Aquillion
2019-03-27, 12:32 PM
This spell came up on the "useless spells" list, and it occurred to me that it has a lot more potential than people give it credit for, especially if your DM is lenient with it (which they might be, given its reputation for being weak.)
Things to consider. First, let's review the DMG definition of an object:
For the purpose of these rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone, not a building or a vehicle that is composed of many other objects.
1. It can obviously be used for tracking if you're familiar with anything the target carries, though its range is a bit short.
2. When naming a category of object, how specific can that category be? In particular, something like "a gold coin not in the possession of my party" is useful. (You can also stow your stuff in extra-dimensional storage and close it.)
3. Provided you can exclude your own stuff via one of those methods, searching for "magic items" has a lot of potential - it can both find treasure and identify potential enemies (since high-level human enemies will often have magic items.)
4. The list of objects above heavily implies that "secret door" or "pressure plate" or "tripwire" is an object. "Trap" might not qualify, sadly, since some DMs will probably tell you it's composed of many other objects. "Hidden switch" or "hidden lever" almost certainly qualifies. "Hidden mechanism" might or might not (clarify that you're searching for the category of concealed components used to activate or deactivate things - it's a discrete category of objects, if hard to describe in an all-encompassing way.)
5. Some categories of objects could get into in-depth divination territory. This is unlikely to pass most DMs (since it doesn't really fit the list of categories), but you could try eg. "something that reveals the Duke's darkest secrets" or "the object, within range, that the lich-king most wants to conceal."
6. Searching for weapons is another way to locate enemies (again, you'll need a way to conceal or hide your own weapons, either by convincing your DM you can append "not in our possession" as part of the category or by putting them outside it.) Searching for spellbooks or spell component pouches can help you locate spellcasters.
...as an interesting aside, while most people dismiss the ability to double-cast Locate Object with your mount, it actually has some valuable interactions with these tricks. If your mount is flying or stealthy, you can send it ahead (out of range of your party) and cast Locate Object through it to scan for weapons, magic items, coins, and so on. Depending on how your DM adjudicates mount-casting spells, you might even be able to have it concentrate on searching for you while you do other things.
Things to consider. First, let's review the DMG definition of an object:
For the purpose of these rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone, not a building or a vehicle that is composed of many other objects.
1. It can obviously be used for tracking if you're familiar with anything the target carries, though its range is a bit short.
2. When naming a category of object, how specific can that category be? In particular, something like "a gold coin not in the possession of my party" is useful. (You can also stow your stuff in extra-dimensional storage and close it.)
3. Provided you can exclude your own stuff via one of those methods, searching for "magic items" has a lot of potential - it can both find treasure and identify potential enemies (since high-level human enemies will often have magic items.)
4. The list of objects above heavily implies that "secret door" or "pressure plate" or "tripwire" is an object. "Trap" might not qualify, sadly, since some DMs will probably tell you it's composed of many other objects. "Hidden switch" or "hidden lever" almost certainly qualifies. "Hidden mechanism" might or might not (clarify that you're searching for the category of concealed components used to activate or deactivate things - it's a discrete category of objects, if hard to describe in an all-encompassing way.)
5. Some categories of objects could get into in-depth divination territory. This is unlikely to pass most DMs (since it doesn't really fit the list of categories), but you could try eg. "something that reveals the Duke's darkest secrets" or "the object, within range, that the lich-king most wants to conceal."
6. Searching for weapons is another way to locate enemies (again, you'll need a way to conceal or hide your own weapons, either by convincing your DM you can append "not in our possession" as part of the category or by putting them outside it.) Searching for spellbooks or spell component pouches can help you locate spellcasters.
...as an interesting aside, while most people dismiss the ability to double-cast Locate Object with your mount, it actually has some valuable interactions with these tricks. If your mount is flying or stealthy, you can send it ahead (out of range of your party) and cast Locate Object through it to scan for weapons, magic items, coins, and so on. Depending on how your DM adjudicates mount-casting spells, you might even be able to have it concentrate on searching for you while you do other things.