I have an inquisitor in my party with Detect Alignment and a good perception score. The haunt rules state:
"Detect undead or detect alignment spells of the appropriate type allow an observer a chance to notice a haunt even before it manifests (allowing that character the appropriate check to notice the haunt, but at a –4 penalty)."
Since she pretty much always has Detect Evil on, she notices a lot of haunts before they manifest. My question is, can she now positive energy the not-yet-manifested haunt into oblivion, basically using a wand of cure light wounds to exorcise every haunt she discovers?
Make sure she knows that using a detect alignment ability is costing her a standard action every round, (outside of combat that will mean no running)
If she declares almost any other action, it means she has stopped concentrating on the detect evil.
Concentration: The spell lasts as long as you concentrate on it. Concentrating to maintain a spell is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Anything that could break your concentration when casting a spell can also break your concentration while you're maintaining one, causing the spell to end. See concentration.
You can't cast a spell while concentrating on another one. Some spells last for a short time after you cease concentrating.
Unless she has some ability to ignore this requirement.
For your question on the haunts, from my read, a haunt is not vulnerable to positive energy before it manifests unless it explicitly says so under weaknesses.
On the surprise round in which a haunt manifests, positive energy applied to the haunt (via channeled energy, cure spells, and the like) can damage the haunt's hit points (a haunt never gains a Will save to lessen the damage done by such effects, and attacks that require a successful attack roll to work must strike AC 10 in order to affect the haunt and not merely the physical structure it inhabits). Unless the haunt has an unusual weakness, no other form of attack can reduce its hit points. If the haunt is reduced to 0 hit points by positive energy, it is neutralized—if this occurs before the haunt takes its action at initiative rank 10, its effect does not occur
Now for a wrap up, I'd certainly allow a party that has someone actively detecting evil a bonus to the perception check to not being surprised (and even go as far as having the detector always able to act in the surprise round). But simply noticing a presence of evil doesn't mean the "everybody stop, haunt alarm" goes off.
To know the exact location takes three rounds of concentration, in that time, the haunt might be triggered by proximity or an impulsive ally.
1st Round: Presence or absence of evil.
2nd Round: Number of evil auras (creatures, objects, or spells) in the area and the power of the most potent evil aura present.
If you are of good alignment, and the strongest evil aura's power is overwhelming (see below), and the HD or level of the aura's source is at least twice your character level, you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends.
3rd Round: The power and location of each aura. If an aura is outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its exact location.
Best case, if the detector can warn all allies to freeze, concentrate for three rounds to determine location, and intentionally approach the haunt, allow him/her to have a 'readied action' for the enemy's surprise round, not killing it with total impunity.
Yeah, she knows about the standard action to activate and keep up Detect Evil. The party is in a haunted house and has already encountered several, so before they enter a room she scans it.
Specific example: she scans a room with a piano in it and detects evil on it. I know the piano is haunted; pressing any of the keys triggers the haunt. She walks up to the piano, touches it with her wand and goes into exorcist mode.
The text indeed states that the haunt can only be hurt by positive energy, the exact wording to me doesn't seem to say that the energy can only be applied in the surprise round. It sounds more like it's saying "if you want to prevent the haunt from manifesting, the only way to do so is to positive energy bomb it in the surprise round, unless it has a specific weakness".
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rule it how you like, but by reading, the "hp" section on haunts doesn't come into play until the manifestation round. There is no way to hurt them before that without a weakness. (see bolded segment above)