Detect Evil

[Beastman]

Hi @all;

A couple of sessions ago we played the freeport trilogy from green ronin. We were at Blackdog's Caves and discovered the Sabre of Sorror, a cursed item. Later on, as our fellow party member discovered the blade's side effects, a discussion arised: You see i play a paladin with the detec evil class feature, and two of the player's argued that I must have detected that the sabre is evil / cursed. In my opinion, detect evil can only detetc a "cursed" item if the item mas made or uses a spell with the "evil" descriptor, buit it cannot detetc a cursed item per se (since a cursed item is not evil per se).

No my question: can detect evil (spell or special features) detet a cursed magical item or only magical items "using" spells with the evil descripor?

Thanx for help!

 

[Thanee]

Yep, the item would have to have an evil aura. Cursed would not be sufficient to detect as that.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Hypersmurf]

Generally, Detect Evil will only pick up three categories of things that aren't actually evil:

1. Non-evil clerics of evil deities.
2. Non-evil creatures with the [Evil] subtype.
3. Non-evil undead.

So yeah... a cursed item won't register. A cursed Unholy sword, or a cursed intelligent Neutral Evil battleaxe, or a cursed intelligent Lawful Good mace with a continuous Deathwatch effect, will all radiate evil... but that's not because of the curse.

-Hyp.

 

[jigokusabre]

Can detect evil detect curse?

The answer is no.

Detect evil picks up four things, strictly speaking:

1. Evil Creature's (creatures with an evil alignment.)
2. Undead (though not good undead, such as Ghostwalk Ghosts or Deathless creatures)
3. Clerics with an Evil Aura (meaning any cleric that rebukes undead instead of turning them.)
4. Magic items with the "evil" descriptor, or with an evil alignment.

Bestow curse does not have the evil descriptor, not even using the laternate criteria from book of exhalted deeds, so detect evil will not pick up on a cursed item.

Analyse dweomer is the only magical means of finding a cursed item before it curses you.

 

[Hypersmurf]

2. Undead (though not good undead, such as Ghostwalk Ghosts or Deathless creatures)

Are Deathless defined as undead? If so, the spell should detect them, unless specifically stated otherwise...?

-Hyp.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Are Deathless defined as undead? If so, the spell should detect them, unless specifically stated otherwise...?

Deathless are a full-blown new creature type.

Otherwise, yes, Hyp's right, the spell will detect even good- and neutral-aligned undead (like ghosts).

EDIT: For certainty.