Discern prepared spells.

[Smegskull]

Is there a way for a character to detect what spells an opponent has prepared?

[Thurbane]

The Vatic Gaze feat (or the Arcane Sight spell) can determine highest level of spells the target can cast, but not individual spells prepared.

Detect Thoughts might work, if the target was pondering the spells at the time of casting.

Mindr@p3 allows the caster to learn everything the target knows.

[MornShine]

A 13th level spellthief, upon stealing a spell, learns all other spells of that level the target has prepared.

[Seward]

Arcane sight lets you know the highest level magic they have access too. It isn't a popular spell if you can't make it permanent but my sorceress broke a few plots with it. "Why does that laundry woman have access to 7th level magic?"

She took it because she hated the concentration requirement of detect magic and wanted to be able to duck out of a room, come back and scan a social setting for magic (using prestidigitation to cover the distinctive eye color the spell causes). She took Analyze Dweomer later for similar issues she had with usual forms of item identification, much to the distress of GMs that favored elaborate magical traps. (she had a distressing tendency to make new corridors with disintegrate to avoid said traps if they looked too dangerous)



If you concentrate on a specific creature within 120 feet of you as a standard action, you can determine whether it has any spellcasting or spell-like abilities, whether these are arcane or divine (spell-like abilities register as arcane), and the strength of the most powerful spell or spell-like ability the creature currently has available for use.


Arcane sight isn't a solution for the OP's goal, which really needs something like "probe mind" or I dunno, charm person "Hey Bob, my new best friend. Tell me your spell loadout, so as best friends, I know how best to work with you to accomplish our mutual goals!"

But it is a start, and often all you want to know is "can they cast spells and how dangerous are they right now?" All those outsiders with greater teleport ping pretty strong with arcane sight, for example.

[Thurbane]

Another spell I just stumbled across might also be useful: Probe Thoughts (SC). "All of the subject's memories and knowledge are accessible to you, ranging from memories deep below the surface to those still easily called to mind. You can learn the answer to one question per round, to the best of the subject's knowledge."

[Doctor Despair]

Another spell I just stumbled across might also be useful: Probe Thoughts (SC). "All of the subject's memories and knowledge are accessible to you, ranging from memories deep below the surface to those still easily called to mind. You can learn the answer to one question per round, to the best of the subject's knowledge."

That's kind of poorly worded. Definitely requires a house-rule nerf if that's the exact phrasing.

What have you experienced, starting from your earliest memory to now?

[Jervis]

That's kind of poorly worded. Definitely requires a house-rule nerf if that's the exact phrasing.

What have you experienced, starting from your earliest memory to now?

This is where I say that it should take months for then to explain anything and thus going past the duration before they even learn to walk, but raw talking is a free action and takes no time. So you learn their whole life story in 6 seconds

[Seward]

That's kind of poorly worded. Definitely requires a house-rule nerf if that's the exact phrasing.

Brain drain had a similar mechanic (although my overenthusiastic party members would sometimes not leave any prisoners, so if it was important and the fight not too dangerous I'd sometimes start the process mid-combat and get the questions I could before the head was removed from shoulders).

Typically when we ran out of useful questions I'd ask something fun "what motivated you to join the cult of brain eating squids that want to destroy all of reality?" or "is there any circumstance where you would cooperate with us" and we all assumed I spent the remaining questions in followups, letting the GM tell whatever he thought would be most entertaining. Some of those were pretty great. You only got one answer a round, so the answers were never too detailed, barring an assumption of burning several questions on one answer with theoretical follow-up.





What have you experienced, starting from your earliest memory to now?

Yeah, that is just asking the GM to run the duration of the spell out talking about toddler experiences.