Divination • Distant Sight and Hidden Knowledge
Scrying
A witch looks into polished glass or still water and watches a distant quarry who may never know they are observed. Scrying reveals sight and sound through a magical sensor, but familiarity, a lock of hair, magical wards and the victim’s saving throw all determine whether the vision opens. Fifth-edition Scrying requires 10 minutes; the older Pathfinder and D&D 3.5e spells require an hour.
Scrying at a Glance
| 5.5e / 2024 | 5th-level Divination; Bard, Cleric, Druid, Warlock and Wizard; cast 10 minutes; Concentration up to 10 minutes; same plane; Wisdom save |
|---|---|
| 5e / 2014 | 5th-level divination; same five classes; cast 10 minutes; Concentration up to 10 minutes; same plane; Wisdom save |
| Pathfinder 1e | Witch 4, Bard 3, Cleric 5, Druid 4 and Sorcerer/Wizard 4; cast 1 hour; lasts 1 minute/level; Will negates, Spell Resistance yes |
| D&D 3.5e | Bard 3, Cleric 5, Druid 4 and Sorcerer/Wizard 4; cast 1 hour; lasts 1 minute/level; Will negates; Spell Resistance yes |
| Browse | Witch spells • Greater Scrying • Detect Scrying |
Edition boundary: a successful fifth-edition save blocks a new attempt for 24 hours, but the target must be on the same plane. Legacy d20 Scrying can view a creature on another plane, which instead receives a +5 bonus to its Will save. In all four editions, better knowledge and stronger physical connections make the saving throw harder.
Spell Rules by Edition
Scrying — 5.5e / 2024
Official 2024 spell: this is the published fifth-level divination, not a conversion. Wizards of the Coast SRD 5.2.1.
| Spell | 5th-level Divination — Bard, Cleric, Druid, Warlock, Wizard |
|---|---|
| Casting Time | 10 minutes |
| Range | Self; observe a chosen creature on the same plane or a location you have seen |
| Components | V, S, M (a crystal ball, mirror or water-filled font worth at least 1,000 gp; focus not consumed) |
| Duration | Concentration, up to 10 minutes |
| Saving Throw | Wisdom negates for a targeted creature; none for a location |
| Sensor | Invisible and intangible; within 10 feet of a creature and follows it |
| Retry Limit | A successful save prevents this caster’s Scrying against that creature for 24 hours |
Knowledge and Connection — 5.5e / 2024
| Secondhand: heard of the subject | +5 to the target’s Wisdom save |
|---|---|
| Firsthand: met the subject | +0 to the Wisdom save |
| Extensive: know the subject well | −5 to the Wisdom save |
| Likeness or portrait | −2 to the target’s Wisdom save |
|---|---|
| Possession or garment | −4 to the Wisdom save |
| Body part, lock of hair or nail | −10 to the Wisdom save |
Creature targeting. Choose a creature on your plane. The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw without automatically learning the spell’s identity; it merely feels uneasy. On success, nothing appears and you cannot cast Scrying on that creature again for 24 hours. On failure, an Invisible, intangible sensor appears within 10 feet of the creature and follows it, remaining within 10 feet for as long as you Concentrate (up to 10 minutes). You can see and hear as if standing at the sensor. Anyone able to see the sensor perceives a fist-sized luminous orb.
Place targeting. Instead of a creature, you may observe a location you have seen. The sensor appears at that location and stays there rather than following anyone. There is no creature saving throw or knowledge/connection modifier for a chosen place. This spell is remote observation, not remote spellcasting or teleportation.
Scrying — 5e / 2014
Official 2014 spell: this is the published fifth-level divination, not a conversion. Wizards of the Coast SRD 5.1.
