?
The Descent into Avernus adventure provides more information about what happens to souls in the Nine Hells/Baator than was previously available (soul coins and their uses, in particular).
It's also ...
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What happens when a player violates two devils' contracts?
I'm currently preparing a session in my campaign where one of my players is going to consider signing a contract with a devil. While writing the contract, I noticed something that seems like a ...
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Is a Clone created in a Demiplane native to it?
For this question, I'll pose it in the form of an example since it gets confusing otherwise
Say I am playing a level 17-20 wizard who wants to use the Clone spell to become immortal, but want a safe ...
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Discouraging the soul-trade
Creatures in D&D have a Soul. This concept is fairly un-explored, though.
In my current open-world game, one of the players has unleashed a number of Devils upon the world. (They are basically on ...
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Are all souls of equal value?
The Monster Manual's Devil entry describes how devils desire souls and enter into contracts with mortals to gain them.
To own a creature's soul is to have absolute control over that creature, and ...
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What happens to a soul corrupted by a succubus?
The lore text on Succubi / Incubi states the following (MM, p. 284; emphasis mine):
A mortal bequeaths its soul to the fiend not by formal pledge or contract. Instead, when a succubus or incubus ...
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Where do you go when you die?
Following in the line of this question, I know quite a bit about V:TM, W:TA, M:TA, and Mummy, but sadly I have almost no knowledge of the rest.
What happens to the spirit/soul of oWOD creatures (...
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Where is a warlock's soul?
In a campaign that I am running, we came upon an interesting question. Where is a warlock's soul? This came about when my players were trying to sneak into a restricted area.
In my world, there is a ...
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How can the agent of a devil "capture" a soul?
Devils always want more souls for the Blood War. Mostly, they get those from lawful evil mortals. But as various lore - and this question What groups of souls go to the Nine Hells according to lore? - ...
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Does the Awaken spell give or create a soul?
The Awaken spell adds sentience - granting 'intelligence' of 10 to either one beast or plant target (one that starts with an int score of 3 or less). It also adds mobility, ambulatory function, ...
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How can I persuade an unwilling soul to become willing?
This question is inspired by this question. In that question, one of the answer explains that you can predict if the soul is willing or not by means of some divination spells. It, however, doesn't ...
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Does a soul being resurrected know what spell is being used?
Specifically, would a soul know that the body they're being invited into was created via Reincarnate? After all, for some souls, changing species might be a big deal, possibly of the 'rather stay dead'...
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Do non-elven gods become more powerful over time?
As far as I understand, gods in the Forgotten Realms become more powerful if they get more souls of their worshippers in the afterlife.
According to Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (p. 37, under "...
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What is a creature's "animating spirit"?
The spell speak with dead says:
You grant the semblance of life and intelligence to a corpse of your choice within range, allowing it to answer the questions you pose. [...]
[...] The corpse knows ...
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Party Paladin sold his soul to an evil goddess. Does he get a new character template now? (ie: deathknight, blackguard, etc.)
A PC died, and in an attempt to have his life spared, my group's paladin decided to offer his soul after he had a talk with the spiritual form of Lolth. Lolth decided to bargain for a trade of his ...
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I have the Blackstaff. How can I be resurrected?
I am playing in a homebrewed setting, not Waterdeep. My DM had my character find the Blackstaff on the body of the leader of a slave owning city where we helped the rebelling slaves. It is modified at ...
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Where do souls go upon death and when are they free to be raised?
Where do souls go when they die in 5e? Is it still an outer plane matching their alignment like in earlier editions? Are the souls of evil creatures going to the lower planes?
The spells that can ...
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Does destroying a Lich's phylactery destroy the soul within it?
The MM entry for a Lich mentions destroying a phylactery is a difficult endeavor but the only way to prevent a Lich from rising again and again.
Does destroying the phylactery destroy the soul within? ...
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Is there any way to trap someone's soul?
I'm playing a wizard and I really want to trap someone's soul. I've thought about casting glyph of warding using magic jar, but I don't want them to be able to escape. Is there any way to do this ...
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Can the True Resurrection spell resurrect a creature that was originally created by True Polymorph from an object?
If you true polymorph an object into a creature, and concentrate until the effect is indefinite, does the pseudo-creature become a valid target for true resurrection?
As I understand, it would be a ...
