Spells for the Soulful and the True
The following are a collection of spells known only by the most devout and spiritual of people. A lot of them are connected directly to touching a being's soul or binding it to an oath although not all of them are.
Soul Reveal
Divination Cantrip
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Touch
- Components: V, S
- Duration: Instantaneous
You touch a creature. The creature senses your alignment and core beliefs, and also your feelings towards them (affection, hate, indifference, love...). For the next minute, the creature also has advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made to understand you.
Spell lists. Cleric
Sacred Symbol
Illusion Cantrip
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: 30 feet
- Components: V, S, M (a silver coin with your god's likeness or symbol on it)
- Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You create a glowing sacred symbol that hovers in the air within range. The glowing symbol occupies a space no larger than a 5 foot cube, and sheds dim light for 20 feet. This sacred symbol can be:
- Your holy symbol.
- A depiction of your god or of a person or object associated with your god (for example, a famous saint, or a lightning bolt for a storm god).
- Your god's name spelt out in a language you can write.
As a bonus action on your turn, you can move the symbol up to 60 feet to a new spot within range. The sacred symbol winks out if it exceeds the spell’s range.
Spell lists. Cleric
Orbs of Purity
Evocation 1st level spell
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Self
- Components: V, S, M (a glowstone)
- Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You create three glowing orbs of light that begin to hover around your head. These orbs shed bright light and then dim light in a radius around you. The radius of each type of light is of a number of feet equal to 10 times the number of orbs currently active, up to a maximum of 50 feet of bright light and 50 feet of dim light.
Moon-Blessed Cleric by Marta Nael
As a bonus action on your turn, you may command one of the orbs to strike at a creature within 60 feet of you that you can see. You roll a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit the creature takes 1d10 radiant damage. The orb disappears whether or not the attack hits, reducing therefore the radius of each type of light around you by 10 feet. Once you have commanded each orb to strike, the spell ends.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you gain an extra orb for each slot level above 1st.
Spell lists. Cleric, Paladin
Binding Oath
Abjuration 3rd level spell
- Casting Time: 10 minutes
- Range: Touch
- Components: V, S, M (a knot of silver thread)
- Duration: instantaneous
You bind a creature's soul to an oath it speaks. A willing creature you remain touching while you are casting this spell may speak an oath in a language you understand. The oath must begin with the phrase "I swear...".
If the touched creature breaks their oath, they gain one level of exhaustion. You feel it if the oath is broken, and can also sense the location of the creature when they break it. When the creature breaks its oath, the spell ends.
If the spell is dispelled by the dispel magic spell or by other magical means, the oath ends, you feel it but do not sense the creature's location and it suffers no adverse effects.
Spell lists. Cleric, Paladin
Soul Bond
Abjuration 4th level spell
- Casting Time: 1 minute
- Range: Touch
- Components: V, S, M (a silver locket)
- Duration: 24 hours
While casting this spell, you must be touching two willing creatures that can speak a language. You bind the souls of the two creatures, creating a spiritual link between them. As long as this bond exists, the creatures gain the following benefits:
- As long as one of the creatures has 1 or more hitpoints, the other has advantage on death saving throws.
- Each creature can sense whenever the other is hurt or injured, and knows the current hitpoints of the other and their hitpoint maximum.
- Either creature can choose to take 1d10 + its Constitution modifier necrotic damage as an action, the other creature regains a number of hit points equal to twice the necrotic damage taken, once a creature has chosen to do this, it may not do so again until it finishes a long rest.
- Each creature can sense the direction and emotions of the other as long as they are on the same plane of existence. They have advantage on Wisdom (insight) and Wisdom (perception) checks made to understand and find the other creature, and have disadvantage on Charisma (deception) checks made to lie to the other because of this understanding.
- If one of the two creatures dies, the bond is severed and the surviving creature suffers one level of exhaustion and falls unconscious.
The bond is also severed if one of the two creatures is soul bound to another creature or dispel magic is cast on one of the two creatures. If the bond is severed in either of these ways, both creatures feel it as sharp and powerful loss but suffer no adverse effects.
If the same spell is cast on the same targets every day for 1 year, the bond becomes permanent until it is severed.
At higher levels. If this spell is cast with a 9th level spell slot, its effects become permanent.
Spell lists. Cleric, Paladin
Touch Soul
Divination 5th level spell
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Touch
- Components: V, S
- Duration: Instantaneous
You can touch someone's soul. You touch a creature. The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw, which it can choose to fail. If the creature fails the saving throw, you learn the following:
- The creature's alignment, core beliefs and deepest motivations.
