Greetings,
I don't know if there is already a spell or item for this purpose.
What I'm looking for is like scrying, but with the following restrictions or less:
1. It only works if the subject has/wears a certain item. If they discard it or give it to someone else, the scrying fails.
2. It may require an aid similar to those used to improve the chances at making scrying work (e.g., a lock of hair), or perhaps a matching sibling of the subject's required item.
3. It may require a willing subject. (This may be implied if the certain item has to be prepared by the caster and given to the subject, but there's always the question of trickery.)
Barring such a spell, I'm looking for any kind of spell that allows scrying on a willing subject at a lower level than the scrying spell (so, 3 or lower for wizards). I'm willing to port in a 3.5 spell if it isn't utterly imbalanced.
Barring that, if I were to make a custom spell, would the above restrictions be sufficient to make a level 3 version of scrying? If not, what other recommendations would you make (e.g., reduced duration, maximum distance, see but not hear or vice versa)? I'm GM-ing this particular game, and I want to be sure that if a player ends up with the spell that it's well-balanced.
Thanks in advance.