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Can a soul inside a Ring of Mind Shielding be brought back to life?
One of the traits of the Ring of Mind Shielding is:
If you die while wearing the ring, your soul enters it, unless it already houses a soul. You can remain in the ring or depart for the afterlife. As ...
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Do warforged have souls?
The 5e Unearthed Arcana: Eberron (v1.1) says:
Although they are constructs, they have much in common with living creatures, including emotions and social bonds, and perhaps even souls.
This last ...
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Could a Lich have a Clone spell prepared as insurance for getting its phylactery destroyed?
I'm thinking of using the following setup for a long-term villain in a campaign I'm planning:
A Lich, for whatever reason, has a prepared Clone spell hanging around (maybe paranoia, maybe a forgotten ...
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Does a simulacrum have a soul?
Inspired by this question about healing a simulacrum with magic jar.
We know a simulacrum is a creature, but does it have a soul?
Is that part of what is considered a creature's features and ...
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Interaction between Black Cabin and Ring of Mind Shielding
Spoiler warning: this question contains a spoiler for Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign, a relatively minor one in relation to the main plot but quite an impactful one from player's perspective.
I'm ...
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Has it ever been officially stated how long it takes for a soul to transform into an outsider after death?
Okay, correct me if I’m wrong:
In the Pathfinder Universe, souls travel along the River of Souls after death, then hang around Pharasmas Boneyard for a while, get judged and then get send to ...
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What happens if magic jar ends and the caster's body is undead?
Suppose I cast magic jar and possess a body, then I kill my old body and cast animate dead on it, and after that I break the magic jar.
What happens when the soul returns to the zombified body?
For ...
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What groups of souls go to the Nine Hells according to lore?
The Nine Hells (or Baator) is the Lawful Evil outer plane, and the home plane of devils. It is a plane of eternal punishment for the wicked.
Which souls go there in the afterlife?
I can think that ...
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Does a phylactery keep a devil from getting a soul?
In one of my campaigns, my character is attempting to make a deal with a devil in The Nine Hells. One aspect of this deal is my soul. The devil does something for me, I do something for the devil. ...
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Is there a difference between "soul" and "spirit"?
Some spells and effects deal with a creature's soul, for example the spells astral projection, clone, magic jar, raise dead, resurrection, true ressurection, reincarnate, and the DMG discusses that a ...
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Is a soul or spirit a creature?
The new Unearthed Arcana gives a new option for warlock's patron: The Undead. One of its class feature is Spirit Projection:
Your body is now simply a vessel for your spirit. As an action, you can ...
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Can one capture the 'soul' or 'spirit' of a dying Illithid/mind flayer with a 'Ring of Mind Shielding'?
Do illithids or 'mind flayers' have a spirit &/or soul to be captured in a Ring of Mind Sheilding? This is related to a previous question regarding the mind flayer return to a (previous/humanoid) ...
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Is there a way to bring a Specter back to life?
The Wraith has this ability:
Create Specter. The wraith targets a humanoid within 10 feet of it that has been dead for no longer than 1 minute and died violently. The target's spirit rises as a ...
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Where do dragon souls go after their deaths?
As far as I know, mortal souls go to the plane Fugue and after 100 years Kelemvor sends them to their gods' planes to serve.
But where do dragon souls go? Do Chromatic and Metallic dragon souls go to ...
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Can you force out a soul that is occupying a Ring of Mind Shielding?
Per the description:
If you die while wearing the ring, your soul enters it, unless it already houses a soul. You can remain in the ring or depart for the afterlife. As long as your soul is in the ...
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Can a victim of diablerie's soul be retained within the diablerist?
My latest campaign has reached a rather tragic point, heaved on by diablerie happening more often than it should.
A character's blood bound wife, diablerising that character's childe, was lost to the ...
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How is a soul different from the living creature that it came from?
Short Version
If someone who can cast a spell like Plane Shift or Gate dies, what prevents their soul from simply casting the spell and returning to the Material Plane?
Explanation
From what I can ...
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When a Hexblade warlock uses the Accursed Specter feature on a slain creature but another character casts Soul Cage, which takes priority?
The Hexblade warlock's Accursed Specter feature does not have an action timing specified, and merely says (XGtE, p. 56; emphasis mine):
When you slay a humanoid, you can cause its spirit to rise ...
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