Critical Role just radically changed an iconic D&D spell for the better

The Seekers arc of Critical Role Campaign 4 has come to an explosive end, but not before Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan revealed an earth-shattering change to a classic Dungeons & Dragons spell — one that I’ll certainly be nabbing for my own games in the future. Last we left off, the Seekers had arrived at a holy temple of Tansul, the Shaper of humankind, and one particularly worshiped by the Sundered Houses of Halovar and Tachonis. There, they discovered that House Tachonis was up to something nefarious regarding the creation of celestials. Unfortunately, the family had also manipulated the Barrowguard of Castle Torch into walking headfirst into a trap. The outcome was that the Seekers were left to deal with waves of freshly undead warriors. However, the fight’s conclusion led to Vaelus (Ashley Johnson) uncovering the body of Pascard Velmonte, who fellow party member Thaisha Lloy (Aabria Iyengar) knew. Eager to seek more information about what happened, Vaelus cast Speak with the Dead and let us get our first taste of the spell and how it works in the war-torn, godless world of Aramán. [Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for episode 18 of Critical Role Campaign 4.] As w