Magic is one area I've found GMs LOVE to mess with people. Would anyone care to offer some advice on how to approach an item where a successful use of detect magic was made? My GM is the type to only give out the least amount of information he can get away with and often my attempts to interact with magic come back to bite me in the ass. I know there's nothing wrong with my GMs stance or that magic is tricky business. That said, how do I use the built in game mechanics to get more information other than "you detect a strong necromatic aura" so I can have some actually useful information with which I can proceed to intelligently interact with an item or situation? The types of information I am looking for is things like "if I touch this will it hurt me?" and "what kind of affects are in effect in x situation and how do they function?" Am I looking for something that isn't possible per the Pathfinder RAW? If not, besides using spellcraft and detect magic how can my character ascertain the more fine grained details of the magic he encounters?
Thanks!
Magic is one area I've found GMs LOVE to mess with people. Would anyone care to offer some advice on how to approach an item where a successful use of detect magic was made? My GM is the type to only give out the least amount of information he can get away with and often my attempts to interact with magic come back to bite me in the ass. I know there's nothing wrong with my GMs stance or that magic is tricky business. That said, how do I use the built in game mechanics to get more information other than "you detect a strong necromatic aura" so I can have some actually useful information with which I can proceed to intelligently interact with an item or situation? The types of information I am looking for is things like "if I touch this will it hurt me?" and "what kind of affects are in effect in x situation and how do they function?" Am I looking for something that isn't possible per the Pathfinder RAW? If not, besides using spellcraft and detect magic how can my character ascertain the more fine grained details of the magic he encounters?
Thanks!
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/spellcraft
Identify the properties of a magic item using detect magic 15 + item's caster level.
Determine Properties of Magic Item: Attempting to ascertain the properties of a magic item takes 3 rounds per item to be identified and you must be able to thoroughly examine the object.
Cast Detect Magic, roll Spellcraft!, show him the rules, ???, WIN
Also, a UMD check can activate the item to find out what it does.
or a Knowledge Arcana can identify the item straight out!
Thanks, Akeaka. Would the same usages be valid for non-magical yet magically altered items? For example, if a door has a magical trap on it to cast a fireball if touched/attempted-to-be-opened or if a sword has been altered in such a way as to make a person fall unconscious/sick/whatever if they touch it/come within a certain range of it/other condition here. In the later example, would the sword have to be a bona fide "magical item" for such an effect?
I would say both those examples are wonderful examples of magical traps.
Detect Magic should detect the fireball trap, however there are ways to mask a magic aura, so don't be too sure. The rogue or anyone with perception could still be able to see it though.
The sword... i dunno if that's even possible by RAW, but the beauty of magic traps is that anything is possible really. Sounds like a pretty nasty and high level trap though, so would definitely have an aura too. However most people that see "oh look, sword is magical" don't think "oops maybe its a trap" at first. :)
I would say both those examples are wonderful examples of magical traps.
Detect Magic should detect the fireball trap, however there are ways to mask a magic aura, so don't be too sure. The rogue or anyone with perception could still be able to see it though.The sword... i dunno if that's even possible by RAW, but the beauty of magic traps is that anything is possible really. Sounds like a pretty nasty and high level trap though, so would definitely have an aura too. However most people that see "oh look, sword is magical" don't think "oops maybe its a trap" at first. :)
Traps are something my GM loves so perhaps I'm just conditioned to expect them. ;)