(1) If a bad guy has quaffed an invisibility potion, and my players detect magic in his direction, will they detect the invisibility magic?
(2) What if he has a magic ring of protection, +1 on him? Will they then detect a magic item in that blank space, allowing them to locate the invisible bad guy?
(3) when people detect magic, and the magic detected is like a cure potion, ring of protection, scroll of whatever, etc., and then they focus to determine what kind of magic it is... how do I find the answer to that? And do scrolls/potions etc. give off magical auras that can be detected through detect magic? What kind of "magic aura" comes off of a random +1 leather armor, or +2 sword?
1. Using detect magic, they would detect that the potion he drank has a magical effect going off, not the specific spell; that would require some skill checks to determine or to cast a different spell on top of detect magic.
2. Yes and no, detect magic detects magic within 30 feet, but doesn't actually state that the direction and/or distance from you the magical effect occurred. So you would know that there was a magical effect within 30 feet, but not where the effect was specifically coming from.
3. Usually it's a knowledge(Arcane) or a Spellcraft check, and I think the DC us equal to the normal DC for the spell if you saved against it, but I could be wrong on the DC, so don't quote me on that.
1) Yes, but seeing as how it takes three rounds to be able to pinpoint where an invisible creature is, it is a very poor and inaccurate method of searching for invisible creatures. In that time, the enemy can just move out of the arc or range of the Detect Magic and you would have to start the three round process over again.
2) Yes as above with the qualifications listed above.
3) To determine the school look at the associated spell(s) and the caster level of the item. So a Potion of Cure Light Wounds would radiate as Faint Conjuration (Healing) as the spell is Conjuration (Healing) and it is an item with a caster level lower than 5th per the chart under Detect Magic. A +1 Longsword (or any weapon) would radiate as Faint Evocation as the introduction to magic items lists weapons as Evocation and it is again less than 5th level for the caster level. A +2 Longsword would radiate Moderate Evocation as the caster level is now 6th. Exc. and so on...
Here is the general ruling in the magic item section:
Magic Items and Detect Magic
When detect magic identifies a magic item's school of magic, this information refers to the school of the spell placed within the potion, scroll, or wand, or the prerequisite given for the item. The description of each item provides its aura strength and the school to which it belongs.
If more than one spell is given as a prerequisite, use the highest-level spell. If no spells are included in the prerequisites, use the following default guidelines.
Item Nature School
Armor and protection items Abjuration
Weapons or offensive items Evocation
Bonus to ability score, skill check, etc. Transmutation
detect magic is 60 feet.
http://paizo.com/prd/spells/detectMagic.html
Not sure how to determine what school of magic items, potions, scrolls etc. come from...
Also, if detect magic can detect invisible people, then doesn't that make it pretty overpowered as a cantrip, and also make other spells that detect invisible things kind of silly?
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detect magic is 60 feet.
http://paizo.com/prd/spells/detectMagic.htmlNot sure how to determine what school of magic items, potions, scrolls etc. come from...
For a basic run, you can find it at the top of the page here:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/magicItems.htmlIt basically states this for magic items:
Armor and protection items = Abjuration
Weapons or offensive items = Evocation
Bonus to ability score, skill check, etc. = Transmutation
Also, some items state it in the stat block. For example, a ring of protection states:
Ring of Protection
Aura faint abjuration; CL 5th
Slot ring; Price 2,000 gp (+1), 8,000 gp (+2), 18,000 gp (+3), 32,000 gp (+4), 50,000 gp (+5); Weight —
Description
This ring offers continual magical protection in the form of a deflection bonus of +1 to +5 to AC.
Construction
Requirements Forge Ring, shield of faith, caster must be of a level at least three times the bonus of the ring; Cost 1,000 gp (+1), 4,000 gp (+2), 9,000 gp (+3), 16,000 gp (+4), 25,000 gp (+5)
As for it detecting invisible things, it takes 3 rounds.
First round would be simply "There is magic before you".
Second round would be, "There are x (replace x with number of aura's) magic aura's before you, the strongest is (faint/moderate/strong/overwhelming)"
and the Third would be (after a successful Kn (Arcana check) vs an invisible npc with +1 leather armor and a +1 dagger), "There appears to be some illusion, abjuration, and evocation magic in that square."
Now if this is an invisible creature, illusion over a trap, or something else is not answered.
this also assumes that the invisible thing does not move after that first round and only stands still.
Also, if detect magic can detect invisible people, then doesn't that make it pretty overpowered as a cantrip, and also make other spells that detect invisible things kind of silly?
Not really because it is a very poor substitute for See Invisibility, True Seeing, and Glitterdust. An invisible creature would still have total concealment and a 50% miss chance against someone using Detect Magic. It only helps to pinpoint the square. There are other ways to do that through skills, traits, and feats that do not even require a spell to be cast at all.
If I were the DM and a player was trying to use Detect Magic to pinpoint the square, I would make it hard on the caster by moving the foes around in battle. As it stands, if you are invisible and attack me, I can always attack into that square in the hopes that you are still there. So it only makes sense that invisible creatures ought to move frequently especially if they know they are somehow being tracked via magic.
If the invisible creature was stuck in a small room with no means of exiting, then they could have a problem. However, the same problem would exist without the spell as the two or three fighters just need to form a line and walk slowly through the room. They will eventually be able to pinpoint the invisible creature and maybe in less than three rounds depending on the size of the room.
So, yes, it may seem like an overpowered use of a 0 level spell, but it takes a lot of discipline to use it with not much pay off so I would call it a move of desperation if it was tried.
Thanks!
Not to mention a perception check allows you to pinpoint the square an invisible creature is in, which is the best Detct Magic can do.
A creature can generally notice the presence of an active invisible creature within 30 feet with a DC 20 Perception check. The observer gains a hunch that “something's there” but can't see it or target it accurately with an attack. It's practically impossible (+20 DC) to pinpoint an invisible creature's location with a Perception check. Even once a character has pinpointed the square that contains an invisible creature, the creature still benefits from total concealment (50% miss chance). There are a number of modifiers that can be applied to this DC if the invisible creature is moving or engaged in a noisy activity.
