Question about True Resurrection

[Urbannen]

True Resurrection has a range of touch. You don't need an actual body to resurrect someone with True Resurrection. If you are resurrecting someone whose body was completely destroyed, there is nothing to touch. In this case, what is the range of the spell?

I'm running City of the Spider Queen. The module implies that the main villain can cast True Resurrection on her deceased children miles away from where they died, and the children will come back to life somewhere in the vicinity of their deaths. It's a little unclear. (CotSQ is a little fuzzy on the details at times...)

Has anyone seen a ruling on this? RAW, and best guess, I would rule the caster has to be at the location of the death of the target if there is no body or body part.

 

[Corsair]

Interesting, I've never considered that approach before. I've always played that the old body, if it still exists, turns to dust and a new one is formed at the location of the casting.

Though for entertainment value, you could leave the old body too. So you could collect your own corpses, have them stuffed, and put them in a macabre museum, where you have stuffed 'yous' fighting the stuffed corpses of things you've killed.

That would actually be pretty awesome.

 

[Urbannen]

Well, your approach certainly would make things easier for me. The spell description implies that if any portion of the body remains, you would have to seek it out before simply calling out the person's name and personal information.

I guess since this is the only response, this question has not come up much. I think I may submit this one to WotC customer service.

 

[Infiniti2000]

I would base my interpretation on the text of the true resurrection spell. I would say that that overrides the Touch component as reference from raise dead. In other words, it's range Touch if you have a body, but otherwise the new body would appear at your hands (Touch, effectively). That is certainly within the spirit of the spell and the power of its level. It's also justifiable per the text of the spell description.

 

[jaelis]

I would base my interpretation on the text of the true resurrection spell. I would say that that overrides the Touch component as reference from raise dead. In other words, it's range Touch if you have a body, but otherwise the new body would appear at your hands (Touch, effectively). That is certainly within the spirit of the spell and the power of its level. It's also justifiable per the text of the spell description.

/agree

 

[Urbannen]

I like that interpretation. Thank you very much.

BTW, I did contact WotC Customer Service. Although they answered me quickly, the agent obviously didn't understand my question. Sigh:

"In fact, the True Resurrection spell does not have a range. Provided that you can unambiguously identify the body in some fashion (reciting the deceased's time and place of birth or death is the most common method), you should have no trouble completing the spell. The site of resurrection is not specified in the rules and must be decided by your DM."