How do we know that is a sphere of annihilation?

[Question]

See title. How do we know it is a sphere of annihilation or some kind of portal?

 

[FalcWP]

I'm not sure. You touch it and let me know.

 

[Jack Simth]

Toss one end of rope in. Pull rope out (or try, anyway). Is rope the same length? Must not be destroyed. If shorter....

Toss coin in.

Cast Discern location on the coin.
Do you get a location? If so, it must not be destroyed, then. If not, well, unless it's somehow under the effects of Mind Blank, or in a no-magic plane where Discern Location won't work, then it's destroyed. And you probably don't want to go somewhere that causes pennies to be covered by Mind Blank anyway....

Then there's the nifty: Try to move it WITH YOUR MIND!!!

 

[Machiavelli]

Ask an entropomancer. She'll know what to do. If no such obscure, extremely rare manipulators of chaos are available, listen to Jack Smith. It sounds like HE known what to do, too

 

[Land Outcast]

Spoiler

...Shun green if you can, but night's good color
is for those of great valor...

Throw in a kender... if the chatter stops it's either a SoA or a silenced area.

 

[Aaron L]

Poke it with a stick. Youll be able to tell pretty easily if it is a hole in the multiverse or a gate to somewhere else.

 

[ShadowRaven]

Spoiler

...Shun green if you can, but night's good color
is for those of great valor...

Throw in a kender... if the chatter stops it's either a SoA or a silenced area.

another one for the list of things Kender are useful for

 

[FalcWP]

another one for the list of things Kender are useful for

Is one item really a list?

 

[Sejs]

You know why adventurers carry 10 foot poles?


Situations like this.

 

[jbuck]

1. does giving the kender to you enemys to annoy them to no end count?

2. the only points so far have been to do with deciding between a SoA or a wierd gate, what if it's an umbral blot?

Fighter: okay, wizard boy, whats that thing?

Wizard: *performs tests mentioned above* okay it's a SoA, wait, thats brilliant! i can controll it with my "talisman of the sphere" *makes attempt* (thinks he succedes because the blot is doing what he sais)

Fighter: um, okay great, whatever lets go.

*later after the group has set down for the night*

Fighter: um, wizard boy,WHY IS YOUR SoA EATING MY TENT!!!!!

Wizard: it's not*looks* *is hit by sudden relization... OH HELL!