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So my GM and I got into a little bit of a dispute about this and I figured I would pick yall's brains. When using detect magic or arcane sight and focusing on an illusion such as major image do you get the fact that it is illusion magic or does the magic hide that aura? Also if you do get illusion magic from the illusion do you also sense illusion magic when focusing on something invisible? Just kinda curious about that, if I need to be more specific just let me know... thanks!
You'd have to wait the 3 rounds to get that much detail, but I've never seen anything in the rules stating exceptions for those two situations. A spell is a spell, and detect magic will find magical auras from spells.
Alright, but on something like Arcane Sight don't you only have to make a spellcraft check? I'm not exactly sure how that works...
The illusion is still there, you don't get to ignore it unless you make the save throw. Even if it is an illusion magic aura that doesn't tell you exactly what is going on (for example the illusion might be simply hiding the original magic, or it could be an illusion of something less dangerous than what is there).
Now you might get the GM to rule that observing the illusion with detect magic or arcane eyes counts as interacting with it, which would allow you to make the save, but the save still has to be made.
Righto. As a DM, I tend to rule that knowing its an illusion is enough to make a save, but thats not strictly raw. You don't get to simply pass the spell by knowing.
Alright, so just to make sure I'm getting this right, I can figure out that it's and illusion with Arcane Sight but I won't know what illusion spell it is, and I won't be able to make a save against it unless i interact with it... unless my GM says otherwise?
If you use detect magic or a similiar ability you know there is magic within your cone and eventually the location of the auras in question. If you succeed on a Knowledge (arcana) check you identify the school of magic the aura belongs to, if any (DC 15 + spell level). Thus, if you check the effects of a major image spell, then you will see that it is magic and know that the figment is of the illusion school with a DC 18 Knowledge (arcana) check, but not the specific spell; it could be any illusion. With a DC 20 + spell level Knowledge (arcana) check you could identify a spell effect that is in place (23 to identify the spell as major image); the final check does not even require a detect magic ability, it is merely a use of the Knowledge (arcana) skill.
If something is invisible via magic and is in your detection area, then you would register the location of a magic aura and could identify it as above.
In short, illusions do not hide their own aura's from detection, I'm afraid.
EDIT: For spelling.
Alright, thanks everyone that's what I needed to know!
Right, so when making the Spellcraft check to determine the aura, do I have to use an action to do that? So for example I've got Arcane Sight on and we are ambushed by a group of Ogres. My Arcane sight picks up an aura from each of them and I focus on one to determine what the aura is... do I have to use an action to do that or do i get it for free as long as i can make the check?
Detect Magic tells you the school of magic, but not the exact spell. It also detects auras of spells which can linger after a spell is gone. As an example invisibility is an illusion spell so the aura could mean something is invisible or that what you see is not really there. If an illusion spell was cast there recently it may also pick that up.
Lingering Aura: A magical aura lingers after its original source dissipates (in the case of a spell) or is destroyed (in the case of a magic item). If detect magic is cast and directed at such a location, the spell indicates an aura strength of dim (even weaker than a faint aura). How long the aura lingers at this dim level depends on its original power:
Spellcraft checks should be done as a part of the spell IIRC.
My understanding is that it is a free check, much like a knowledge check, but I am not currently sure that anything in RAW specifically states this.
Alright well if it's a free check and there are seven different auras in the area do i get the check on each of them or just one a round?
Right, so when making the Spellcraft check to determine the aura, do I have to use an action to do that? So for example I've got Arcane Sight on and we are ambushed by a group of Ogres. My Arcane sight picks up an aura from each of them and I focus on one to determine what the aura is... do I have to use an action to do that or do i get it for free as long as i can make the check?
It is a Knowledge (arcana) check to identify auras with detect magic. DC 15 + spell level or DC 15 + 1/2 CL of an item.
It is a Knowledge (arcana) check to identify a spell in place. DC 20 + spell level.
It is a Spellcraft check to determine a spell currently being cast. DC 15 + spell level.
All checks are reactive and take no actions unless otherwise stated.
Alright, ya the reason I was wanting to know is because I plan on putting Arcane Sight permanently on my wizard and I wanted to know if I would be able to tell auras quickly or not... mainly cause the spell says it doesn't take the normal 3 rounds detect magic does to determine strength and location...
I would say the checks take no time at all. I do know the check is reactive so it should be immediate.
except my players DO walk around with detect magic on all the time lol. The rogue even wanted a bracelet of detect magic constant.
And that means that a 0-level spell or a 3rd level spell can easily detect and render almost useless an 8th level spell such as Screen?
It takes time to keep casting that spell. I have done it also, but not when a quest had a time limit.
It makes mask dweomer pretty valuable, although it only functions for spells that have a creature or object as a target, like glamers, but unfortunately not most figments.