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Epinephrine
2009-07-24, 10:29 PM
So, how do you handle characters with this ability? (Warlocks come to mind, as does pretty much any caster in Pathfinder)

For example, they can move at half rate and simply concentrate to know if magic is entering their range, stopping to ID it when they detect something. Heck, it works through doors, and virtually every NPC will have magical items at higher levels. I'd like to actually have some magical effects work on the party, but with detect magic up nearly constantly when not in combat (not in social settings/walking around, but when dungeon crawling) it's a little tough.

Advice?

arguskos
2009-07-24, 10:40 PM
Nystul's Magic Aura (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magicAura.htm). It can hide magic auras, in addition to create them. Level 1 arcane spell.

jmbrown
2009-07-24, 10:41 PM
Any ability that slows down the party is detrimental to their exploration. I had a player whose thief took 20 on every square making dungeon exploration a huge, clunky effort. What would take a normal party an hour it took them an entire day.

So I introduced roaming encounters which Gary Gygax was a big proponent of in 1E. After all, why should encounters be limited to the rooms they're written in? A character continually detecting magic can't also focus on stealth so one character is basically clunking around while the enemy has ample time to reinforce their positions and set additional traps that wouldn't have normally been there.

With roaming encounters, this should encourage players to use their abilities only when necessary. You approach a door or suspicious junction? Check for traps/detect magic. If you're constantly searching and wasting time then you're giving the enemy plenty of time to prepare for your eventual arrival. In the three rounds it takes to get the full effect, an enemy spell caster has already summoned extra help, buffed his allies, and warded the area.

erikun
2009-07-24, 10:45 PM
Remember that you can only focus on one area at a time. If you turn your head, you need to focus for 3 rounds to get full information again.

If you're worried about the 1st round = presence of auras, 1 foot of stone or 1 inch of metal will block it. Most dungeons should have walls thicker than one foot, and most "higher level" dungeons will likely have metal doors.

Epinephrine
2009-07-24, 10:49 PM
Nystul's Magic Aura (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magicAura.htm). It can hide magic auras, in addition to create them. Level 1 arcane spell.

Handy. Logical to include when putting glyphs up, for example. I like!


Any ability that slows down the party is detrimental to their exploration. I had a player whose thief took 20 on every square making dungeon exploration a huge, clunky effort. What would take a normal party an hour it took them an entire day.

They aren't that bad, but the trapfinder is rather cautious, and the only time they've ever hit a trap was when they were forced to rush, or when an enemy appeared across a trap from them.

The Nystul's aura will be very handy though, I could see many people picking that spell up to hide their goodies.

Dragonmuncher
2009-07-24, 11:09 PM
Thick gates/doors made of lead?

Large rooms, with the enemies (and their magic) at the far end of the room? PCs open door, don't detect anything, but the enemies see the door open and move into an ambush position.

Not positive how auras work, and I don't feel like looking it up, but is there a way to throw up "background noise?" That is have a room that's obviously filled with magic, so small sources get washed out. This could be rooms created from magic, rooms with many magical decorations, a crowd of people who all have magic trinkets, or maybe the party is carrying an artifact (which is so powerful, it overwhelms any detection attempts nearby).

Roderick_BR
2009-07-25, 01:00 AM
Any ability that slows down the party is detrimental to their exploration. I had a player whose thief took 20 on every square making dungeon exploration a huge, clunky effort. What would take a normal party an hour it took them an entire day.

So I introduced roaming encounters which Gary Gygax was a big proponent of in 1E. After all, why should encounters be limited to the rooms they're written in? A character continually detecting magic can't also focus on stealth so one character is basically clunking around while the enemy has ample time to reinforce their positions and set additional traps that wouldn't have normally been there.

With roaming encounters, this should encourage players to use their abilities only when necessary. You approach a door or suspicious junction? Check for traps/detect magic. If you're constantly searching and wasting time then you're giving the enemy plenty of time to prepare for your eventual arrival. In the three rounds it takes to get the full effect, an enemy spell caster has already summoned extra help, buffed his allies, and warded the area.
In short: "Thanks for standing still, wanker" :smalltongue:
Yeah, hardly someone will be walking at half speed checking every square inche around him. You don't see paladins detecting evil all day long.... wait...

quick_comment
2009-07-25, 01:12 AM
Lead walls.

Irreverent Fool
2009-07-25, 01:25 AM
I don't really see detect maagic at will as a big deal. As a DM, I actually prefer it because when the party finds a cache of items, I don't have to do as much bookkeeping when they can tell on their own what is magical and what is not and most enemies they will be facing that are intelligent will have magic items anyway.

obnoxious
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