I am of the opinion that the classic surprise - "skeleton in the corner suddenly animates and attacks!" can be thwarted with a well placed and focused detect magic.
Is there any thing in the rule that supports this?
I feel like undead are constantly radiating magic (necromancy).
Does any one have anything to support that this is or is not true to form?
Thanks for your time.
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Unfortunately, no this does not appear to be the case. Animate dead is an instantaneous spell, and as such you would only notice its lingering aura if it was cast in the last 1d6 rounds (longer if we are talking about a higher level spell, but still a finite amount of time for something that can wait in a crypt for periods dictated by geological forces).
There are also plenty of undead which are not made by necromancy spells, but are instead natural occurances due to mortal souls/emotions/...things. Undead pulse with negative energy, not necromancy.
Plus, it would also allow you to use a cantrip to replicate the effects of a 1st level spell. There is a reason why detect undead is its own thing, and it is a much more powerful thing. I feel that this is one of the most effective counters to this argument.
I totally agree with what you've said lemeres, but it's not completely out of the realm of cantrips to do this. If you want to detect if that skeleton in the corner is an undead with a 0-level spell, try lobbing a Disrupt Undead at it and see if it sizzles or fizzles. If it has any effect when you hit, it's an undead!
