D&D 5E "Locate Object" Abuse?

Just take a cue from Voldemort. The paths of necromancy bring endless possibilities...

...because M-A-G-I-C...

One thing I think needs emphasis is that DMs need to anticipate the use of powerful (and not so powerful) divination spells. They're part of the universe and should be embraced (and prepared appropriately for) in that spirit. I'm not opposed to their use, but they should be used within their rules bounds. Many important items would be protected from casual detection from common divination spells but circumstances and careful preparation can undo those precautions. One of the trickiest things you can do as a DM is to run divination in a way that provides appropriate info while maintaining some level of mystery...

Given how easy it is to foil the spell, I'm comfortable letting the spell work on any object which can be uniquely identified.

Seriously, a thousand feet? The only time a lich should ever be within a mile of its phylactery is when it has just rejuvenated, at which point their first order of business is to teleport away so that nobody sees them leaving.

Satyrn said:

See, I think I'd rule that they could use the spell to search for something that is described as a noun, only. Necklace, not silver necklace. Box, not lead box. That sort of thing. Although maybe that becomes too limiting . . .

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That's a trick with language-dependent results, which might be appropriate for some magic (e.g. command) but seems counterintuitive for this one. Some languages, like English and German, have a lot of specific nouns for specific things. If I can't search for a "lead box", I can search for a "safe". Other languages, like Mandarin, make much more extensive use of adjectival phrases. I don't know if Mandarin happens to have a specific word for "safe", but given what I do know of the language it would not surprise me in the slightest if the phrase they used was in fact "lead box" or something similar. (EDIT: Looks like it's "risk protection box".)

In general, I think all y'all may be overthinking this with your semantics. The basic problem with the lich's phylactery is that the party couldn't identify it even if it was sitting right in front of them. And locate object is not identify. The spell gives no special insight into the nature of objects -- it just goes out and looks for something. Imagine sending out an invisible, intangible, very fast servant to search the area. So I'd let it find a "container of wine" and "cultist robes" because those are clearly identifiable as such to ordinary senses. If you had one of those things in your hand, you'd know it. But a phylactery is beyond this magic.

My players have reached a level where they can liberally make use of divination spells. So I have started adding unscryable or warded locations to my campaign, so that not everything can be discovered quite so easily. What Lich wouldn't take the time to ward their lair against divination spells?

Saelorn said:

Given how easy it is to foil the spell, I'm comfortable letting the spell work on any object which can be uniquely identified.

Seriously, a thousand feet? The only time a lich should ever be within a mile of its phylactery is when it has just rejuvenated, at which point their first order of business is to teleport away so that nobody sees them leaving.

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That's where I sit with this. Locate Object is fine, and mostly it depends on the narrative. If this Lich is BBEG and supposed to be tough to kill, his phylactery is likely far away, in a demi-plane, or what have you. If its Red-Shirt-Lich #7, who cares? Phylactery is that small box thing with evil silver runes all over it on the nightstand.