Is it possible to determine which spells someone has cast on them? Such as I want to know which buffs my enemy has so I know which ones to target with a Dispel Magic. Neither Detect Magic nor Spellcraft state that you can use them to make this determination. So I guess isn't not possible to figure out? Am I missing something?
Knowledge: Arcana. "Identify a spell effect that is in place." DC 20 + spell level. Doesn't work for everything, but any visible effect should be fair game.
Thanks, I knew I was overlooking something obvious.
Knowledge(Arcana) allows you to identify ongoing spell affects. I rule it so that it has to be an observable spell affect though.
I can't prove my ruling as RAI, but it makes sense.
Also, Arcane Sight?
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I generally allow players to cast detect magic, concentrate for three rounds, then make knowledge arcana checks. In combat this usually isn't an option so they need to see some kind of effect then make the check. I'm pretty lenient on what "seeing the effect" means though. For example after the enemy attacks a player I'll allow a single knowledge: arcana to reveal that the BBEG has both heroism and divine favor cast on him (since both added to the attack roll).
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Most GMs will agree that you have to observe the spell in some fashion in order to identify it. What you might have trouble with is getting them to agree on which spells are observable, and how you can observe them. For example, if you attack a caster and express an interest in how the heck a big fat guy in robes avoided your attack, I'll happily open the floor for rolls to discover that he's got Shield and Mage Armor up. But unless somebody's attacked or at least touched the guy, I'm not going to let them know that he's prepared for battle.