Limits of Akashic Communion

[Brissan]

One of my PCs has knowledge skills ranging from +24 to +33, and has been using Akashic Communion to gain specific information. The Akashic Record (detailed in the planes environment section) holds knowledge of every event that has ever happened, so reasonably, specific details like "What is the address that X person is at" or "What is the ailment causing X effect which is affecting my ally Y" could be found out. His knowledge bonus, including the +10 insight bonus from the spell, is such that he routinely gets above DC 40 for the knowledge checks for the spell. I have had difficulty justifying any reason for him to not get exactly the information he wants when he words the question carefully and rolls above 40 on his knowledge skill checks.

It seems like a cheap and easy replacement for more powerful spells like Legend Lore or Vision, and more accurate as well since the Akashic Records hold information on everything that has ever happened without any bias of subjective perception. It hasn't exactly been a problem yet, but I can foresee it leading to gaining story information before it is supposed to be found out, potentially causing them to skip large amounts of content.

What are the limits of the knowledge gained? The spell description states,

Akashic Communion wrote:

This spell provides experiential guidance based on your ability to understand the flashes of insight gleaned from the Akashic Record, rather than the perfect knowledge available to those who travel to the extraplanar repository of knowledge.

I'll list some of my main questions:

1. Mechanically, is the information conveyed through brief glimpses of memories and experiences, or does it simply state information? Follow up: would there be any difference in the information gained besides the flavor of experience-vision vs. simply having the information stated?

2. Are there any limits to what the Akashic Records record? From the description of them, it seems they hold literally all knowledge of everything that has ever happened. Would this extend to very specific topics, such as "What person X ate for breakfast on date Y?" From the description of the Akashic Records, it would seem so.

3. Does this spell get around barriers to divination such as Mind Blank, since the information on the subject contained in the Records is absolute and doesn't target them with any overt divination effects?

Apologies for using d20pfsrd, I know it's bad form. I couldn't find the same pages on the offical prd.

[jbadams]

1. You get experential guidance (that is, guidance based on experience or observation) based on flashes of insight. The spell specifically states that you do not get "perfect knowledge", and that "impressions gleaned from the distant repository are sometimes skewed when received".

The rolls are made in secret so that the player doesn't know how well they've done, a really bad result can be "wildly inaccurate" (but doesn't have to be obviously so), and the player can't try again on the same subject for a long time.

My interpretation is that it's left up to GM interpretation. This allows you to control what information you give the player so that you can provide guidance or hints without necessarily ruining plot details.

You can choose to give incomplete or somewhat cryptic information - it's guidance based on potentially skewed impressions! That being said, unless the roll is actually a natural 1, you should give something that's at least potentially useful to reward the player's investment into the spell, skills, and crafting of their questions.

2. It's a perfect record of everything in the multiverse, that's pretty clear that it includes everything without omission, even down to small details like you mentioned.

Any omission or inaccuracy would be a matter of plot outside of the normal rules of the game.

3. Yes, I believe it would "get around" such things - as above, it's a perfect record of the history of everything in the multiverse. Do note however the limitations above - the record is complete and contains everything, but the guidance you give the player may be significantly less complete (although unless their result is very poor it should at least be accurate if interpreted correctly).

[Brissan]

Sounds good, thanks!

[Cevah]

Brissan wrote:

One of my PCs has knowledge skills ranging from +24 to +33, and has been using Akashic Communion to gain specific information. The Akashic Record (detailed in the planes environment section) holds knowledge of every event that has ever happened, so reasonably, specific details like "What is the address that X person is at" or "What is the ailment causing X effect which is affecting my ally Y" could be found out. His knowledge bonus, including the +10 insight bonus from the spell, is such that he routinely gets above DC 40 for the knowledge checks for the spell. I have had difficulty justifying any reason for him to not get exactly the information he wants when he words the question carefully and rolls above 40 on his knowledge skill checks.

It seems like a cheap and easy replacement for more powerful spells like Legend Lore or Vision, and more accurate as well since the Akashic Records hold information on everything that has ever happened without any bias of subjective perception. It hasn't exactly been a problem yet, but I can foresee it leading to gaining story information before it is supposed to be found out, potentially causing them to skip large amounts of content.

What are the limits of the knowledge gained? The spell description states,

Akashic Communion wrote:

This spell provides experiential guidance based on your ability to understand the flashes of insight gleaned from the Akashic Record, rather than the perfect knowledge available to those who travel to the extraplanar repository of knowledge.

I'll list some of my main questions:

1. Mechanically, is the information conveyed through brief glimpses of memories and experiences, or does it simply state information? Follow up: would there be any difference in the information gained besides the flavor of experience-vision vs. simply having the information stated?

2. Are there any limits to what the Akashic Records record? From the description of them, it seems they hold literally all knowledge of everything that has ever happened. Would this extend to very specific topics, such as "What person X ate for breakfast on date Y?" From the description of the Akashic Records, it would seem so.

3. Does this spell get around barriers to divination such as Mind Blank, since the information on the subject contained in the Records is absolute and doesn't target them with any overt divination effects?

Apologies for using d20pfsrd, I know it's bad form. I couldn't find the same pages on the offical prd.

Refined link above to the section. The spell is Akashic Communion

The record is a visual record. No smell, sound, or feel. You see what happens. You have no idea of why.

1) While you can perceive anything, there is no listing of what information you gain by the skill check. You only get a glimpse, and the guidance is needed to understand it. Up to the GM how that understanding is conveyed.

2) Finding the spot where person X ate breakfast on date Y is easy. A visitor consulting the Akashic Record simply turns her attention to the moment she wishes to observe, and it appears before her, not as a two-dimensional image like an illustration on page, but rather all around her, as if she were actually present witnessing the desired moment in history.

3) Mind Blank is irrelevant, since thoughts are not a visual thing.

/cevah

[jbadams]

Cevah wrote:

2) Finding the spot where person X ate breakfast on date Y is easy. A visitor consulting the Akashic Record simply turns her attention to the moment she wishes to observe, and it appears before her, not as a two-dimensional image like an illustration on page, but rather all around her, as if she were actually present witnessing the desired moment in history.

Note that the text you quoted is for "a visitor consulting the record". Akashic Communion explicitly does not work the same way.