Detect Magic and spellcasters

[Maitre Du Donjon]

Simply question: Can detect magic be used to detect spellcasters (that don't have magical items or are subjected to a spell)?

My DM ruled that i couldn't last session, and i just wasnt sure, mainly because of this little snippet taken from the Detect Magic description in the SRD:

If the items or creatures bearing the auras

Thanks in advance,

Maitre D

 

[AuraSeer]

Spellcasters don't radiate magic by themselves. Only creatures with active spells on them will show up on detect magic.

If a wizard has cast shield on himself, he'll have an aura of Abjuration. But if he had no spells running, and no magic items, even a Wiz20 would be indistinguishable from a commoner.

 

[Maitre Du Donjon]

Outsiders and elementals are not magical in themselves

Are there creatures that would naturally register as magical? (forget about summoned creatures)

Maitre D

 

[DMFTodd]

Detect Magic

Detect Magic can detect lingering aura of a spell that is no longer in effect. So if your target had a cast a spell on himself recently, you might detect it (a bull strength that just expired). I don't think casting an instantaneous spell or casting on someone else would leave an aura on you (a just cast fireball is not going to leave an aura on the caster, the person who got hit by the fireball does).

Is there a creature that would detect as magical? Supernatural abilities are "magical but not spell-like" (DM page 71). So I've always ruled that any creature with a supernatural ability detects as magical (basilisk due to gaze, ghoul due to paralytic touch).

 

[Maitre Du Donjon]

Last question: Would a spellbook / cleric symbol register as magical?

 

[AuraSeer]

Are there creatures that would naturally register as magical? (forget about summoned creatures)

Anything that has a continuous magical or supernatural effect. A unicorn would show up, since it always has magic circle against evil. I believe a dragon's fear aura is (Su), and it's always on, so they would show up. Anything like that.

Last question: Would a spellbook / cleric symbol register as magical?

Only if it's a magic item or has spells on it. A normal spellbook would not register, but a Boccob's Blessed Book would.

 

[Kershek]

Last question: Would a spellbook / cleric symbol register as magical?

A spellbook would register as magical because it has spells inside of it. It would have as many auras as the number of spells.

A cleric symbol would not register as magical unless it was something like a Greater Holy Symbol from Defenders of the Faith.

 

[Taloras]

Yes, the spellbook would show up. If you remember, you can cast spells out of a spellbook as scrolls (thereby wiping them out of the book), so they are magical writings. detect magic detects scrolls....

 

[Kershek]

No, you can't do that in 3E. That was an AD&D thing.

 

[AuraSeer]

Kershek is correct. You cannot cast spells from a spellbook unless you prepare them first.

An antimagic field does not make a spellbook go blank, nor does it prevent a wizard from preparing spells. Therefore there's nothing inherently magical about the writings in the book.