Magic Pigeon Spell

[darthauthor]

So the spell Magic Pigeon.

1. What if the person you are sending the Magic Pigeon too is dead?

Does the spell just fail and because of 'this' the caster knows the person they were sending the magic pigeon to is dead?
Does the Pigeon fly to the dead body (grave)?
I guess the basics of the question are how the spell works if the recipent is dead.

2. What if the person is underground, like in a mine?
Does the Magic Pigeon rest on top of the surface underwhich the person is beneath them?
Does the Magic Pigeon fly through the mine enterance or some air hole (wherever that may be)?

[Library Ogre]

The Magic Pigeon must be sent to both a place and a person... you can't say "Find Darth Author and tell him that he still owes me $50", you have to say "Go to Milwaukee and tell Darth Author he owes me $50." If Darth Author is not in Milwaukee, well, the pigeon can't tell them that. If Darth Author IS in Milwaukee, it will find him ASAP and tell him.

Now, since it's magic, I lean towards, if the person is dead, their aura is mostly gone, and so the pigeon will treat that as "cannot be found." Darth Author still owes me $50, but because he's dead, my pigeon can't find him to remind him that he better fork over a Grant or I'm gonna get angry. Since he's dead, he also probably doesn't care.

If the person is underground, but not in a dead way? Then the pigeon, provided it was sent to the right place, will go into the mine. If Darth Author is hiding in the sewers of Milwaukee, because he knows he owes me $50, then the pigeon will go looking for him in the sewers. But if he's in the sewers of Kenosha, the pigeon won't find him... it hasn't been sent to the right place.

Incidentally, Darth Author, PM me for my banking details. I want my $50.

[darthauthor]

What about, say, the person is in a coma or death trance?

An Earth Warlock in suspended animation?

A vampire in their grave? Say you did the detective thing and found out about their life before they were turned into a secondary vampire. Found out their real name and a picture of them. Maybe they knew them in person when they met them and tried to keep them away from the vampire but failed.

In the extreme, what if they are underwater, like a Lamurian. Or they are hiding underwater and the bad guys want to give the heroes an ultimatium.

Wow, that is a way out there and highly improbably example.
My first guess is the Magic Pigeon would wait for them over the water. Unless Magic Pigeons can swim as well as fly. I am not opposed to it. The question I would ask myself is if the message of the Magic Pigeon could be heard or read while underwater.

[Library Ogre]

I'd go with "Alive and not impossible to detect", and fudge intelligent undead in as "not technically alive, but alive enough for our purposes." I don't have any problem with the pigeon going into the water... it's not a bird, it's a magical construct. Likewise, I'd let the message be heard. I'm not a fan of "nerfing for edge cases"

[darthauthor]

What happens when a Magic Pigeon shows up and they have a message for someone who is asleep?

[Library Ogre]

It wakes them up. Don't Make the Pigeon Wait!

[eliakon]

It looks to me like the pigeon goes to the location and then... waits there for the duration before fading away.

[Soldier of Od]

Further to other people's responses: in the PFRPG adventure book Island at the Edge of the World, there is a place protected by an anti-magic barrier. During the adventure, an NPC leaves the protected area, and is immediately beset by a "multitude" of magic pigeons that have been waiting outside the anti-magic zone to deliver their messages to him, in some cases "for 20 years".