Personal Houserule? Illusions auto-beat detect magic. I've also said detect magic can NOT see through anything. You cannot see the hidden magic dagger's aura concealed under the assassin's jacket you goddamn ridiculous useful cantrip! You hear me!
I think detect magic can detect meld into stone. It is a functioning spell BUT the magic is arguably hidden behind the face of the stone (since the spell states "Nothing that goes on outside the stone can be seen" so I'd interpret that to mean you can't be seen either) and I don't let detect magic see through walls or anything. So if you as GM REALLY wanted meld into stone to be undetectable I wouldn't find it outrageous.
In game I have let detect magic see the aura from meld into stone. Though the person within the stone was casting magic every round also. It was funny seeing the reaction from the players. They thought the stone was magical lol. It seemed especially fair since the wizard was wasting time with a concentration spell and not buffing. Meld into stone is usually a precursor to an ambush not a good way to hide.
Perhaps it should remain invisible to detect magic so long as the person in the stone takes no other magical actions.
Definitely the aura from the spell should be detected as a dim aura for 1d6 rounds after casting outside the stone so if the PCs get there fast enough detect magic should be a viable strategy.
My houserule for dealing with illusions and detect magic is to have the caster detecting magic make a Will save to disbelieve any illusion he sees while casting DM. If he fails the save, he doesn't detect any magic, let alone the illusion since the illusion has fooled him.
Detect magic works through one foot of stone but no more. The meld into stone spell states that you remain in touch with the surface, so yes, detect magic will detect a faint aura. However, you aren't in line of sight, so what type of magic can't be determined. The only thing the spell would tell is that there's a faint magic aura from the stone.
Personal Houserule? Illusions auto-beat detect magic. I've also said detect magic can NOT see through anything. You cannot see the hidden magic dagger's aura concealed under the assassin's jacket you goddamn ridiculous useful cantrip! You hear me!
Raw, you'd have to concentrate for 18 seconds to find out that there is a magic aura there. If it's a dagger, lucky charm, or his familiar you can't know. You'd only know there's a faint magic aura.
Raw, you'd have to concentrate for 18 seconds to find out that there is a magic aura there. If it's a dagger, lucky charm, or his familiar you can't know. You'd only know there's a faint magic aura.
?? First round. PRESENSE of magical auras. That's the tip off. Granted it depends on the circumstance but when the assassin enters the room and poof suddenly there's a new magic aura there the idea it'd take 3 rounds to figure it out is stupid. Don't forget it's a cone effect as well. You know the aura is coming from where you're looking. The problem is seeing it on him at all. Not that you can pinpoint where under his jacket it is. As for whether or not it's faint that depends on the dagger.
Oh right the paranoid PCs won't know if it's his lucky charm. I'm sure because they're total idiots they won't do anything at all and completely ignore it.... that was sarcasm. I know tone is hard to read via text. It puts them on guard.
It works against PCs too. You want to use your sleight of hand to sneak that weapon in? Too bad it lights up like a christmas tree to any decent security.
18 seconds is plenty of time if the assassin was going to bide his time like a real assassin would and not attack the instant he enters the room like an idiot.
Anyways disregarding that specific example x-ray vision of magical effects is stupidly useful for an at will cantrip. It also means every meaningful stone wall is built with a thin sheet of lead mostly to defeat a cantrip. A single cantrip affects the construction of every secure building in the world. That's too powerful.
P.S. Yes I know there's magic aura. That should exist to defeat things like arcane sight not a cantrip!
?? First round. PRESENSE of magical auras. That's the tip off. Granted it depends on the circumstance but when the assassin enters the room
In a world like Golarion, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, or Eberron, having a magic aura isn't excactly uncommon. Even a 2nd or 3rd level commoner might be able to buy a magic tool of his proffession, before an assassin can afford a magical weapon. If the PC's are going to be nervous about every single magic aura they see, they'll have a big problem. And that works both ways - sure, a certain place might have a rule against magic items in general, but then you'll just have to use a non-magical dagger. It's only a 1 damage difference for a +1 weapon, and by the time you've got more than a +1 weapon, everybody of importance will have several magic auras on them.
An assassin won't have access to magical weaponry if they are less than 4th level. A 4th level commoner, say a carpenter, might very well have a magical hammer granting him a +2 bonus on craft (carpentry).
Sure, the 16th level assassin will have a hard time going by as a beggar if the wizard detects magic all the time, but I don't really see that as a big issue.
Anyways disregarding that specific example x-ray vision of magical effects is stupidly useful for an at will cantrip. It also means every meaningful stone wall is built with a thin sheet of lead mostly to defeat a cantrip.
How often is it actually a problem though? I mean, I can see the problem when it comes to magical traps, and I can see why a high-level lich's fortress might cover their stone walls in lead, but I don't really think the local bandits are going to worry about detect magic.
tl;dr - by the time detect magic gets really useful, so many people will have magic items or effects that it won't be that useful, especially since it takes so much time.
Even a 2nd or 3rd level commoner might be able to buy a magic tool of his proffession,
The very rich 2nd or 3rd level commoner. 2nd or 3rd level adventurers can't afford Core magic items (maybe a 3rd level adventurer).
Even a 2nd or 3rd level commoner might be able to buy a magic tool of his proffession,The very rich 2nd or 3rd level commoner. 2nd or 3rd level adventurers can't afford Core magic items.
The items listed in the book are extremely focused for adventuring, naturally. One would think that magic is used outside of adventuring too, and following the guidelines for pricing magic items, a magic hammer that gives a +2 competence bonus to craft (carpentry) would cost 450 gp - well within reach for a 3rd level commoner (780gp according to guidelines). A +1 tool would cost 150 gp, well within reach for a 2nd level commoner. EDIT: And they could surely have a core magic item. It wouldn't be too far-fetched if you're in a line of work with much accidents or if you're travelling a lot, to have a potion of cure light wounds on your body in case of emergency.
I guess you can see the issue with the assassin like this: Magic is a voluntary choice. People assassinate each other IRL without magic, and can do so in game too (coup de grace). Magic is a tool, but is kinda like choosing between using a rocket launcher or a knife IRL. It can be really useful, but is also less subtle due to things like detect magic. If you can get around that issue, which any good assassin should be able to (via having a thick lead sheet or via bluffs or diplomacy - for example bragging about his new magical hat which can change color whenever he wants, or by pretending to be a wizardly merchant instead of a carpenter or whatever), magic can be of great assistance and might be nearly required against very powerful targets (a knife won't do much good if you're going to kill someone in a tank), but it should still be used with care.
Anyway I don't think an assassin should be reliant on a simple +1 to damage to kill someone, and as I said before, a +2 weapon is out of question for an NPC of less than 9 levels (and isn't recommended before level 12). By then, there's so many ways to stop a character from relying on detect magic to see if the assassin's after him, and most people they meet by then will be so decked out in magic it won't be reliable anyway.
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Anyone has some house rules about detect magic?
I'm really tired of my players doing this all the time.
Can't you just say whatever magic item was created with the Magic Aura spell? We're currently playing the 1 on 1 adventure The Shroud of Olindor and the shroud was made with that spell so that it never gives off an aura. It's a magical item for sneaky types, so not giving off an aura is important.
Can't you just say whatever magic item was created with the Magic Aura spell
Anyone has some house rules about detect magic?
I'm really tired of my players doing this all the time.
That's also a simple solution. Any assassin who has enough money for a magic weapon can certainly pay a wizard the 10 gp for the spell.
I do however agree that it can be a problem with traps and illusions. However, there's probably practical solutions to that to. Magic aura is one, covering a magical trap in a simple mechanic that's got a lead cover is one.