| Spell | 5th-level Divination — Bard, Cleric, Druid, Warlock, Wizard |
|---|---|
| Casting Time | 10 minutes |
| Range | Self; observe a chosen creature on the same plane or a location you have seen |
| Components | V, S, M (a focus worth at least 1,000 gp, such as a crystal ball, silver mirror or blessed-water font; not consumed) |
| Duration | Concentration, up to 10 minutes |
| Saving Throw | Wisdom negates for a targeted creature; none for a location |
| Sensor | Invisible and intangible; within 10 feet of a creature and follows it |
| Retry Limit | A successful save prevents this caster’s Scrying against that creature for 24 hours |
Knowledge and Connection — 5e / 2014
| Secondhand: heard of the subject | +5 to the target’s Wisdom save |
|---|---|
| Firsthand: met the subject | +0 to the Wisdom save |
| Familiar: know the subject well | −5 to the Wisdom save |
| Likeness or portrait | −2 to the target’s Wisdom save |
|---|---|
| Possession or garment | −4 to the Wisdom save |
| Body part, lock of hair or nail | −10 to the Wisdom save |
Creature targeting. Choose a creature on your plane. The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw. A creature aware of the casting may voluntarily fail. On a successful save, it cannot be targeted by another Scrying casting from you for 24 hours. On failure, an invisible sensor appears within 10 feet of the target, moves with it, and lets you see and hear its surroundings for the spell’s Concentration duration. A creature that sees invisible objects may perceive the sensor as a fist-sized luminous orb.
Place targeting. Instead of a creature, you may observe a location you have seen. The sensor appears at that location and stays there rather than following anyone. There is no creature saving throw or knowledge/connection modifier for a chosen place. This spell is remote observation, not remote spellcasting or teleportation.
Scrying — Pathfinder 1e
Official Pathfinder spell, including Witch 4. The Witch gains this spell through the Advanced Player’s Guide; the underlying spell comes from the Core Rulebook.
| School | Divination (Scrying) |
|---|---|
| Level | Witch 4 (Advanced Player’s Guide); Bard 3, Cleric 5, Druid 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 4 |
| Casting Time | 1 hour |
| Components | V, S, M/DF (pool of water), F (polished silver mirror worth 1,000 gp) |
| Range | See text; any distance; other planes allowed with a saving-throw penalty to the caster |
| Effect | One magical sensor observing a chosen creature |
| Duration | 1 minute per caster level |
| Saving Throw | Will negates, adjusted by knowledge and connection |
| Spell Resistance | Yes |
Target and warding. Name a specific creature you wish to observe. It can be at any distance, even on another plane; on another plane it receives a +5 bonus to its Will save. Combine the knowledge and physical-connection modifiers below. With no knowledge of the creature you must at least possess a connection to it. Spell Resistance is checked under normal Pathfinder rules. If the target succeeds on the Will save, you cannot scry on it again for at least 24 hours.
Pathfinder Knowledge Modifiers
| Unknown creature, physical connection required | +10 to target’s Will save |
|---|---|
| Secondhand knowledge | +5 to Will save |
| Firsthand knowledge | +0 |
| Familiar creature | −5 to Will save |
Pathfinder Physical Connection Modifiers
| Picture or likeness | −2 to Will save |
|---|---|
| Garment or possession | −4 to Will save |
| Body part, nail or lock of hair | −10 to Will save |
Sensor on a failed save. You can see and hear the subject and the area roughly 10 feet around it, using your visual acuity. A moving subject is followed by the sensor, but the sensor can move no faster than 150 feet. As a special part of Pathfinder Scrying, each of Detect Chaos, Detect Evil, Detect Good, Detect Law, Detect Magic and Message has a 5% chance per caster level to function through the sensor. At caster level 8, that chance is 40% per applicable spell attempt, not guaranteed detection.
Focus and limitations. An arcane caster normally uses a polished silver scrying mirror worth at least 1,000 gp and the listed casting components; other class traditions use the focus options specified in the rulebook. This is a one-hour casting and a creature-targeted sensor, not the fifth-edition ten-minute location-scrying option. Wards, successful Will saves, Spell Resistance and appropriate detection of the sensor can foil the attempt.
Scrying — D&D 3.5e
Official D&D 3.5e spell, not Detect Evil. The subject is observed through a magical sensor, and the caster must spend an hour casting before the vision appears. Published D&D 3.5e SRD rules.
| School | Divination (Scrying) |
|---|---|
| Level | Bard 3, Cleric 5, Druid 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 4 |
| Casting Time | 1 hour |
| Components | V, S, M/DF, F — see material and focus below |
| Range | See text; subject at any distance, even on another plane |
| Effect | Magical sensor observing one creature |
| Duration | 1 minute per caster level |
| Saving Throw | Will negates, modified by knowledge and connection |
| Spell Resistance | Yes |
Target and saving throw. Name a creature you wish to observe. Its distance does not matter; a creature on another plane gains +5 on its Will save. The Games Master applies both modifiers from the two tables. When you have no knowledge of the creature, a physical connection is essential. A successful Will save defeats the spell and prevents another Scrying attempt on that creature by this caster for 24 hours.