- The creature's true name, and its original form if it is a shapechanger or has been transformed or disguised by magic.
- Who the creature hates and who the creature loves.
- You also catch glimpses of the creature's life, at the DM's discretion you may learn some of the creature's "core memories", that form their identity.
Spell lists. Cleric
True Conversion
Enchantment 9th level spell
- Casting Time: 10 minutes
- Range: Touch
- Components: V, S, M (a gem worth 3,000 gp, which the spell consumes)
- Duration: 24 hours
You alter a creature's very soul, converting it to the beliefs and ways of your choosing. You must remain touching a creature while you are casting this spell. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw, which it can choose to fail. It fails automatically if it is unconscious.
You can choose to change the creature's alignment and core beliefs, although the creature retains all of its memories and temperament. For duration, the creature will act in a way concordant with its new alignment and beliefs. For example, it will be more generous and selfless if its alignment is changed to good, more sadistic and cruel if its alignment is turned to evil. A creature altered in this way may desire to change its alignment and beliefs back, but will still act in accordance with its new ones. However, other creatures may enjoy the change, and wish to remain that way.
You may make this spell permanent by casting it every day on a creature for a month.
Spell lists. Cleric
True Oath
Abjuration 8th level spell
- Casting Time: 1 minute
- Range: Touch
- Components: V, S, M (a silver chain worth 2,000 gp, which the spell consumes)
- Duration: Instantaneous
You bind a creature's soul to a powerful oath. A willing creature you remain touching while you are casting this spell may speak an oath in a language you understand. The oath must begin with the phrase "By my life, I do swear...".
For the duration, if the touched creature breaks their oath, they suffer three levels of exhaustion and fall unconscious. You feel it if the oath is broken, and may teleport to an unoccupied space within 30 feet of the creature as a reaction when you do as long as you are both on the same plane of existence.
Spell lists. Cleric
Maliketh, the Black Blade by Is Nino/Nino Is
Consuming Blade
Necromancy cantrip
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Self
- Components: S, M (a melee weapon worth at least 1 sp)
- Duration: 1 round
You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within range of that weapon. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and is then surrounded by deathly energy until the start of your next turn. If the target deals damage to you before then, the target takes 1d4 necrotic damage, and the spell ends.
At Higher Levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d4 necrotic damage to the target on a hit, and the damage the target takes when dealt damage by another creature increases to 2d4. Both damage rolls increase by 1d4 at 11th level (2d4 and 3d4) and again at 17th level (3d4 and 4d4).
Spell lists. Cleric, warlock
Glint the Quicksilver by Alexander Mokhov
Punishing Blade
Evocation cantrip
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Self (5-foot radius)
- Components: S, M (a melee weapon worth at least 1 sp)
- Duration: 1 round
You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and then becomes sheathed in radiant energy until the start of your next turn. If the target deals damage to a creature other than you before then, the target takes 1d6 radiant damage, and the spell ends.
At Higher Levels. At 5th level, the melee attack deals an extra 1d6 radiant damage to the target on a hit, and the damage the target takes for dealing damage to another creature increases to 2d6. Both damage rolls increase by 1d6 at 11th level (2d6 and 3d6) and again at 17th level (3d6 and 4d6).
Spell lists. Cleric
Banishing Light by William Murai
Erase
9th level Evocation spell
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: 90 ft.
- Components: V, S, M (a gem worth 5,000 gp, which the spell consumes)
- Duration: Instantenous
You hurl a blast of purifying light towards a creature you can see in range and attempt to erase them from existence. The creature takes 5d10 + 50 radiant damage. This damage cannot be reduced or prevented in any way.
If this damage reduces the creature to 0 hitpoints, the creature dies instantly and is erased from existence. All traces of the creature's body are gone, not even ashes remain. This erasure is so strong that it even partially erases the creature's last few minutes of existence. When this spell erases a creature, what that creature did in the last 10 minutes is partially erased from history, this means:
- If the target killed any creatures in that time, the killed creatures return to life with an amount of hitpoints equal to half the damage dealt by this spell (rounded down).
- Any creatures damaged by the target but not killed in that time regain an amount of hitpoints equal to half the damage dealt by this spell (rounded down).
- Anything the target did or said in that time is forgotten by all creatures except the creature that cast this spell.
Spell lists. Cleric