Auravision (Occult Slayer) Question(s).

[Jimlock]

I broke my head over this one...

Complete Warrior p67:

AURAVISION (Su) At 3rd level, an occult slayer gains the ability to see magical auras at a range of up to 60 feet away as a free action. This ability otherwise functions as the detect magic spell. The character cannot use this ability to determine anything but the number of the magical auras present.

Very VERY poorly written (IMO anyway)... So what does it all mean? What can one really do with it?

Can you SEE (as in pinpoint) auras?
...or does it only mean that you know/sense/see there are auras present (and their number) without determining exact location?
Is this a cone thing as in Detect Magic or is it a 360degrees thing out to 60ft?
....

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.


Ohh... and here's Detect Magic for your convenience.

 

[Jimlock]

hello!!!!

 

[Thurbane]

I don't think it's all that ambiguous - you get some of the info that you would get from a Detect Magic as a free action, meaning you don't need to concentrate, it's an "always on" ability.

1st Round: Presence or absence of magical auras.

2nd Round: Number of different magical auras and the power of the most potent aura.

3rd Round: The strength and location of each aura. If the items or creatures bearing the auras are in line of sight, you can make Spellcraft skill checks to determine the school of magic involved in each. (Make one check per aura; DC 15 + spell level, or 15 + half caster level for a nonspell effect.)

 

[Jimlock]

I don't think it's all that ambiguous - you get some of the info that you would get from a Detect Magic as a free action, meaning you don't need to concentrate, it's an "always on" ability.

Even though I agree to what you've highlighted within your Detect Magic quote (one only gets to define number... and consequently presence of auras), ...


I disagree with the assumption that it's an "always on" ability. The text specifically states it takes a "free action".... to..... (?):


1)See auras... until.... the end of your turn?

2)See auras... for the duration of the free action? (a snapshot of auras around you?)

3)Activate "detect magic" (instead of the standard action required for the spell) and follow the rules of the spell with the constrains of being able to only detect number of auras?


......
...

 

[Sekhmet]

"As Detect Magic" leads me to believe that you would follow the rules for Detect Magic.
It'll be a 60' Cone.
It's duration is "Concentration, up to 1 min./level".
On the first round, you will notice the presence of absence of auras.
On the second round, you will notice the number of different auras.

At any time, you can turn to face a different direction, in which case the spell would effectively start over with the "round one" effect.

 

[Jimlock]

-moving thread on top so that more people can see it-

 

[Wyvernhand]

I've played an Occult Slayer, and I've come across multiple DMs with multiple interpretations. The most common across the board is that you can "cast" Detect Magic as a free action. You still have to maintain concentration to get the following rounds worth of information, and if you move or look at a different area, you "reset" your level of concentration back down to 1.

Its not too far of stretch to extrapolate that they intended the ability to function more like a Persistent Arcane Sight. You always see stuff when you want to (as denoted by the "as a free action" clause). It doesn't take any more effort than simply stating "is there any magic here, if so, how much and what kind?". This would be the reading I would rule for if a player at my table wanted to become an Occult Slayer. You are so attuned to hunting magic that you can almost smell it the way Wolverine scents Sabretooth.