Detect Magic Question - please help

[ToddSchumacher]

One of my players has a permanent detect magic on himself. What are its limitations. Does he have to still concnentrate to use it? Will magical auras automatically appear when he looks at stuff, or walking down the street. Is there a way to rid him of it?

 

[Scharlata]

One of my players has a permanent detect magic on himself. What are its limitations. Does he have to still concnentrate to use it? Will magical auras automatically appear when he looks at stuff, or walking down the street. Is there a way to rid him of it?

Hi!

1.) Same limitations as per the spell.
2.) Still has to concentrate if she wishes to get to know more than "yes, there-is-magic".
3.) Yupp, she gets to detect magic auras she comes by.
4.) Dispel Magic, Greater Dispel Magic, M. Disjunction, Wish, Miracle, Break Enchantment amongst others.

Kind regards

 

[Li Shenron]

The caster would constantly detect the presence of magic in the cone of effect, then it will require concentration (as the spell, in a few rounds) to actually get how many/strong auras and their type, and to pinpoint the exact location.

To make it more complicated, just remember that active spells or items on your party friends are detected as well. If you don't concentrate always, you'll be ALWAYS detecting something unless you are walking in the front line (a generally bad idea for a wizard).

Furthermore, depending on the level, you could often be in a place full or lingering auras which detect but there is nothing there really interesting.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

As the previous posters have stated, you are still bound by the requirements of the spell. It's simply always active. So if the wizard walks into a bar, without concentrating he'll know whether or not there's magic in the bar. If he then takes the time to concentrate, he can discern the strengths and locations of the magical auras. And, as already stated, the fact that adventurers are usually dripping with magic means that the "magic indicator" will almost always be positive.

So in the end, he'll rarely ever get any useful information unless he spends time concentrating.

The spell is fairly easy to get rid of. Start throwing sorcerers with Dispel Magic at the PC, and have them fire off multiple Dispel Magics. You'll get it eventually.

Edit to add: or you can simply kill the PC.

 

[Henrix]

Of course, to dispel a permanency cast on the spellcaster himself you need a Dispel Magic cast by someone with higher caster level than he was when he cast the Permanency.

 

[ToddSchumacher]

Thanks guys,

That helped clarify things abit.


What about and illusions or invisable creatures and scrying sensors and the like?

 

[Henrix]

Illusions and Invisibility work as usual. First he detects there's an aura, and after three rounds of concentration he can locate the aura, if it hasn't removed itself from his AoE.


Iam, by the way, not certain I agree the he would detect magic without concentrating a round. That sounds more like Arcane Sight.

 

[shilsen]

I don't think he would detect anything without concentration.