“The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is.”
Hello everyone, and welcome to the third in a series of 9 articles covering the basics of each of the various school of spells for a Sorcerer, Wizard, or other Arcane caster in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, focusing on the spells available in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook (and possibly any that stand out from elsewhere). The goal for each of these is to provide you with a quick overview of useful spells at each level as well as the people who use these spells.
That said, welcome to this week’s article on the arcane school of Divination.
So what is Divination? And what exactly does a Diviner do? Well according to the Pathfinder Core Rulebook “Diviners are masters of remote viewing, prophecies, and using magic to explore the world.” So we have someone who uses magic to do his exploring on his feet, and the spells presented do a good job of that. However, the part about the prophecies isn’t quite as true, as there is only one real spell that allows you to see into the future (the foresight spell), and that doesn’t allow a prophecy as such, at least not on the grand “The world will end at midnight on New Year’s Eve” type of scale. However, they fail to mention that Diviners are also masters of discovering more about the past and generally obtaining more information about any given subject.
So let’s get started.
Detect Magic
One of the first spells that most wizards pick up is the humble Detect Magic. A useful spell, but a lot of people forget how versatile it is in some ways and how limited it is in others. The spell allows you to determine the strength of any given spell or magic item (note that the tables for the two ARE different, an important detail for a Game Master), but it also allows you to detect a lingering aura, i.e. items and spells leave an imprint upon the world depending upon how powerful they are, with the aura lasting from mere seconds to days. It would, at least in theory, be possible for a person to track down a powerful magic item, simply by following the trail they leave behind.
Detect Poison
Detect Poison is one of the rather more situational spells, usually used by someone to detect if their food is poisoned. However, closer inspection of the spell also reveals that you can tell if a CREATURE is poisonous (and presumably venomous since that is the same thing in Pathfinder). Which could come in very handy to anyone going up against Snake People, Lizardmen, Naga, and others.
Read Magic
This is yet again one of those spells that most spellcasters pick up early, especially if you’re not a sorcerer, but a wizard who has to study spells, as it allows you to read the spells in another wizard’s spellbook. More importantly, for this discussion, it allows you to identify Glyph and Symbol spells, so that you can stop them from triggering.
Comprehend Languages
Comprehend Languages is one of those spells that many pick up, but a lot do not read. And the problem is actually spelled out in the name. COMPREHEND. Meaning your communication isn’t two-way. Combine that with having to touch the person you wish to understand, and you could run into real trouble, if you try to talk to someone whose culture or religion forbids touching. (And yes, GMs, that IS a legitimate ruse 😉 ).
Identify
The name of this spells is actually a bit misleading, as it only provides you a +10 bonus to the Spellcraft check to understand what a magic item does. And while that is a help it is not the same as being told what the item does. For that, you need Analyze Dweomer, which is much more powerful and useful in that regard.
True Strike
True Strike is a bit of a hidden gem in Divination, in that it gives you a +20 insight bonus on your next attack roll. As long as it’s used before the end of the next round, you can use it as a bonus on a weapon attack OR a spell, almost guaranteeing that you’ll hit, regardless of the target’s AC.
Detect Thoughts
This spell is an oddity and something for Game Masters to be aware of. The reason for this is in the description of the spell, in that it allows the user to read “Surface Thoughts.” It is up to the GM to decide how deep a thought goes, but the idea that you cannot read complex thoughts is important. So for example, while you could probably read hostile intent and deceit in another person, you’d not be able to determine exactly when and where that person was planning to ambush you, but you’d know that it’s up to no good. Also to bear in mind is that animals with intelligence 1-2 have only simple thoughts like “food, sleep, reproduction, fear” and so on.
See Invisibility
Simply put, this spell allows you to see invisible creatures and objects. Equally, it also allows you to see those who are on the ethereal plane, and while that might not sound like a lot right off the bat, it does mean that you eliminate the total concealment that these creatures or objects would normally have, as well as not having to guess at the square in which they’re in, in order for you to attack them.
Arcane Sight
Arcane Sight is in many ways an upgraded version of Detect Magic, in that it does not require concentration to use. However, it has some important side abilities. It allows you to determine if someone has spell casting ability and tells you how powerful in terms of level, their highest spell or spell-like ability is. In effect, this allows you to determine how powerful (at least roughly) an opponent is, so that you can make an informed decision on whether to engage that opponent or not.
Tongues
For communication purposes, nothing beats Tongues. Unlike Comprehend Languages, it allows you to communicate both ways, but it still allows only verbal communication, so you could not, for example, communicate with a Drow Elf using sign language. Note that it confers the power to speak ANY language to the person you cast it upon, although he can only speak one language at a time, meaning that he can make himself understood to anyone within shouting distance who speaks the language he chooses to use at that moment.
