items & auras

[Kerilstrasz]

Simple question..

In which cases , an item has an evil/good/lawfull/chaotic or neutral aura???

As i understand if a Evil character/Npc creates a magic item , the item does not have a evil aura...
A school of magic as necromancy is not considered evil by it self...

so.. in which cases?

[tyckspoon]

Items have alignment auras when the DM and/or the sourcebook for the item says they do. *shrug* It's not especially common, and has very little to do with who made the item unless your DM wants that to be important.

Personally, an item should show an alignment aura when-
It is actively producing an aligned effect. So something that creates a continuous Hallowed/Unhallowed/Consecrated/Desecrated area would have the appropriate Good/Evil aura.

It is an intelligent item, and thus has an alignment the same as any intelligent creature would.

It is otherwise innately aligned, as in a weapon with an alignment property or the various things that can only be used by a specific alignment or inflict penalties on the 'wrong' alignments- a Holy/Unholy/Anarchic/etc weapon or a Robe of the Archmagi will show an alignment.

Optional- Normally the magic item creation process is abstracted, so the specifics how they're made aren't really important. If you/your DM wants alignment issues to be more relevant, he could rule that items can aquire an alignment from how they are created, and so the Evil Wizard's Ring of Protection might be unsavory loot for the party when it pings Evil and they find the experimental journal detailing how he used the screams of terrified puppies to make the thing (or it could just be guilt by association, the Ring is perfectly innocent and it just looks Evil because the dude was wearing it while he did Evil things.) Not RAW, but has potentially interesting ramifications for character actions.

[TuggyNE]

(or it could just be guilt by association, the Ring is perfectly innocent and it just looks Evil because the dude was wearing it while he did Evil things.) Not RAW, but has potentially interesting ramifications for character actions.

See also: Xykon's super-awesome crown of evilly splendor.

[Jeraa]

Any item that requires a spell with an alignment descriptor to make should detect as that alignment. As for what strength, that is covered in the Detect Evil spell. (All the other alignment detecting spells work as Detect Evil for their appropriate alignment.)

The only other way a magic item should detect as an alignment is if it is an intelligent item, in which case it would have an alignment as normal.

[TuggyNE]

Any item that requires a spell with an alignment descriptor to make should detect as that alignment. As for what strength, that is covered in the Detect Evil spell. (All the other alignment detecting spells work as Detect Evil for their appropriate alignment.)

This doesn't seem to be a universal rule; for example, Candle of Invocation doesn't mention any descriptor for the detected spell school, but it requires a specific spell that assumes the appropriate descriptor for the alignment. Similarly, a Chaos Diamond requires three [chaos] spells, but has no [chaos] descriptor. (Darkskull and a few others in Core specifically do have alignment descriptors, so it's not a matter of not having thought of it yet.) For that matter, Eyes of Doom, Hand of Glory, Horn of Goodness/Evil, and Prayer Beads of Smiting/Summons all lack the descriptor their spells should pass on, while the Phylactery of Undead Turning has a descriptor but no prerequisite spell!

Note that the Robe of the Archmagi doesn't have a listed alignment descriptor.

[Vaern]

Not RAW, but you may also say that weapons with the Bane property against aligned outsiders emit an aura of an opposing alignment.

I've never looked much into the properties of planes, but it may not be unreasonable to say that equipment carried by outsiders from strongly aligned planes would have aligned auras. Their gear was probably crafted from materials of their home plane, and the plane itself is aligned.
Even with no bonuses besides its aligned aura, a paladin may favor a sword made from Celestial iron while refusing to use a bow taken from a slain erinyes.

[Kerilstrasz]

and one last question plz on the same matter..

this aura, existing or not (according to the item in question), can be seen by:
Detect Alignment spells? Detect magic? Pala's detect evil(if evil)?
(Only spells or abilities from PhB1 plz)

[TuggyNE]

and one last question plz on the same matter..

this aura, existing or not (according to the item in question), can be seen by:
Detect Alignment spells? Detect magic? Pala's detect evil(if evil)?
(Only spells or abilities from PhB1 plz)

Combining the notes in Magic Item Descriptions on auras with the Aura entries for various magic items that have alignment descriptors, it would seem that detect magic can see it with a Spellcraft check to make out schools.

Detect evil/good/chaos/law explicitly mentions it can detect magic items, and Paladin Detect Evil works on the same basis.

[Vaern]

Detect Magic only says that it allows you to attempt to determine the school of magic of each aura. Since alignments are not schools of magic, I'd say Detect [Alignment] would be necessary for aligned magic items.

[TuggyNE]

Detect Magic only says that it allows you to attempt to determine the school of magic of each aura. Since alignments are not schools of magic, I'd say Detect [Alignment] would be necessary for aligned magic items.

Like I said, it's not in the spell description itself; it's in Magic Item Descriptions (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicItemBasics.htm#magicItemDescriptions), which says that detect magic can detect what's in the Aura entry. And what's in the Aura entry for those magic items is things like "Moderate evocation [evil]".

[Vaern]

Most of the time, a detect magic spell will reveal the school of magic associated with a magic item and the strength of the aura an item emits. This information (when applicable) is given at the beginning of the item’s notational entry. See the detect magic spell description for details.
I don't see where it's saying that it reveals the entire aura entry.

[TuggyNE]

I don't see where it's saying that it reveals the entire aura entry.

Hmm, you could be right, I guess it's a bit less obvious than I'd initially read it as.