Allanimal
2012-08-07, 01:34 PM
Suppose you're a wizard who has just cast Arcane Sight. For completeness, it is the only spell you have prepared and no other spells or magic items are affecting you at the moment.
The SRD tells us:
This spell ... allows you to see magical auras within 120 feet of you. The effect is similar to that of a detect magic spell, but arcane sight does not require concentration and discerns aura location and power more quickly.
You know the location and power of all magical auras within your sight. An aura’s power depends on a spell’s functioning level or an item’s caster level, as noted in the description of the detect magic spell. If the items or creatures bearing the auras are in line of sight, you can make Spellcraft skill checks to determine the school of magic involved in each. (Make one check per aura; DC 15 + spell level, or 15 + one-half caster level for a nonspell effect.)...
...
OK, so you look at Fighty McFighterson and thanks to the brightly lit room, you can see his smiling face and the many pointy metal objects he carries. Thanks to the Arcane sight, you can see the Christmas Tree aura of all his magic items and well.
You watch as he grabs a potion, your spellcraft check reveals that it has an aura of Illusion. Fighty McFighterson drinks it, and suddenly he has a new aura. You assume it's Illusion, and sure enough your awesome Spellcraft ability tells it is so, after a moment of concentration.
Now, Arcane Sight does not replace normal vision, so I am assuming that you can see that he's just turned invisible.
Fighty McFighterson's cohort (Igor Cannonfodder) then raises a lead curtain between you and Fighty, blocking Arcane Sight, and your normal vision. Unbeknownst to you, Monkette Monksdottir, who is under the influence of an Invisibility spell and carries a stone that is the object of a Silence spell, walks up to Fighty, hands him the stone, and takes his place. Fighty, (now also silent) saunters off to the other room, where he begins to raid the buffet table.
Now it just so happens that Monkette and Fighty, being twins, are the same height and weight, and for the purposes of this experiment, she is wearing & carrying exact duplicates of all of Fighty's equipment.
Now that Monkette and Fighty have traded places, Igor drops the curtain.
You can't see Monkette - she's invisible. But you can detect the aura of Illison all over her.
My question: Can you see that it is a different person? Do you get enough detail with Arcane Sight or detect magic) to recognize an invisible person? Recognize an invisible creature's race? Do you see a roughly humanoid-shaped glow or a detailed image showing all facial features, etc.
Bonus Question: Standing 180 feet away is 12th level Klerik von Göttservant, who casts Invisibilty Purge. There is a 60' radius invisibility-robbing divine goodness surrounding Klerik. This area and your Arcane Sight's range are not yet intersecting. But now Klerik takes a 5' step towards you. Does your Arcane Sight see this intersection of the two spell's area, or do you have to wait until Klerik himself is inside the 120' range of your Arcane Sight?
TL;DR: How much detail does Arcane Sight provide, and does a spell's "aura" extend to the full area the spell effects?
The SRD tells us:
This spell ... allows you to see magical auras within 120 feet of you. The effect is similar to that of a detect magic spell, but arcane sight does not require concentration and discerns aura location and power more quickly.
You know the location and power of all magical auras within your sight. An aura’s power depends on a spell’s functioning level or an item’s caster level, as noted in the description of the detect magic spell. If the items or creatures bearing the auras are in line of sight, you can make Spellcraft skill checks to determine the school of magic involved in each. (Make one check per aura; DC 15 + spell level, or 15 + one-half caster level for a nonspell effect.)...
...
OK, so you look at Fighty McFighterson and thanks to the brightly lit room, you can see his smiling face and the many pointy metal objects he carries. Thanks to the Arcane sight, you can see the Christmas Tree aura of all his magic items and well.
You watch as he grabs a potion, your spellcraft check reveals that it has an aura of Illusion. Fighty McFighterson drinks it, and suddenly he has a new aura. You assume it's Illusion, and sure enough your awesome Spellcraft ability tells it is so, after a moment of concentration.
Now, Arcane Sight does not replace normal vision, so I am assuming that you can see that he's just turned invisible.
Fighty McFighterson's cohort (Igor Cannonfodder) then raises a lead curtain between you and Fighty, blocking Arcane Sight, and your normal vision. Unbeknownst to you, Monkette Monksdottir, who is under the influence of an Invisibility spell and carries a stone that is the object of a Silence spell, walks up to Fighty, hands him the stone, and takes his place. Fighty, (now also silent) saunters off to the other room, where he begins to raid the buffet table.
Now it just so happens that Monkette and Fighty, being twins, are the same height and weight, and for the purposes of this experiment, she is wearing & carrying exact duplicates of all of Fighty's equipment.
Now that Monkette and Fighty have traded places, Igor drops the curtain.
You can't see Monkette - she's invisible. But you can detect the aura of Illison all over her.
My question: Can you see that it is a different person? Do you get enough detail with Arcane Sight or detect magic) to recognize an invisible person? Recognize an invisible creature's race? Do you see a roughly humanoid-shaped glow or a detailed image showing all facial features, etc.
Bonus Question: Standing 180 feet away is 12th level Klerik von Göttservant, who casts Invisibilty Purge. There is a 60' radius invisibility-robbing divine goodness surrounding Klerik. This area and your Arcane Sight's range are not yet intersecting. But now Klerik takes a 5' step towards you. Does your Arcane Sight see this intersection of the two spell's area, or do you have to wait until Klerik himself is inside the 120' range of your Arcane Sight?
TL;DR: How much detail does Arcane Sight provide, and does a spell's "aura" extend to the full area the spell effects?