Arcane Sight

Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Description

Other Information
Your eyes glow blue when this spell is active, which may give away your position or have other roleplaying effects.

Pros:
  • Always active (doesn't require concentration).
  • Identifies all magical auras within range; you don't have to select specific auras.
  • Allows you to determine if a specific creature has spellcasting or spell-like abilities, and the strength of the most powerful spell/spell-like ability currently available to that creature.
  • Can be made permanent.

    Cons:
  • Your eyes glow blue, which is not dismissable or an optional effect.

    Tricks/Combos:
  • A high Spellcraft skill complements this spell nicely since you can use Spellcraft checks to determine the school of magic of a particular aura.
  • Finding out if a creature has spell-like abilities can be tactically useful when facing a new creature no one has experience with. Some deductive guesses can let you cast the appropriate defensive spells to deal with their spells and abilities.
  • When fighting a spellcaster, knowing the power of their most powerful spell available can let you estimate if you need to prepare a counterspell.

    Note: You may be able to guess what spell will be coming simply from the spell level. This could come from being familiar with the caster - maybe you fought them before? - or from your own wits. For example, if I was running a game and a player used this spell on an enemy Wizard, learning the Wizard had a 3rd level spell, he might guess that the spell would be Fly. From experience, the player might remember that I tend to favor utility spells like Fly over other mainstay 3rd level spells like Fireball or Lightning Bolt. A sharp player could pick up on this trend and take advantage of it. (In most cases, however, if you know a Wizard has a 3rd level spell, you would be better off assuming it will be a Fireball or Lightning Bolt. Also, if I was a mean DM, I might see you preparing for a Fly spell, and say the Wizard also sees this and instead casts...a Fireball. Use sneaky knowledge at your own risk!)

    Overall:
    Functions like an improved Detect Magic. Using it to analyze an enemy spellcaster to prepare counterspells can be helpful, but since it is a standard action to do so, and because it does not say how many highest-level spells are available, it's not perfect. Determining if a creature has spell-like abilities is very helpful though. If you know a harmless-looking creature has a trick up its sleeve, you know to approach with more caution than you might have otherwise.

    Recommended for Sorcerers?
    No. Arcane Sight is one of those spells that are only good occasionally, and it would benefit from being on a Sorcerer's "use as see fit" list. However, it's not an essential spell, nor does it win a battle for you. It's not a bad spell, but personally I think there are much better choices.

    Recommended for Wizards as an initial spell choice?
    No. It's only good occasionally, so it's not a good choice as an initial pick. It's an okay spell to scroll-scribe, for the various reasons listed above, when you can prepare properly for an upcoming encounter.

    Recommended as a scroll?
    Yes. It's a good spell to have available.
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