Detect Undead

[Vichtor]

Valid points all...and the comment about the spellcraft raises some interesting possibilities. I would need to see exactly how magic interacts with certain things to verify my hunch..but it'll be interesting.

On a side note. Necromancers in NWN couldn't get Detect Magic either. So even the use of a spellcraft would require some pretty good probable cause to employ, barring situations where overt casting may be involved (and then it's rolled automatically anyway).

This could prove to be highly entertaining and have a plethora of possibilities.

I like it!

[Saulus]

Diviners are a lot more playable now in NWN2 since they added a lot more power word spells.

[Machiavelli]

Additional to this dying thread... I've been doing something which may be verboten, given that I'm playing a Necromancer. I've been assuming that he can gain some idea about whether there's a necromantic taint on some creature/thing, if he's able to examine it closely and use spellcraft (similar to what was suggested above). It made sense to me that this would be possible, but should he be unable to figure such things out even when given an opportunity to examine something. I had thought that all mages were attuned to the weave to some extent, and that while divination allows for things to be found and interpreted from a distance, or with greater detail in an object without doing anything obtrusive, or more easily (the instant "know what's going on option"), that any mage with enough spellcraft in the right circumstances could find evidence of Necromancy. I realise this doesnt relate to the "detect undead" spell, and I'm not suggesting anything like that, just posing a question more broadly.

Here's a good example...

Sylloven left some clothes with Juniper to be mended... There was a paladin present who was concerned that they might have some sort of nasty spell or necromantical taint. Malaclypse examined the clothes, made a spellcraft roll of 33, I sent a tell to Sylloven who confirmed there wasn't. Malaclypse declared them safe.

Would this somehow count as divination, or something a Necromancer shouldn't be able to do? Just curious as to what people think, and as to whether staff think this is the sort of thing that shouldn't be done. I'd kind of figured that a Necromancer would be quite heavily attuned to these sort of things when coming into direct contact with them (or at the very least be able to find out if they're present).

EDIT: Just wanted to make clear that I care not a whit about finding invisible vampires and am not suggesting any such thing should be possible (after seeing GBXs post above), the question is entirely to do with the more RP aspects...

[Morbius]

I agree a ruling here would be benificial. I also use spellcraft to identify necormantic taints as well as other magics commonly.

Additional to this dying thread... I've been doing something which may be verboten, given that I'm playing a Necromancer. I've been assuming that he can gain some idea about whether there's a necromantic taint on some creature/thing, if he's able to examine it closely and use spellcraft (similar to what was suggested above). It made sense to me that this would be possible, but should he be unable to figure such things out even when given an opportunity to examine something. I had thought that all mages were attuned to the weave to some extent, and that while divination allows for things to be found and interpreted from a distance, or with greater detail in an object without doing anything obtrusive, or more easily (the instant "know what's going on option"), that any mage with enough spellcraft in the right circumstances could find evidence of Necromancy. I realise this doesnt relate to the "detect undead" spell, and I'm not suggesting anything like that, just posing a question more broadly.

Here's a good example...

Sylloven left some clothes with Juniper to be mended... There was a paladin present who was concerned that they might have some sort of nasty spell or necromantical taint. Malaclypse examined the clothes, made a spellcraft roll of 33, I sent a tell to Sylloven who confirmed there wasn't. Malaclypse declared them safe.

Would this somehow count as divination, or something a Necromancer shouldn't be able to do? Just curious as to what people think, and as to whether staff think this is the sort of thing that shouldn't be done.

[Drancor]

"SHES A WITCH! Well how do you know shes a witch? "she turned me into a Newt! crowd looks "well i got betta"

hehe not quite but kinda fittin.

[GodBeastX]

I always assumed spellcraft rolls to be "detect magic". However, throughout my history of RP'ing on NWN1 and NWN2 servers, I've never been so harsh as to think that magic detection can't be done by necromancers when it comes to necromancy. Sure, I'm probably not right with this according to P&P mechancis, but it's fine with me.

Commune with the dead sometime necromancers! They can tell you alot, GAH!

[Machiavelli]

I always assumed spellcraft rolls to be "detect magic". However, throughout my history of RP'ing on NWN1 and NWN2 servers, I've never been so harsh as to think that magic detection can't be done by necromancers when it comes to necromancy. Sure, I'm probably not right with this according to P&P mechancis, but it's fine with me.

Commune with the dead sometime necromancers! They can tell you alot, GAH!

Thanks for that GBX, I always thought of spellcraft as a sort of 'detect/interpret magic' as well. Anyway, Phew! Not being able to do that would kinda Nerf my character ("Oh $#!t, I should've taken any speciality except Necromancy to be a researcher of Necromancy").

[Cyrgon]

USED to be that divination was split in lesser divination and greater, and you could access lesser dviniation even if it was your opposed school. Back then however, ILLUSION was the necromancers oppositional school.

[Rhifox]

USED to be that divination was split in lesser divination and greater, and you could access lesser dviniation even if it was your opposed school. Back then however, ILLUSION was the necromancers oppositional school.

Yeah, divination being the opposed school is really stupid. Complete Mage lists 3 different primary possibilities for opposing schools to necromancy, and not one of them is divination.

Especially since the roots of Necromancy *are* divination, as Necromancy was originally (at least going by RL terms) magic used to communicate with dead spirits in order to find out information on the future, past, etc-- purely divination in nature.