So last night was my very first time playing...ever. I created a Paladin who begins with Divine Sense.
I won't spoil the adventure, but lets just say our party came upon a room with multiple inanimate objects. Our goal was to find/slay a mimic.
I wanted to cast Divine Sense to detect evil, but was told that that it wouldn't work. I'm at odds with the explanation. Yes, Divine Sense detects Undead, Celestials and Fiends within 60ft for a location. In a broader sense, even if in this case I didn't know an exact location, could I not 'sense' evil intentions? Seems like a very limited spell for Lvl 1 then, unless you are trying to find zombies/undead near a graveyard. Not sure how many starting Lvl 1's come across Celestials or fiends.
Am I missing something? I would think at the very least I might 'feel' something isn't quite what it appears to be in a room....
Your DM, or whoever told you, had it right. And your impression is correct, Divine sense is not all that exciting. (You don’t cast it, btw, it is not a spell. It is a power you activate. As a result, it can not be dispelled.) In general, rules and descriptions do exactly what they say, no more, no less. In the case of divine sense, there is a specific list of creatures and effects it can detect, so it can only detect those creatures and effects. No more, no less. I see the issue with there being flavor text about evil, but that has no mechanical impact.
As far as things like celestials and fiends, you’re right, they don’t turn up often at level 1, but you’ll still have that power all the way up through level 20.
And for “feeling” something isn’t right in the room, that would likely be a perception check.
So last night was my very first time playing...ever. I created a Paladin who begins with Divine Sense.
I won't spoil the adventure, but lets just say our party came upon a room with multiple inanimate objects. Our goal was to find/slay a mimic.
I wanted to cast Divine Sense to detect evil, but was told that that it wouldn't work. I'm at odds with the explanation. Yes, Divine Sense detects Undead, Celestials and Fiends within 60ft for a location. In a broader sense, even if in this case I didn't know an exact location, could I not 'sense' evil intentions? Seems like a very limited spell for Lvl 1 then, unless you are trying to find zombies/undead near a graveyard. Not sure how many starting Lvl 1's come across Celestials or fiends.
No, why should you? That is not what that class feature is for. Also, being able to detect Fiends is a really good ability for level 1 characters. If you do it means that you are in waaay over your head and should get the heck out of there. :)
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So last night was my very first time playing...ever. I created a Paladin who begins with Divine Sense.
I won't spoil the adventure, but lets just say our party came upon a room with multiple inanimate objects. Our goal was to find/slay a mimic.
I wanted to cast Divine Sense to detect evil, but was told that that it wouldn't work. I'm at odds with the explanation. Yes, Divine Sense detects Undead, Celestials and Fiends within 60ft for a location. In a broader sense, even if in this case I didn't know an exact location, could I not 'sense' evil intentions? Seems like a very limited spell for Lvl 1 then, unless you are trying to find zombies/undead near a graveyard. Not sure how many starting Lvl 1's come across Celestials or fiends.
Am I missing something? I would think at the very least I might 'feel' something isn't quite what it appears to be in a room....
Thanks in Advance
Your DM, or whoever told you, had it right. And your impression is correct, Divine sense is not all that exciting. (You don’t cast it, btw, it is not a spell. It is a power you activate. As a result, it can not be dispelled.)
In general, rules and descriptions do exactly what they say, no more, no less.
In the case of divine sense, there is a specific list of creatures and effects it can detect, so it can only detect those creatures and effects. No more, no less.
I see the issue with there being flavor text about evil, but that has no mechanical impact.
As far as things like celestials and fiends, you’re right, they don’t turn up often at level 1, but you’ll still have that power all the way up through level 20.
And for “feeling” something isn’t right in the room, that would likely be a perception check.
No, why should you? That is not what that class feature is for. Also, being able to detect Fiends is a really good ability for level 1 characters. If you do it means that you are in waaay over your head and should get the heck out of there. :)