Inaccurate?

Omen of Peril

(Spell Compendium, p. 149)

Divination
Level: Cleric 1, Druid 1, Ranger 1, Liberation 1,
Components: V, DF,
Casting Time: 1 round
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous

A brief supplication gives you a vision that hints at how dangerous the immediate future is likely to be.

Based on an assessment of your immediate surroundings and chosen path of travel, you receive one of three visions that reflect the next hour's journey: safety, peril, or great danger.

The base chance for receiving an accurate reply is 70% +1% per caster level, to a maximum of 90%; the DM makes the roll secretly.

If the omen of peril is successful, you get one of three visions, which lasts just a second or two.

  • Safety: You aren't in any immediate danger. If you continue on your present course (or remain where you are if you have been stationary for some time before casting the spell), you will face no significant monsters, traps, or other challenges for the next hour or so.
  • Peril: You will face challenges typical of an adventure: challenging but not overwhelming monsters, dangerous traps, and other hazards for the next hour or so.
  • Great Danger: Your very life is at grave risk. You will likely face powerful NPCs or deadly traps in the next hour.

If the roll fails, you get one of the two incorrect results, determined randomly by the DM, and you don't necessarily know that you failed because the DM rolls secretly.

Choosing which vision is "correct" takes some educated guesswork on the part of the DM, who should assess the characters' likely courses of action and what dangers they're likely to face.

The exact form that an omen of peril takes depends on whether you worship a specific deity, venerate nature as a druid, or simply uphold abstract principles. A druid might see a white dove for safety, a dark cloud obscuring the sun for peril, and a forest fire for great danger. A cleric of Fharlanghn might get a vision of a straight road for safety, a crossroads for peril, and a washed-out bridge for great danger.

Unlike the more powerful augury spell (PH 202), an omen of peril doesn't respond to a specific question. It indicates only the level of danger likely for the next hour, not what form the danger will take.

Focus: A set of marked sticks, bones, or similar tokens worth at least 25 gp.