Can spells such as detect magic, detect evil, and other divinations, be blocked or foiled by darkness?
3rd Round: The strength and location of each aura. If the items or creatures bearing the auras are in line of sight, you can make Knowledge (arcana) skill checks to determine the school of magic involved in each.
3rd Round: The power and location of each aura. If an aura is outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its exact location.
3rd Round: The strength and location of each undead aura. If an aura is outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its exact location.
2nd Round: Number of hazards and the location of each. If a hazard is outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its exact location.
2nd Round: Number of secret doors and the location of each. If an aura is outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its exact location.
And so on and so forth. Now, the line of sight rule.
A line of sight is the same as a Line of Effect but with the additional restriction that that it is blocked by fog, darkness, and other factors that limit normal sight (such as Concealment).
So, most detection spells can pierce solid barriers, such as a wooden door, but are foiled the same if the lights are off?
We had it come up fighting a shadow demon in Deeper Darkness, the paladin cast detect evil and used that to locate it.
So how would you rule that then? GM "It's over that way" PLAYER "Ok, I move that direction swinging until I connect."
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If you don't have line of effect, you usually don't have line of sight either (things like Walls of Force or glass windows might give you line of sight, but not line of effect).
Therefore, you would only get the direction, but not exact location, when you both don't have line of effect or line of sight.
The only time you'd have line of sight, but not line of effect, would be as I noted above, a situation with a wall of force or glass window. In those cases, you could still see what you are targeting.
I don't see the inconsistency or confusion here?
I've always thought of the detection spells as giving a player another sense, not one particularly based on sight. Detect evil allowing you to sense evil without having to actually see it. You just feel it.
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PLAYER "Oh, look at that weird looking outsider, I cast detect evil"
GM "You sense evil, you sense one evil presence in his direction, he's evil."
VS.
PLAYER "I can't see in the dark, I cast detect evil"
GM "You sense evil, you sense one evil presence to the north, OMG the demon eats your face. LOL"
Having line of effect blocked by a door I can understand hindering a spells effectiveness, but the same effect being applied to darkness, where there's nothing between you and the target but air, seems kind of weak-sauce.
So, any helpful comments on how to rule knowing the direction of evil but not it's exact location in the dark?
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same as Scent.
You know the direction of whatever it is you are smelling, but unless you are 5' from it, you can't pinpoint its direction.
Most of the detect spells are 1st or 2nd level (I think a couple are 0 level--I know detect magic is), and as such shouldn't replace sight.
It just allows you to "see" something you normally wouldn't be able to see.
If you can't see, you can detect something, just not which exact square its in.
Same as Scent.
Not the same, at no point do you pinpoint the creature.
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So something that is invisible you would only get a direction since you don't have line of sight?
More or less. You know whether or not the target is within your detection area, but that's about it. Otherwise you have Detect Evil/Magic being able to trumpt Invisibility after a couple rounds.
Edit: Ninja'd by a fish.
