Possible to discern spell-like ability through spellcract?

[SirKillalot]

I was wondering if it is possible to see what spell-like ablility is activated/used through the use of the skill Spellcraft. If not, Would there be a useful alternative?

[CRtwenty]

Yes, you can use Spellcraft to identify SLA's the same way you identify Spells.

[Diarmuid]

You cannot use Spellcraft to identify the SLA as it's being activated like you can when you witness someone casting a spell.

But if the SLA has visible effects then you could identify the effect itself.

There would be no way to Identify someone using an SLA who simply disappeared. That could be Invis, Greater Invis, Teleport, Dimension Door (to a location out of Line of Sight), etc.

But if their SLA resulted in them being wrethed in blue flames, then a DC 24 Spellcraft check would help you identify the Fire Shield (Cold) they had just inacted.

[BowStreetRunner]

The Spellcraft (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/spellcraft.htm) rules state that you "can identify spells and magic effects." Both Spell-Like Abilities (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#spellLikeAbilities) and Supernatural Abilities (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#supernaturalAbilities) are considered magical. So you have that going for you. However, there are many different ways to use spellcraft and not all are going to be useful in every case.

At DC 15 + SL you can "Identify a spell being cast. (You must see or hear the spell’s verbal or somatic components.)" Okay, so a spell with neither verbal nor somatic components could not be identified. "A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component" so this won't help you. Supernatural abilities also don't have these.

At DC 20 + SL you can "Identify a spell that’s already in place and in effect. You must be able to see or detect the effects of the spell." As long as you can see or detect the effects, this should work equally well against Spells, Spell-Like Abilities and Supernatural Abillities.

At DC 25 + SL you can "After rolling a saving throw against a spell targeted on you, determine what that spell was." So long as there is a saving throw involved, you can use this equally well with all three types of effects.