[RPG] How to a group find out how to break Imprisonment

dnd-5espells

Mario the Magic Plumber was captured by a big dragon named Bowser one thousand years ago. He used Imprisonment on him and made him sleep for one thousand years. Only the kiss of a real princess could break the curse. How can my group learn about the condition (kiss of a real princess)? I am more familiar with "Das schwarze Auge" and there is a spell called "Analysis" which tells you what kind of spell is laying on a person and how to break it. Is there something like this in D&D? Would detect magic be enough?

During the casting of the spell, in any of its versions, you can
specify a condition that will cause the spell to end and release the
target. The condition can be as specific or as elaborate as you
choose, but the DM must agree that the condition is reasonable and has
a likelihood of coming to pass. The conditions can be based on a
creature’s name, identity, or deity but otherwise must be based on
observable actions or qualities and not based on intangibles such as
level, class, or hit points.

Edit: Thank you for all the answers, all got an upvote :). The heros will find Mario sleeping and by accident in an old building. They have no idea of his backstory or that he even existed. They have a wizard and a cleric with them,and it is important that Mario helps them to defeat the evil Wario. So they need to find out why Mario is sleeping and how wake him up. Thank you for your advise, nobody know about Mario anymore and I think I will go with the "Identify" spell, which tells everything about the casted Imprisonment spell.

Best Answer

D&D 5e doesn't have a one-stop-shop for this

Starting from finding a person, the relevant player options tools (ie. spells etc.) are:

  • Detect magic which will tell that a spell is affecting Mario, and that it is an abjuration spell.

  • Identify can tell you that the spell affecting Mario is an imprisonment spell:

    If you instead touch a creature throughout the casting, you learn what spells, if any, are currently affecting it.

    There isn't anything in identify which tells you what mode the spell is in, so adding that would be DM allowance (which you may well want to do, to get the game to move forwards).

  • Knowing how a given spell works and that there might be a given condition for breaking it might require an Intelligence (Arcana) check

    Your Intelligence (Arcana) check measures your ability to recall lore about spells, [...]

    Player's Handbook, p. 177

  • Once you know there's an imprisonment spell and it is breakable by some unknown condition, you basically need to obtain information which has been lost as a result of time. There's no end to the methods by which one can obtain this, but starting a short-list:

    • If the story lives on, an Intelligence (History) check may be sufficient

    • If the story is recorded somewhere they can go there and find it. (This can very easily be a adventure hook for a dungeon or similar)

    • Then there are spells for obtaining information: legend lore is probably the best bet, as it gives information about any legendary items, places, or persons.

      Name or describe a person, place, or object. The spell brings to your mind a brief summary of the significant lore about the thing you named. The lore might consist of current tales, forgotten stories, or even secret lore that has never been widely known.


†: You (or your DM) are going to have to decide exactly how the imprisonment line:

Divination spells can't locate or perceive the target.

interacts with these Divination school spells which are finding out things about the target, but does not try to find it, or see it for you. Assuming you want the players to solve this it should be fairly easy to make it work.

‡: Note that identify requires you to touch the creature, which might be difficult with some forms of imprisonment. If they're just asleep somewhere this shouldn't be a problem.