Misdirection against motion sensors

[Ravingdork]

If my spy has misdirection cast on him (making him register as a rock), and he finds himself in an area that uses divination to detect motion, does he set it off?

I ask, because rocks tend not to move.

[LazarX]

Ravingdork wrote:

If my spy has misdirection cast on him (making him register as a rock), and he finds himself in an area that uses divination to detect motion, does he set it off?

I ask, because rocks tend not to move.

Misdirection doesn't work that way, so the question is moot.

By means of this spell, you misdirect the information from divination spells that reveal auras (detect evil, detect magic, discern lies, and the like).

There is no such thing as a "rock" aura. The spell allows you to misdirect your normal emanations (the ones that the above spells would detect) to another object, such as a rock. If those redirected emanations will set off the trap, then the trap will work normally on said object. It does not affect spells or powers that provide a audio/visual form of divination such as clairaudience/clairvoyance, nor those that sense thoughts directly.

[Ravingdork]

The words "and the like" are fairly open ended, but I see your point.

[Lincoln Hills]

This 'divination that detects motion'; is it based on a particular published spell or magic item? Or just a little thought experiment? I'd probably recommend ethereal jaunt, assuming you can't use fly or dimension door to bypass the problem area.

[Ravingdork]

Mostly a thought experiment. To my knowledge, there is no "motion detector" spell or effect.

Even if something like that did exist, it would probably be an abjuration such as an alarm spell or guards and wards.

[Jamie Charlan]

... If we're talking in pathfinder, then your "motion sensor" is probably "Detect:" something, and probably not actually motion. Very likely "detect life" or "detect thoughts". The former will be fooled - just be sure what it is you must not be, but the latter would trigger anyways.

[Lincoln Hills]

Closest I could think of would be guardian creatures with blindsense, which tends to be (Ex) and thus exempt from most magical attempts at misdirection (though gaseous form might fool blindsense on a monster-by-monster basis.)

[Ravingdork]

Why would either detect life or detect thoughts trigger?

A rock is neither alive nor thinks.

[Quantum Steve]

Ravingdork wrote:

Why would either detect life or detect thoughts trigger?

A rock is neither alive nor thinks.

A rock would not detect as alive (thus fooling Detect Life (if there were such a spell)), but Misdirection doesn't work against Detect Thoughts since Detect Thoughts doesn't reveal auras. (Also, it's specifically mentioned in the description).

Misdirection