Scrying
Here is where we start to get into the quintessence of Divination. The ability to spy upon someone from afar, without having to send a physical sensor to them. A classic example is from films where you have a “strange gypsy-seer” who shows someone the actions of someone else. In many ways you could consider it the equivalent of today’s CCTVs. It allows you to focus upon one person and their immediate surroundings (in a 10 foot radius), and see what’s going on. Of course, the better you know them, the easier it is to scry upon someone.
Arcane Eye
An Arcane Eye is an invisible and magical sensor that allows you to see what’s going on, just as if you were there yourself. It does not share any darkvision and other extraordinary sensory powers you might possess however, though it could relatively easily have a higher Perception check than you. So it could be useful for you to find traps or secret doors, even in your current location, and not just for scouting around. Further, the Arcane Eye cannot be destroyed, so you do not run the risk of injury to you or the sensor, and it has an unlimited range, allowing you to range as far as you can within the duration of the spell.
Contact Other Plane
This is one of the spells that I’ve personally seen used the least. And this is likely due to 2 factors: The risk of losing Intelligence and Charisma and the fact that it’s one word answers only. The thing to note here though is that the CASTER decides the level of risk he’s willing to expose himself to, so you can choose to go as high on the table of available “deities” for your answer as you feel comfortable doing. Of course, the higher you go, the more likely they are to know the proper answer. And a note for GMs on this one: The spell specifically states that powers and deities CAN block this spell, so if you choose for your players to not be able to obtain information by this spell, then you can do so. I would advise using that option very sparingly, as that makes the spell extremely unattractive. And it’s always fun for the players to have to play “20 questions.”
Prying Eyes
Prying Eyes is similar to Arcane Eye in many ways, but there are a few differences to be aware of. First, the Prying Eyes are NOT invisible. They are very stealthy though, but can be destroyed. You also get more than just 1, so you can send them in different directions to check out the area. One point to note though is that if they are destroyed, you lose the information they gained, because unlike Arcane Eye you cannot see what they see. You only get that information upon their return, but even that can be useful, because if one of the Prying Eyes does not return, then clearly it has encountered SOMETHING to stop it.
Telepathic Bond
This spell allows you to do silent communication, but at any distance between the recipients. This is probably one of the few times where you could split the party and still reasonably expect to know what’s going on; for example, by having a stealthy character infiltrate a dangerous location and report back what he sees. It only allows for communication, however, not mind reading and you gain no special powers over each other. And while it works at any range (meaning you could be on different sides of the planet if you wish), it does not allow for extraplanar communication.
Analyze Dweomer
In many ways, Analyse Dweomer is the lovechild of Identify and Detect Magic. It allows you the effects of both, except for also giving you information on all the powers of a particular item that you might be studying. Incredibly useful for those times where you character would not have the chance to sit down and study a magic item in detail, such as when out adventuring.
Legend Lore
This is probably one of my own favorite spells, as it allows the Game Master to drop hints and background on an item, location, or creature. It’s great for filling in those plot holes that players sometimes think there are in an adventure. This is especially prevalent in some of the older adventures (though many new ones suffer from it too); giving a ton of information and cool background story, but not providing the players with any way to obtain the information, leaving the GM as the only one “in the know.” That said, in a homebrew it can be a bit problematic, if you haven’t had time to consider the history of the spell’s target. In that case, fall back on the fact that it takes a LONG time for the spell to be cast, especially if the player is not in the location where the target is, which can give you a bit of breathing room (in many cases, until next game session) to come up with the information you want the players to obtain from the spell.
True Seeing
Also known as the “Bane of Illusions,” this spell allows you to see things as they really are. It allows you to penetrate illusions, see invisible and ethereal creatures and observe polymorphed creatures and objects in their true form. It is the friend of anyone who suspects they’re being duped. It is important to note that it cannot penetrate non-magical disguises and solid objects however, only those of a magical or supernatural nature.
Discern Location
How I wish this was a real-life spell. Imagine being able to find anything you wished for, immediately, such as lost car keys, wallets, and so on. For an adventurer though, it removes some of the uncertainty of adventuring, letting you know where an item or creature is, which is incredibly helpful. For Game Masters this spell is sometimes a bit of a deal-breaker, in that it removes part of the exploration process, but it is important to note that while it tells you where something is, it does NOT tell you if that something is accessible, trapped or guarded. Use that to your advantage.
Foresight
Finally, we come to the one spell that allows you to predict the future. Foresight allows you to foresee the immediate future, and as the caster you gain some mechanical abilities: You are never surprised or flat-footed. In addition, the spell gives you a general idea of what action you might take to best protect yourself and gives you a +2 insight bonus to AC and on Reflex saves. These last few abilities only work if you cast it on yourself, not on others, but you can still warn them against any dangers, removing the surprise and flat-foot risks. Regrettably though, it does not provide oracular abilities to the caster.
And that concludes our investigation into Divination. Next week, we’ll be looking at Enchantment spells. Let me know in the comments below of any creative uses you have found for Divination spells, or times where they have failed you dramatically.
Kim Frandsen
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