Delacroix’s Non-Apology

2nd-level Marketing & Optics

Casting Time: 1 action, drafted by legal before it is read by the caster
Range/Area: One publicized incident
Components: V, S, M (a statement containing the phrase “mistakes were made,” consumed)
Duration: Instantaneous
Classes: CEO, Communications Lead, General Counsel

You issue a statement, shaped like an apology, that concedes no fault and commits to no specific remedy. Any creature who hears or reads the statement perceives it as contrition, though it grants no advantage to a later Discovery saving throw attempting to establish who was actually responsible for the incident — the statement’s language is constructed to be equally useless as evidence in either direction.

This spell has no effect on the underlying incident, its cause, or its consequences, and does not by itself grant the Documented status to anything the statement contains.

At Higher Levels. When cast using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, casting this spell within 24 hours of the precipitating event reduces the casting time of a subsequent Crisis Management spell targeting the same incident to 1 action, with no lead time required.

Flavor: “We hold ourselves to the highest standards, and we take full accountability for ensuring this conversation continues.” — statement, issued once