dnd-5e – Reaching Target with Sending Spell When Soul is in Another Body

dnd-5epossessionspells

Snurgle, a 11th level Necromancer, uses the Magic Jar spell to possess the local parish priest, Father Benedict, trapping poor Benedict's soul in an ornate reliquary.

Your body falls into a catatonic state (…) your soul moves into the target's body, and the target's soul becomes trapped

Snurgle's aunt, the witch Emalia (a fifth level wizard), is unaware of these proceedings and tries to contact Snurgle with a Sending spell, to remind him to bring her some blood, bone dust, and rotting flesh when he comes to visit next time.

What happens?

Bonus questions: What happens if Emalia tries to contact Benedict? What happens if the wizard Waldemar visits the parish to obtain some holy water, meets the possessed Benedict without knowing him beforehand or realizing he is possessed, and later tries to contact him with Sending?

Best Answer

Depends on the answer to 2 questions, Likely a DM decision:

The Spell description for Sending states (emphasis mine):

You send a short message of twenty-five words or less to a creature with which you are familiar. The creature hears the message in its mind, recognizes you as the sender if it knows you, and can answer in a like manner immediately.

(I'm assuming Emalia is targetting Snurgle, it just says "him" but Snurgle is a relative while Benedict may not be. Totally read this question wrong at first.)

Question 1: Who or What is Auntie Emalia targeting?

...to a creature with which you are familiar...

and she's attempting to reach "Snurgle"

  • Is that Snurgle, a soul inside Benedicts's body?
  • Snurgle's body? (currently Catatonic somewhere)

A soul may or may not be considered a creature. (See Can a ghost or other incorporeal creature be polymorphed? on a ghost being a creature, the differences between a ghost and a soul may need to be settled)

  • If a soul is a creature, Snurgle would still get messages sent to Snurgle and likely would replace the original body's ability to be targeted by sending (their soul, trapped in the magic jar, ending up as the target) to where Auntie's messages will reach Snurgle.
  • If a soul is not a creature, Sending cannot be cast to send messages to souls directly, relying instead on the body for targeting (possibly receiving messages meant for others) in which Snurgle might be able to receive messages meant for Benedict. Snurgle's body then would receive a message meant for Snurgle, but he's not there to hear it.

Question 2: Are we familiar to Auntie Snargle? (The caster attempting to target Snurgle, not Benedict) How do we define familiarity in 5e? Can't say I've seen a definition in a rule book yet (in this context, we're not talking about wizard/warlock familiar), but a dictionary defines familiar as:

well-acquainted, closely intimate, easily recognized

Which may refer to their physical appearances, though I'd lean more toward the intimate knowledge of history and shared memories etc, which would include more than knowing what they look like. Familiar friends can become unfamiliar over time for example, both in how they act and look.

  • If only considering familiarity of body, sending will target the body regardless of the soul inhabiting it. Snurgle's catatonic body can't hear it.
  • If the shared memories, disposition, and driver of actions (some might consider "soul") is what is meant by familiar, then Snurgle's soul (if targetable) would still be familiar to Emalia and able to receive the message.
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