Detect Magic: how do you prevent a cantrip from trumping an entire school?


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Kirth Gersen wrote:
Anonymous Visitor 163 576 wrote:

It's a zero level spell. House rule it to be touch only, and you're most of the way there.

If they want to put the resources into arcane sight, or something like that, then fine.
This was the solution that Jess Door brought to our home game during the Parhfinder Beta playtest, and it worked wonders. We've used it ever since.

I sort of like this idea as it also eliminates the use of detect magic to find magical traps - unless touch does not activate them.

Houserule Question for Kirth:

Have you considered applying this same restriction to Detect Evil, Detect Chaos, Detect Law, and Detect Good? If not, why not? At the very least, I feel like the versions the Inquisitor gets could be limited to this and limiting the spell in general would accomplish this. Paladins, on the other hand, have specific text which would override the touch range limitation for a single creature, which seems acceptable to me.


wraithstrike wrote:
Kwauss wrote:

People have identified the problem clearly - it's an infinite resource that doesn't slow down a group anymore than checking for traps does. When it detects, you spend time to scan further and have to overcome a roll that's generally easy except at very low levels to defeat a much higher level spell.

I think the part that's not been clearly identified - is there a solution with the RAW that saves illusions a) in combat b) out of combat. In combat is an easier answer - action economy to some extent. But your illusionist who prepared the battlefield still could have loads of spell levels worth of work ruined by a 0 level spell (and a small dab of paranoia). Out of combat fatigue rules aren't the answer - that will just result in PCs using it more sparingly (but still in any dangerous situation), or resting more often.

My point is this - if you had to go even further out of your way as a GM or as a BBEG to make your illusions worthwhile, why wouldn't you just use a different school?

Is it fair by RAW to have a general ruling that unless you've overcome the illusion, they don't even detect as magical? Or like darkness/light interactions, the lower spell level one always loses? It does seem fair that spells designed to conceal wouldn't themselves be detectable - e.g. if you put on a nondetection spell, a detect magic can't find you/the object, but could find the nondetection spell itself? 'I don't detect anything in his pocket, but there is an abjuration spell there perhaps indicating someone has cast nondetection on an object.' I don't think that's how things should work, and illusions should function the same way. Are there rules to support this?

There is no rule to support it, but it would be a good houserule.

Is the implication of this that nondetection doesn't prevent itself from being detected? If so, this could be a sign that 'detectors rule, detectees drool'. I see Misdirection probably behaves ok based on how its written, I think. I'll probably go with this as a house rule for now.


MechE_ wrote:
** spoiler omitted **

Homebrew-specific reply:

Spoiler:
Most mortal creatures in my home game detect as "neutral," so those abilities don't get as much utility. Typically, only someone sworn to a cosmic cause and acting on its behalf (clerics, paladins, outsiders, etc.) are treated as being aligned.
Shadow Lodge

wraithstrike wrote:
600 rounds is 60 minutes or one hour. Most dungeons(enemy HQ) are not big enough so that you have to worry about getting tired(fatigued) from hustling unless the GM magically makes time pass.

Meh...that's entirely dependent on the GM's style. Not everyone is a fan of the "All dungeons are 5-room dungeons" thing. Or even most dungeons.


Kirth Gersen wrote:
MechE_ wrote:
** spoiler omitted **
Homebrew-specific reply: ** spoiler omitted **

Home-brew reply to Kirth:
That is a more elegant solution, yeah. Thanks for the reply.
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