Clairvoyance: Do You Hear What I Hear?

Usable By: Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard

Spell Level: 3

School: Divination

Casting Time: 10 minutes

Range: 1 mile

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

Components: V S M (A focus worth at least 100 gp, either a jeweled horn for hearing or a glass eye for seeing)

You create an invisible sensor within range in a location familiar to you (a place you have visited or seen before) or in an obvious location that is unfamiliar to you (such as behind a door, around a corner, or in a grove of trees). The sensor remains in place for the duration, and it can’t be attacked or otherwise interacted with.

When you cast the spell, you choose seeing or hearing. You can use the chosen sense through the sensor as if you were in its space. As your action, you can switch between seeing and hearing.

A creature that can see the sensor (such as a creature benefiting from See Invisibility or Truesight) sees a luminous, intangible orb about the size of your fist.

Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold

Conceptually I like Clairvoyance. As just a word, it defines perceiving beyond the norm into the future, past, the other magical planes. When I think of somebody with the powers that come with clairvoyance, I’m thinking of characters that see into the possible futures, predicting movement and anticipating their foes every move. I think of a person with the tools to see what others can’t, the power to sense the near imperceptible. What do you get to fulfill this fantasy? An eyeball or ear drone that can listen in on some meetings or oversee some shady dealings, and at a tier where lower level spells kind of already do this.

Clairvoyance costs too much for a mile wide, easy to miss reconnaissance tool. The ten minute duration could be eight hours and I’d still be lukewarm on it. With Find Familiar and Invisibility both being absolute legendary tools that can do this spell's job while also doing a dozen or more other things, I can’t get behind devoting a higher level spell slot on this kind of effect. Sure, the distance can matter, and there is a lot less risk associated with casting Clairvoyance. As a cleric or wizard this can be something you just prepare when you know the surveillance is going to come up and forget about it the rest of the time, which is a fine enough floor, but bards and sorcerers are going to find fitting this kind of effect at this cost on their sheet when they need to learn all of their spells to be too much to ask for this kind of niche tool other spells do well enough.

There is value in knowing Clairvoyance exists, especially on clerics who don’t get a ton of out of combat exploration options and who also get to prepare any cleric spells of their choice each long rest. Beyond that, I don’t think you should invest in Clairvoyance when there are an abundant array of options available to lower level characters that can do the snooping thing well.

5e Spells

Clairvoyance: Do You Hear What I Hear?