Follow the Bloody Trail Spell
Follow the Bloody Trail is legacy third-party investigation magic from the Crime and Punishment rules family. It tracks a creature through an attuned bloodstone rather than through scent, footprints or personal familiarity.
At a Glance
| School | Divination |
|---|---|
| Original level | Inquisitor 2, Lawkeeper 2 |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Components | V, S, M |
| Area | Circle centred on caster |
| Radius | 600 ft. + 60 ft./level |
| Duration | 10 minutes/level |
| Saving Throw | None |
| Spell Resistance | No |
| Material | A bloodstone attuned to the target |
Follow the Bloody Trail by Edition
5.5e / 2024 — No Direct Official Equivalent
There is no official 2024 Follow the Bloody Trail spell. Modern tracking and Locate Creature work differently and do not use a bloodstone as an automatic sympathetic link.
5e / 2014 — No Direct Official Equivalent
The 2014 rules have no direct spell with this bloodtrace procedure. Treat it as legacy third-party magic rather than a variant core Locate Creature rule.
Pathfinder 1e — Third-Party Conversion Only
The spell’s range and divination structure can be adapted easily to PF1e, but it is not a core Pathfinder spell and should remain labelled as third-party material.
Original d20 Rules
The caster uses a bloodstone attuned to one creature. If that creature is within the spell’s radius, the caster can turn slowly and sense the direction in which the target lies.
The spell also reveals the direction in which the target is currently moving, if any.
Unlike legacy Locate Creature, the caster does not need personal familiarity with the target: the bloodstone provides the sympathetic connection instead.
If the target is outside the spell’s range, the spell provides no direction until the caster comes within range while the effect remains active.
What Changed?
- The page is now clearly labelled as legacy third-party material.
- No invented modern conversion is supplied.
- The bloodstone is identified as the key sympathetic link replacing personal familiarity.
- The spell reveals direction and movement, not exact distance, identity details or a visual image of the target.
Using the Spell in Investigations
Follow the Bloody Trail is designed for pursuit after investigators already possess a blood sample and have converted it into a usable bloodstone. It is therefore a second-stage forensic tool rather than a universal creature-finder.
The limited radius still matters. A fleeing target can escape the spell by getting far enough away, forcing investigators to use ordinary tracking, witnesses, divination or repeated movement to reacquire the trail.
Related Magic
Source and Provenance
Source family: Crime and Punishment
Author: Keith Baker
Publisher: Atlas Games
Published: 2003
The spell is referenced by the book’s investigation rules and bloodtrace subsystem.