Detect Good and Evil

[jjordan]

"For the duration, you know if there is an aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, or undead within 30 feet of you, as well as where the creature is located."

Everything on the list or does the caster need to specify which they are looking for?

[ShadowSandbag]

I want to say it’s everything on the list. It is called Detect Good and Evil, not Detect Good or Evil.

[Greywander]

I believe it's everything on the list, and they can differentiate between them. For example, if you detect a fiend and a celestial, you'd know which is which.

Hmm, it might make for a fun cantrip to let you detect that something is there, but you don't know where and you don't know which type it is. Could lead to some fun shenanigans. Realistically, though, you'd probably just cast the full spell once the cantrip pinged, so that you could get a more certain reading, and it would save you from casting the spell when nothing is around and save you the spell slot.

[KorvinStarmast]

I want to say it’s everything on the list. It is called Detect Good and Evil, not Detect Good or Evil.

This. There is no reason to nerf it.

[Millstone85]

It is called Detect Good and Evil, not Detect Good or Evil.

Though really it should be called Detect Good and Evil and Fire and Air and Water and Earth and Nature and Undeath and Weirdness.

[Angelalex242]

Just call it detect BS.

Though I always thought the Paladin ability should detect everything the spell does.

[holywhippet]

I believe it's everything on the list, and they can differentiate between them. For example, if you detect a fiend and a celestial, you'd know which is which.

I don't think that it tells you what kind of creature it is. The spell description doesn't say that it does, unlike the paladin's ability divine sense which specifically states you know the type of creature.