Detect magic spell

[Cozy]

The rule is "you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you".
If the caster of the spell are carrying a magical item, will the spell then allways indicate that there are some magical item presence in every visited room?

[mattekure]

The rule is "you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you".
If the caster of the spell are carrying a magical item, will the spell then allways indicate that there are some magical item presence in every visited room?

Yes, if you are carrying a magic item, you will always detect something within 30' of you. But, the rest of the description states: "If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any." So you can use your action to identify whether the magic is the item you are carrying, or something else in the room.

[LordEntrails]

..." So you can use your action to identify whether the magic is the item you are carrying, or something else in the room.

Like that magic gem the rogue pick pocketed from Lord Big Nose and never told you about!

[Cozy]

Yes, if you are carrying a magic item, you will always detect something within 30' of you. But, the rest of the description states: "If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any." So you can use your action to identify whether the magic is the item you are carrying, or something else in the room.

Yes, I play it like that if the item is visible. But under a dead corpse it is not visible. So what to do then. Strip all magical items and aske everyone else to exit the room?

[mattekure]

Yes, I play it like that if the item is visible. But under a dead corpse it is not visible. So what to do then. Strip all magical items and aske everyone else to exit the room?

If you are ruling that only visible items are detectable, then you are severely gimping the spell. The spell explicitly states that it penetrates objects to a point. "The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt."

[Cozy]

If you are ruling that only visible items are detectable, then you are severely gimping the spell. The spell explicitly states that it penetrates objects to a point. "The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt."

Yes it is. But it tell you if there are a magic item in the room. And if the PCs har magical items there are always magical items in the room. Visible items is no problem as they give of an aura. But non visible items does not give away an aura, they just drown in the magic from what the PCs carry

[LordEntrails]

Whatever keeps the fun in the game for you and the players at your table, play it that way.

To me, having the players (or being a player) that has to describe in minutiae just what is being done when searching a room ("I pull out the drawers and measure each one inside and out to make sure their are not false bottoms. Then I slowly take apart the desk one piece at a time searching for parchment hidden between two panels...") is just not fun anymore. I can do it, we can spend an hour or two searching a room, but to us, that's not fun. Neither is having to describe how we are turning over bodies while casting detect magic, and digging up the dirt floor and moving everything around so anything magical is in plain sight.

I also don't like secret doors or treasure or anything else that must be found in order to advance the story line being tied to a single search die roll, or to a specific action. Sure, the party might not find a hidden magic item because they didn't do something specific, but they will never know that because lack of that item is not going to hinder their advancement or the story line.

I think you get my approach, but again, make sure however you play it works for your table. Have fun, don't stress too much over any given rule or aspect.

[Fear Grounds]

But under a dead corpse it is not visible. So what to do then. Strip all magical items and aske everyone else to exit the room?

You "sense the presence", But how?
1) Colored auras for each school of magic have been a staple of RPGs for years, but only engage one sense. What about the other ones? What are interesting ways of finding things that don't include the use of sight...

2) Can this player character smell Magic in the area? Use a different, easy to recognize smell for each School of magic.

3) Maybe each school of magic sings a different musical note or song, and the character hears it? Especially good for Bards.

4) What if, with each type of magic, they get a phantom taste in their mouth? Stay away from Necromancy!!!

5) Maybe the Character feels the delicate touch of a loved one, guiding them toward a magical heirloom, or pulling them away from a trap?

The rules cannot cover all possibilities, but are written to give us examples of how to do things. Take what they give you, and run with it.

[Cozy]

So, is this correct?
You all let the players se that there are additional magical items in a room with detect magic.
(Exept: blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.)

It would make life a bit easier

[Jiminimonka]

So, is this correct?
You all let the players se that there are additional magical items in a room with detect magic.
(Exept: blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.)

It would make life a bit easier

Yes, they already know they have magic items on them - they are hunting for new magic items - let the spell guide them. No need to make it complicated.

If the game becomes bogged down with rules and discussions about rules it gets frustrating and not fun. Unless that kinda thing makes everyone happy....

[Marquis_de_Taigeis]

I always just at the first time a players uses the spell describe that they detect the items they are wearing plus any other Pings of magic in the radius (the way the magic pings might vary taste / smell / colour) and then after that first use of the spell the character has become essentially proficient with the spell that they are able to suppress the detection of the items in there own possession and if they know that their travelling companions are carry specific magical artefacts then they are also suppressed, if they wish due to the knowledge that they are there. i normally have the caster roll a d% roll when using detect magic, this is normally an irrelevant roll, but if for some reason another travelling companion had sneakily acquired a magic item and was keeping it hidden then this might stand out from the parties normal background magic

[LordEntrails]

So, is this correct?
You all let the players se that there are additional magical items in a room with detect magic.
(Exept: blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.)

It would make life a bit easier
Yep :)

And if the plot requires I do something different, then I let the players know by giving them some clue. Maybe something like "You cast detect magic, and as you extend your senses, something is wrong, but you don't know what." That way they can trust that they can be casual or less precise, but when they need to be precise they know I will give them info so they know that. I do the same thing with secret doors, traps, tracks, clues etc when passive perception is used but I want them to do something more than that. "You feel an unnatural chill on the back of your neck." Or "The slight echoes your voices have been making in the stone hallways has changed here, something is different, but you're not sure what it is."

[estrolof]

Agreed, about Detect Magic on a "in real life" vs "fun of a game that uses mutable time-frames". If a real detective used a Detect Magic, and had magic items. I'm sure they would have to turn over the apartment to get auras into visible line of site - or they'd have a CSI team that goes in without magic items so they have a "clean read." And if that's the gritty world a DM runs, more power to them. But, since getting jobs, we've had to...make some less gritty decisions to maximize our time and fun.

That's why I try to make Perception, Investigation, Insight, and such rolls Tower Rolls. This way, there's some added anxiety over "did I fail?" But, more-so (and you'll see this in Baldur's Gate 3 - too, which was reassuring), because plot rolls can be "succeed on a 1" without having to tell the players they "cannot possibly fail". They get the "good stress" and your description then can make it feel like it was a close call, or a near-miraculous discovery, when it was really a foregone conclusion. And by doing this regularly, they never know if it's a plot required success, or just off-the-cuff ad-lib.

So, if you want to do a semi-gritty, have them do a Tower Arcana or Tower Investigation while it's active to "discover an item". That way any plot-required items are going to be found no matter what. Maybe make a DC and if they fail the tower roll they still miss out on the bonus loot items, but they simply cannot fail the plot ones.

One could say that the roll is pointless. And, it is. But, this way the PC don't know, so they feel that investment in a non-combat aspect of their character is worth it, and feel more well rounded in their contributions. Heck, sometimes, if I want to play it up. I attribute the "miraculous" discovery to the PC who's having the worst luck with those types of rolls, so they don't feel useless.

And as for that comment about "how it manifests" (sound, touch, vibe, etc.) - YES, YES this!! Flavor adds variety and connectivity. In The Wheel of Time, they talk often about how the casters each approach the same end-effect in a different way based on how they were introduced to their power(s). In D&D, I've long embraced that same idea. Whether it's how a class perceives magic, or how a culture does. One of Ed Greenwood's books used "The Weave" as a way for casters to 'see' the magic when detecting it and when casting it. As if knitting threads of energy. The story implied that you could - eventually - recognize not only the type of weaving, but even the individual who wove it, because (like handwriting) we each have our own voice. So, maybe a Bard can even 'hear' the weave of magic in different tones beyond simply school. Maybe a wizard's conjuration sounds different than a clerics? Maybe a cleric of Bane is a rigid tone, while a Bards may be more playful.