Could a permanent spell on an object be considered a magic item and be fooled with a use magic device check?
My party was up against a lawful evil cleric who seemed to walk through a wall. Detect magic etc. determined it was a permanent phase door. The neutral good sorcerer of the party declared himself of the same alignment of the cleric, rolled a use magic device check, rolled ridiculously high then stepped.. into.. and... through the wall?
You can allow other creatures to use the phase door by setting some triggering condition for the door. Such conditions can be as simple or elaborate as you desire. They can be based on a creature's name, identity, or alignment, but otherwise must be based on observable actions or qualities. Intangibles such as level, class, HD, and hit points don't qualify.
I ruled it didn't work. Nice try though.
The phase door only allowed those of the lawful evil to pass through, but its not a device. I said, because RAW it didn't work. AND if I allowed it to work on one spell, then protection from good, cloak of chaos, unhallow, magic circle, and many more can be fooled because of a silly skill check?
Then we opened the book.
If you are using the check to emulate an alignment or some other quality in an ongoing manner, you need to make the relevant Use Magic Device check once per hour.
You must consciously choose which requirement to emulate. That is, you must know what you are trying to emulate when you make a Use Magic Device check for that purpose.
Emulate an Alignment: Some magic items have positive or negative effects based on the user's alignment. Use Magic Device lets you use these items as if you were of an alignment of your choice. You can emulate only one alignment at a time.
Action: None. The Use Magic Device check is made as part of the action (if any) required to activate the magic item.
He said I lean against the wall and try to activate it. I know its there and I know what I'm doing.
"The wall isn't a magic item."
The spell is a permanent effect on the wall. It sure seems a lot like a magic item. And I rolled high.
"Great job. Are you lawful evil? No.. Sorry Beetlejuice, its not a door its a wall."
You were correct under RAW and (IMHO) RAI. An enspelled object is not a magic item. Perfectly reasonable for the player to try it, though.
You did the right thing.
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I agree that you ruled correctly.
Use magic device is used to activate a magical item, that you wouldn't normally be able to activate for some reason.
If the character were a 13th level wizard (which can cast phase door) it still wouldn't have worked for them because the spell had been cast and allows only LE individuals. It's a spell effect, not an item.
That's like trying to say I use magic device to appear to be evil so protection from evil works against me. Not that anyone would do it, but that's what the player is basically arguing for.