Level
2nd
Casting Time
1 Action
Range/Area
Self
Components
V, S, M *
Duration
Concentration
10 Minutes
School
Divination
Attack/Save
None
Damage/Effect
Detection
Describe or name an object that is familiar to you. You sense the direction to the object's location, as long as that object is within 1,000 feet of you. If the object is in motion, you know the direction of its movement.
The spell can locate a specific object known to you, as long as you have seen it up close--within 30 feet--at least once. Alternatively, the spell can locate the nearest object of a particular kind, such as a certain kind of apparel, jewelry, furniture, tool, or weapon.
This spell can't locate an object if any thickness of lead, even a thin sheet, blocks a direct path between you and the object.
* - (a forked twig)
Hopefully my keys are within 1,000 feet.
Expertly used by Jester
It says that you can not detect anything beyond a thin sheet of lead but can you use it to simply detect thin sheets of lead? Trying to think of cheesy things to do in a campaign
“object of a particular kind”, so yes, unless that sheet of lead is covered by another sheet of lead, in which case, you would find that one!
So my character is a druid. Im thinking I could go out and find some pretty unique stones then druid craft them into jewelry and sell it to my targets. Then later use locate object to follow them. Thoughts?
You can't make jewelry with Druidcraft, but beyond that it's not a bad idea.
So my dm said I was robbed keep mind I'm a lvl 11 sor/3 wiz divination specialty since I missed two sessions I agreed to his bs reasoning that my character got drunk even though my back round clearly says he doesn't drink unless I make the water or our Pali or druid provide me with a goodberry/water he put me 4 days behind my party we are playing the strahd campaign so from previous interactions I trust no npc unless zone of truth so basically should I go to the original town I was robbed and ask around or send a message to their mayor or chief that if my stuff isn't found I will burn the town and surrounding forest to the ground
Sounds like your DM pulled a Dick move.
So, technically, this could be used to locate the (nearest) safe in a heist? 😈😁
Or: Locate nearest spellbook in the city to "borrow", indefinitely.
Poor Man's Locate Creature: using Locate Object to locate a person by locating clothes they are wearing
Hopefully my DM’s d12 that I borrowed is within 1000 feet or he is gonna kill meeeee
Great discussion here: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?584342-Uses-for-Locate-Object
I especially like using this to evade patrols:
”So, for example, you can detect the nearest stormtrooper uniform within 1000 feet, no questions asked. You even know its exact location (via triangulation), speed, and direction of movement.
Stealth rolls and illusions and walls aren't going to stop you from knowing that X kind of object is within 1000 feet of you. I've seen this used to good effect to foil assassins, trailing targets undetectably for investigations (you can even plant the tracking object yourself), evade search parties or guard patrols, set up brutal ambushes (complete with a fully pre-buffed party and rigged-up terrain), and the like.”
Why does it have a duration?
As this spell will not grant you direct knowledge of an items location, only your distance to it, the duration allows you to pinpoint the item. For large - or distant - objects, it allows you to walk ten minutes away and get a second direction/distance coordinate, to help find a precice heading. For small/closer objects, as you don't know the exact location, it gives a 'hotter/colder' sense while moving through a house/dungeon, trying to pinpoint the floor, room, and then drawer in which the item resides.
That makes sense!
can this spell locate an Item in someone's Bag of Holding? I.E. a thief took out possessions and placed them in his Bag of Holding.
The spell can't locate an item in a bag of holding, because the spell only finds items within 1,000 feet, and items in a bag of holding are actually in an extradimensional space, which is sort of like being on another plane - so it's not within 1,000 feet.
With a range of one thousand feet, you would probably always locate it by the latter method. Triangulating over such a short distance would be pointless unless your access to the area containing the object is restricted. For reference, a Chicago city block is about 330x660, and a New York city block is about 264x900, so the area you're investigating is "roughly two city blocks" and there's probably not that much verticality in most settings.
No, but it could locate the nearest bag of holding, or the specific bag if you've seen it.
Upcasting this spell:
At Higher Levels. If you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the duration is concentration, up to 1 hour. If you use a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the range of this spell becomes 10 miles. If you cast this spell at 9th level, its range becomes the entire plane of existence you are currently on.
(completely made up homebrew, use with discretion)