| Knowledge: none, but possess a connection | +10 to the target’s Will save |
|---|---|
| Knowledge: secondhand, heard of the subject | +5 to the Will save |
| Knowledge: firsthand, met the subject | +0 |
| Knowledge: familiar, know the subject well | −5 to the Will save |
| Picture or accurate likeness | −2 to the target’s Will save |
|---|---|
| Garment or possession | −4 to the Will save |
| Body part, lock of hair or nail | −10 to the Will save |
Sensor on a failed save. You can see and hear the subject and the surroundings for approximately 10 feet in every direction. If the subject moves, the sensor follows at up to 150 feet of movement. The sensor uses your visual acuity and may transmit selected spells: Detect Chaos, Detect Evil, Detect Good, Detect Law, Detect Magic and Message each have a 5% chance per caster level of working through the sensor. This chance is not automatic detection of alignment auras.
Arcane material component. The eye of a hawk, eagle or roc, plus nitric acid, copper and zinc. Arcane focus. A polished silver mirror worth at least 1,000 gp, at least 2 feet by 4 feet. Cleric focus. A consecrated water font worth at least 100 gp. Druid focus. A natural pool of water. These are different edition-specific requirements from the 1,000-gp fifth-edition focus.
Counterplay. Spell Resistance, the Will save, warding against divination, and appropriate detection or dispelling of the sensor may defeat the attempt. The spell does not reveal evil auras by default, use a cone, scan for three rounds, or follow the area rules of Detect Evil.
What Changed Between Editions?
- 5.5e / 2024: this 5th-level Divination takes 10 minutes to cast and requires Concentration for up to 10 minutes. It calls a closely known creature Extensive knowledge rather than 2014’s Familiar knowledge (both −5 to the target’s save). A creature that saves senses unease without automatically learning the source. The sensor is explicitly Invisible and intangible.
- 5e / 2014: the same level, casting time, 1,000-gp minimum focus and 24-hour retry restriction apply. Its spell description expressly allows a creature aware of the attempt to fail the save voluntarily. A successful saving throw still prevents renewed Scrying against that creature by this caster for 24 hours.
- Pathfinder 1e: official Witch 4, Bard 3, Cleric 5, Druid 4 and Sorcerer/Wizard 4. Casting requires one hour; the sensor persists for one minute per caster level. A target on another plane gains +5 on its Will save; Spell Resistance applies. Certain divinations and Message have a 5% chance per caster level of functioning through the sensor.
- D&D 3.5e: an official Bard 3/Cleric 5/Druid 4/Sorcerer-Wizard 4 spell. It uses the one-hour ritual, cross-planar Will save modifier, specified material and focus components, and the 150-foot sensor-movement limit. It is a remote-vision spell, not an aura-detection cone.
Worked Example: The Watch on the Black Tower
A Witch is trying to locate a missing courier who may have reached the upper chambers of a guarded tower. The party can acquire a portrait, the courier’s cloak or a lock of hair. Choosing a focus and connection before the casting helps determine the chance of success and the information the party can actually gain.
Preparation Before Casting
Identify the quarry. Record whether the caster has only heard the courier’s name, personally met them, or knows them well. Add the modifier for a likeness, a garment or a physical sample; these are modifiers to the target’s saving throw, not free bonuses to the caster.
Protect the casting. The caster needs ten uninterrupted minutes in the fifth-edition rules or a full hour under Pathfinder and 3.5e. After a successful attempt, the vision shows what the sensor can see and hear, not every fact the quarry knows.
5.5e / 2024
A 9th-level Wizard has spell save DC 16. They met the courier once (Firsthand, +0) and possess the courier’s cloak (−4). If the courier normally has +3 on Wisdom saves, the total becomes −1; the courier must roll 17 or higher on a d20 to resist. On failure, an Invisible sensor appears within 10 feet and can follow for as long as the caster maintains Concentration, up to 10 minutes. No creature on another plane can be targeted by this version. If the courier succeeds, another Scrying attempt by this Wizard is barred for 24 hours.
5e / 2014
The same spell save DC, cloak modifier and movement of the sensor apply under 2014 rules. If a friendly courier knowingly expects the casting, the 2014 spell expressly permits voluntary failure, allowing a planned magical meeting without a random save. For a hostile or unaware quarry, make the normal modified Wisdom save. Choosing a place already seen instead of a creature creates a stationary sensor.
