Testimony of the Broken Window Spell
Testimony of the Broken Window is a third-party legacy necromancy spell from Crime and Punishment (Atlas Games, 2003). It reveals the final scene seen by a dead creature during its last round of life.
At a Glance
| School | Necromancy |
|---|---|
| Original level | Cleric 1, Inquisitor 0, Necromancer 0 |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Components | V, S |
| Range | Touch |
| Target | One dead creature |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw | None |
| Spell Resistance | No |
| Source | Crime and Punishment, Keith Baker, Atlas Games, 2003 |
Testimony of the Broken Window by Edition
5.5e / 2024 — No Direct Official Equivalent
There is no official 2024 spell that shows the last image seen by a corpse. The nearest investigative necromancy is Speak with Dead, but that spell asks questions rather than replaying a visual imprint.
5e / 2014 — No Direct Official Equivalent
The 2014 spell list likewise has no direct equivalent. Do not treat this legacy spell as a variant of Speak with Dead or as an official divination option.
Pathfinder 1e — Third-Party Conversion Only
This is not a core Pathfinder spell. Its legacy Spot/Search procedure can be adapted to Perception and related skills, but doing so is a conversion rather than a core PF1e rule.
Original d20 Rules
Touch one corpse. You see what the dead creature saw during its final round of life.
You may make Spot or Search checks to study details in the brief image, but take a –4 circumstance penalty because the impression is fleeting.
The spell cannot target a corpse that has already been used by Absorb Revenant or turned into an undead creature.
What Changed?
- The spell is now clearly identified as legacy third-party material.
- No invented 5e/2014 or 5.5e/2024 version is supplied.
- The one-round visual limit and –4 observation penalty are preserved.
- The relationship to Final Vision is clarified: this is the shorter, simpler effect.
- Modern readers are directed to Speak with Dead only as the nearest official investigative necromancy, not as the same spell.
Testimony of the Broken Window and Final Vision
Final Vision is the more powerful descendant of this idea. Testimony of the Broken Window gives one brief final image; Final Vision can replay multiple rounds of sight and sound by concentrating backward from the moment of death.
Using the Spell in Investigations
The spell works best as a clue generator. The victim may have been facing away from the killer, blinded by smoke, looking at the wrong doorway, or staring at an apparently meaningless object that only becomes important later.
Because the caster sees only what the victim saw, the spell should not reveal names, motives, unseen attackers, thoughts or events outside the victim’s field of view.
Source and Provenance
Source: Crime and Punishment
Author: Keith Baker
Publisher: Atlas Games
Published: 2003
This page preserves the spell as legacy third-party d20 material and does not present it as an official spell from later editions.
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