Detect Magic & Summoned/Called Monsters

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Will a summoned creature register with a detect magic spell? What about a called creature?

Does a summoned or called creature appear different than an otherwise normally encountered creature?

 

[Jack Simth]

Callings are Instant, Summonings have durations - you might see a Dim aura with Detect Magic on a recently called creature, but that's about it. A Summoned creature, on the other hand, has all that magic running all through them.

But no, as written, other than under such things as Detect Magic, it's difficult to tell visually what's Called, what's Summoned, and what's native.

 

[Hypersmurf]

But no, as written, other than under such things as Detect Magic, it's difficult to tell visually what's Called, what's Summoned, and what's native.

Cast Protection from Evil and Protection from Good, and ask the creature in question to punch you.

If he connects, he's not Summoned.

-Hyp.

 

[Jack Simth]

Cast Protection from Evil and Protection from Good, and ask the creature in question to punch you.

If he connects, he's not Summoned.

-Hyp.

I think I'd set "getting punched" under the heading of "difficult" - while it's quite simple to get punched, it's not precisely something most people would consider "easy" (also, you are using two other spells to duplicate a detect....).

Of course, even a Summoned creature might still hit you (spell resistance applies; ditto for setting up an Anti-magic field for the creature to walk into) and a Called or Native creature might miss when it wouldn't normally (+2 AC from one or the other protection spell), so unless you can read the person who's rolling the dice properly, that doesn't eliminate any of the possiblities, either way.

A Disjunction, on the other hand, gets rid of summoned creatures in the area, with no SR and no save.... but is expending a 9th level spell slot not considered a "difficult" method?

A Spellcraft check (DC 20 + Spell Level) could determine that a creature is summoned (assuming the summoned critter qualifies as a spell effect, of course...) or possibly that a creature is called (created/shaped by magic useage, potentially); but then, with those DC's, the ones you care about likely aren't easy... well, early on, anyway.

 

[Hypersmurf]

A Spellcraft check (DC 20 + Spell Level) could determine that a creature is summoned (assuming the summoned critter qualifies as a spell effect, of course...) or possibly that a creature is called (created/shaped by magic useage, potentially)...

They're about as spell effect as they come!

Effect: One called elemental or outsider or Effect: One or more creatures doesn't leave much room for argument

-Hyp.

 

[Starglim]

Does a summoned or called creature appear different than an otherwise normally encountered creature?

Many summoned creatures are celestial or fiendish, so they'd look different from normal animals of the same kind, but no different from a normally encountered celestial monkey.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Will a summoned creature register with a detect magic spell?

Yes. It's a spell effect.

What about a called creature?

No. The magic brought it to its current location, but the creature itself isn't any more magical than it'd otherwise be.

Does a summoned or called creature appear different than an otherwise normally encountered creature?

A called creature is a normally encountered creature, brought to a specific location via magic. So there's no doubt there in my mind that they look "normal."

A summoned creature is debatable. They're magical constructions that mimic creatures, not actual creatures. I've always ruled that they look just like normal critters, but I could see a DM describing them as glowing faintly, or semi-transparent, etc. for flavor.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

A summoned creature is debatable. They're magical constructions that mimic creatures, not actual creatures. I've always ruled that they look just like normal critters, but I could see a DM describing them as glowing faintly, or semi-transparent, etc. for flavor.

I didn't know that! I thought they were just summoned from somewhere. But I agree with the second part.

 

[glass]

I didn't know that! I thought they were just summoned from somewhere. But I agree with the second part.

It's not explicitly stated one way or the other, AFAIK.


glass.

 

[boolean]

From the description of the Summoning subschool:

Summoning
A summoning spell instantly brings a creature or object to a place you designate. When the spell ends or is dispelled, a summoned creature is instantly sent back to where it came from, but a summoned object is not sent back unless the spell description specifically indicates this. A summoned creature also goes away if it is killed or if its hit points drop to 0 or lower. It is not really dead. It takes 24 hours for the creature to reform, during which time it can’t be summoned again.

When the spell that summoned a creature ends and the creature disappears, all the spells it has cast expire. A summoned creature cannot use any innate summoning abilities it may have, and it refuses to cast any spells that would cost it XP, or to use any spell-like abilities that would cost XP if they were spells.