Pathfinder 1e
An 8th-level Witch casts Scrying as a 4th-level Witch spell. A courier she knows secondhand gets +5 on the Will save; possession of the courier’s garment provides −4, giving a net +1 modifier to the courier’s normal Will save. If the subject is on another plane, add another +5. The casting takes one hour, and a failed save gives the Witch 8 minutes of observation. Her attempts to use one of the permitted divinations or Message through the sensor succeed on a 40% chance (8 × 5%).
D&D 3.5e
An 8th-level Sorcerer uses a polished silver mirror worth at least 1,000 gp and the required material component, then casts for one hour. If the known courier is secondhand (+5) and the caster possesses a garment (−4), the target has a net +1 Will save modifier, in addition to the creature’s ordinary save. On failure, the sensor can follow at up to 150 feet, for 8 minutes. On another plane the quarry has another +5 to Will, not automatic immunity.
Games Master’s Rulings and Counterplay
Visible clue. To ordinary observers, the watcher appears intent on a mirror, polished glass or pool while the spell operates. Those able to see the invisible sensor may notice a small luminous orb near the watched target.
Target versus location. The two fifth-edition versions allow a place the caster has seen, creating a stationary sensor there, without a creature’s saving throw. The Pathfinder and 3.5e spells instead observe a designated creature; don’t quietly import the fifth-edition location option into them.
Wards. Detect Scrying, Mind Blank and other edition-specific anti-divination magic may reveal or block surveillance. Use the exact ward’s protections, rather than assuming every ward automatically blocks every edition.
Saving throw and retry. Check the selected edition’s knowledge, connection and planar modifiers and record a successful save, which prevents another attempt from that caster for at least 24 hours. Spell Resistance also applies under Pathfinder and 3.5e.
Movement and hearing. An ordinary sensor is not a remote body. It cannot open a locked door, turn a page, carry an item or freely change targets. Fifth-edition sensors follow their subject within 10 feet; legacy sensors follow with their separate 150-foot limit.
Dispelling and disruption. Fifth-edition Concentration can be interrupted during observation, and an appropriately targeted Dispel Magic may end the magical effect. An hour-long legacy casting can be interrupted before it takes hold. Use the particular edition’s rules for how the casting or sensor can be detected and countered.
Mythical Context
In the cosmology of the Mexica, Tezcatlipoca, whose name means “Smoking Mirror”, is bound to obsidian, unseen knowledge, power and the mysteries of fate. His dark reflective emblem offers a fitting mythic counterpart to the sorcerer’s polished glass. The mythology gives the image its meaning; it does not supply the spell’s saving-throw or sensor mechanics.
Historical Context
The traveller Pausanias described mirror divination in the Greek city of Patrae, at a spring associated with Demeter. A mirror was lowered on a cord until its edge touched the water; the viewer then looked for an image said to reveal the condition of a sick person. His account in Description of Greece, Book 7, records a divinatory belief, not proof of successful supernatural observation.
Centuries later, the obsidian mirror associated with John Dee became an object of fascination in England. The British Museum identifies its volcanic-glass origin with Mesoamerica; modern provenance research cautions that the strength of the association with Dee cannot be assumed from later collecting traditions alone.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.21.12–13 — the mirror oracle · British Museum — the obsidian mirror associated with John Dee · Archaeological research on the mirror’s origins
Related Magic
Rules Sources and Licensing
5.5e / 2024: Scrying is a 5th-level Divination found in Wizards of the Coast SRD 5.2.1. 5e / 2014: the corresponding Scrying spell appears in SRD 5.1. Both source documents are published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). This entry reformats and explains their rules and preserves the differing edition terminology, material-focus descriptions and knowledge modifiers.
Pathfinder 1e: Scrying — Core Rulebook; Witch 4 — Advanced Player’s Guide. D&D 3.5e: Scrying — D&D 3.5 System Reference Document. Their mechanics are reproduced as Open Game Content under Open Game License v1.0a. The full licence and inherited Section 15 notices are preserved below.
Content boundary: the game rules drawn from the Pathfinder and 3.5e SRDs are Open Game Content as designated in their respective source material. The existing artwork, the additional illustration, original play examples, history and mythic commentary are not thereby designated as third-party Open Game Content. Rules comparisons have been independently explained rather than presenting one edition’s mechanics as another’s.
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