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I was about to complain about an AP where a hidden creature targets the party by "quietly" using its spell-like ability, when I found this nugget in the PRD:
Spell-like abilities are magical and work just like spells (though they are not spells and so have no verbal, somatic, focus, or material components).
And yet they provoke attacks of opportunity.
So suppose my succubus is using her Dominate Person spell-like ability. It has no verbal nor somatic components, and yet she's doing something that makes it obvious she's casting. Or is she? Is the attack of opportunity just because she's focusing on her spell-like ability instead of defending herself?
It really rewrites a lot of the things I thought about Pathfinder if my shape-shifting mind dominators (succubi, aboleth, etc.) can just meander through town, taking over the minds of anyone they please without anyone noticing anything out of the ordinary about them. (Except their tendency to stop and stare at random people for 6 seconds at a time.)
Do spell-like abilities have ANY clues that they're being used? How do other people play it?
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Spell like abilities work exactly like spells except in the ways specified.
Anyone who can observe the spell being cast is allowed to make a spellcraft check to determine what spell it is. This implies that any use of a spell or spell like ability is noticable by anyone around the caster.
If the hidden creature you mentioned can't be observed then it may be reasonable to allow them to use their abilities without the party noticing.
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From the FAQ:
What exactly do I identify when I’m using Spellcraft to identify a spell? Is it the components, since spell-like abilities, for instance, don’t have any? If I can only identify components, would that mean that I can’t take an attack of opportunity against someone using a spell-like ability (or spell with no verbal, somatic, or material components) or ready an action to shoot an arrow to disrupt a spell-like ability? If there’s something else, how do I know what it is?
Although this isn’t directly stated in the Core Rulebook, many elements of the game system work assuming that all spells have their own manifestations, regardless of whether or not they also produce an obvious visual effect, like fireball. You can see some examples to give you ideas of how to describe a spell’s manifestation in various pieces of art from Pathfinder products, but ultimately, the choice is up to your group, or perhaps even to the aesthetics of an individual spellcaster, to decide the exact details. Whatever the case, these manifestations are obviously magic of some kind, even to the uninitiated; this prevents spellcasters that use spell-like abilities, psychic magic, and the like from running completely amok against non-spellcasters in a non-combat situation. Special abilities exist (and more are likely to appear in Ultimate Intrigue) that specifically facilitate a spellcaster using chicanery to misdirect people from those manifestations and allow them to go unnoticed, but they will always provide an onlooker some sort of chance to detect the ruse.
So, whenever you cast a spell or use a spell-like ability, it is obvious. However it is described, it is obvious you are doing something magical.
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From the FAQ:
So, whenever you cast a spell or use a spell-like ability, it is obvious. However it is described, it is obvious you are doing something magical.What exactly do I identify when I’m using Spellcraft to identify a spell? Is it the components, since spell-like abilities, for instance, don’t have any? If I can only identify components, would that mean that I can’t take an attack of opportunity against someone using a spell-like ability (or spell with no verbal, somatic, or material components) or ready an action to shoot an arrow to disrupt a spell-like ability? If there’s something else, how do I know what it is?
Although this isn’t directly stated in the Core Rulebook, many elements of the game system work assuming that all spells have their own manifestations, regardless of whether or not they also produce an obvious visual effect, like fireball. You can see some examples to give you ideas of how to describe a spell’s manifestation in various pieces of art from Pathfinder products, but ultimately, the choice is up to your group, or perhaps even to the aesthetics of an individual spellcaster, to decide the exact details. Whatever the case, these manifestations are obviously magic of some kind, even to the uninitiated; this prevents spellcasters that use spell-like abilities, psychic magic, and the like from running completely amok against non-spellcasters in a non-combat situation. Special abilities exist (and more are likely to appear in Ultimate Intrigue) that specifically facilitate a spellcaster using chicanery to misdirect people from those manifestations and allow them to go unnoticed, but they will always provide an onlooker some sort of chance to detect the ruse.
Note to self: Always check the FAQ!
Thanks SO much! I'd delete the thread, but this is really useful info!
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So, so summarize the FAQ: Glowy aura swirling about, whispers in the wind, runes showing up (possibly as math equation for nerds...I mean wizards), just a general feelings of power deep within your bones.
Whatever general "oooo~ magic!" signs you think are appropriate for the spell. The book doesn't restrict you on what they are, so you can 'beautify' it however you want, but it is supposed to be fairly obvious when they see you.
A lack of verbal or somatic components do not remove the signs. It just means you can do it in plate armor while in a zone of silence. Also, it is rather nice for ultimate intrigue stuff since there is a feat that allows you to hide magic signs with a bluff check (saying that the window is open and it is just the wind for whispers? Hiding your glowy hand behind your back? etc?), and that feat take penalties if you have verbal and somatic components to also hide.
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It might be helpful to describe Spell-like Abilities as something magically biological that these magic-suffused creatures can do, as opposed to actual spellcasting.
So your Aboleth could drift a cloud of mind-altering snot over to your target, or your succubus' eyes, horns, and tail could all smoulder with magically-enhanced desire when they're trying to brainwash people.
My favourite is when quadrupedal monsters get a Fear-like Ability; they can just roar or howl in a magically terrifying way.
Rule number one for this stuff: "Always look at anime."
There's a lot of that sort of thing.
Watch some movies or cartoons. Creatures have to roll their eyes back, gather thier energy, focus their concentration, wave their limbs, billow their fur, shuffle their feet, so on and so forth. Like a snake flattening it's head before a bite or a puffer fish blowing itself up, there is always some sort of sign that something is happening. Don't get caught up on the semantic differences between what is somatic or not.
I think there is a nose twitch (or equivalent) and then X happens.