As two actions, you can read the thoughts of certain creatures. When you cast the spell—and as two actions on each turn until the spell ends—you can focus your mind on a creature that you can touch or see within 5 meters of you. If the creature has an Intelligence of −4 or lower or doesn’t speak any language, the creature is unaffected.

You initially learn the surface thoughts of the creature—what is most on its mind in that moment. As two actions, you can either shift your attention to another creature’s thoughts or attempt to probe deeper into the same creature’s mind. If you probe deeper, the target must make a Will saving throw. If it fails, you gain insight into its reasoning (if any), its emotional state, and something that looms large in its mind (such as something it worries over, loves, or hates). If it succeeds, the spell ends. Either way, the target knows that you are probing into its mind, and unless you shift your attention to another creature’s thoughts, the creature can use an action on its turn to repeat the saving throw; if it succeeds, the spell ends.

Questions verbally directed at the target creature naturally shape the course of its thoughts, so this spell is particularly effective as part of an interrogation. You can also use this spell to detect the presence of thinking creatures you can’t see. When you cast the spell or as two actions during the duration, you can search for thoughts within 5 meters of you. The spell can penetrate barriers, but 60 centimeters of stone, 5 centimeters of any metal other than lead, or a thin sheet of lead blocks you. You can’t detect a creature with an Intelligence of 3 or lower or one that doesn’t speak any language.

Once you detect the presence of a creature in this way, you can read its thoughts for the rest of the duration as described above, even if you can’t see it, but it must still be within 5 meters of you.

Augment

You can expend 1 additional mana to plant an idea or memory in the creature’s mind. The creature must remain within 5 meters of you and you must focus on it for 1 minute. After 1 minute the creature must make a Will saving throw or you plant the idea or memory in the creature’s mind as if it were an organic thought or real memory. You choose whether the idea or memory is trivial (such as “I had porridge for breakfast” or “Ale is the worst”) or personality-defining (“I failed to save my village from orc marauders and am therefore a coward” or “Magic is a scourge, so I renounce it”). The idea or memory lasts for 4 hours for each mana expended to cast this spell.