Is fluff intended by the stat block of the augury spell?


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


Augury has listed as the focus component(s) "(a set of marked sticks or bones worth at least 25 gp)."

Under components in the Magic section of the CRB it says:

Core Rulebook pg. 213 wrote:

Focus (F):

A focus component is a prop of some sort. Unlike a material component, a focus is not consumed when the spell is cast and can be reused. As with material components, the cost for a focus is negligible unless a price is given. Assume that focus components of negligible cost are in your spell component pouch.

My guess is that the marked sticks or bones are tossed out upon the asking of the question that the spell augury is designed to answer, and that they "show" in some manner one of the four possible results as listed in the description. However, it does not explain that to be the case anywhere in the description. Can the fluff of tossing these sticks or bones be assumed by their listing as the reusable focus component of the spell?


If they are listed as the focus, then they are the focus and fall under the focus.

Thus the incense is consumed (the material component) but the bones are not (the focus).

How that focus is used it up the flavor the GM attaches to it, because there is nothing otherwise stated about it.


Augury is so hopelessly limited IMO. As the spell advice guide said, you wasted 25 gp on something that could be answered with common sense. Weal/Woe is even more limited than yes/no.


I won't argue that, as use of spell slots go, augury is hopelessly inept at doing anything of real significance. That aside, my thread title and initial question remain. Do the members of this community believe the inclusion of such a specific focus element is an indicator that some type of fluff description, of the appearance of the sticks or bones, is intended to be offered by the GM upon completion of the spell?


Saying that the fluff includes throwing the bones is fine, but the GM doesn't need to say anything more than "Upon reading the bones, you see that they indicate a fortune of Weal" or whatever in that case, and really even that is optional.


That is how I always thought of it, and I *think* in earlier version of the spell (like v2) it was actually stated that you threw the bones and read the results.

edit: nope, I just looked up 1st and 2nd edition versions, and it never mentioned throwing the sticks, just that you needed them and they were not consumed.

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