In my last session, the fighter was cursed for entering sacred grounds. I didn't reveal this to him until later when his behavior started to change. The warlock argues that because he had used detect magic earlier he would have been able to tell if he was cursed or not. He also used dispel magic to try and remove the curse. I allowed it because I wasn’t sure whether or not to, but for future reference, I would like to know whether you can detect a curse with detect magic and whether you can remove it with dispel magic rather than the spell remove curse.
I don't like using dispel magic for removing curses because then it makes you wonder what the point of remove curse is. But you could make an argument that a curse is a magical effect and therefore can be dispelled. In fact, if you look at the text for bestow curse, it says that if you cast it at level 9, it lasts until it is dispelled.
To me, a curse feel like a narrative tool as much as it is a magic effect. If I had a player who picked up a powerful curse, I might say it was too strong for dispel magic below a certain level (and that level might be higher than the players in my party are capable of casting). A homebrew solution I have seen used sometimes is to have remove curse identify the process for removing the curse rather than removing it altogether. Then as the DM, you get to send the party to gather faeflowers, which only grow near the summit of the icecrag mountains deep within frost troll territory. Now your curse is a big deal.
I would agree that Detect Magic should be able to detect the presence of a curse affecting a party member, even if they would have no way of knowing that it's specifically a curse and not like... the effect of a magic object they're carrying or something.
Detect magic shows you auras. So instead of sayin “Yes they are cursed” as a DM I would instead say “you see an aura of necromancy, or transmutation if it’s lycanthropy, etc around so and so”. And if there are others in the party wearing magic, give the same description for them. Keep it covered up under auras. People assume Detect Magic is also Identify - it’s not, not at all.
Most methods of identifying items, including the identify spell, fail to reveal such a curse, although lore might hint at it. A curse should be a surprise to the item's user when the curse's effects are revealed.
So we know that identify can't detect a curse on an item, but that tells us nothing about whether detect magic should sense anything. The question then is are all curses magical, or only the ones imparted by a spell? If you are cursed by a dying person and a god decides to impart the curse, is it magical or something else (divine)? If a curse is magical, does it belong to a school of magic that detect magic can see?
These are probably questions that can only be answered on a case-by-case basis; for example, if in your setting all minotaurs are cursed, do they exert an aura to dispel magic? I'd say they probably shouldn't, as while magic may have cursed them at birth, there isn't really any magic involved in keeping them a minotaur, that's just what they are.
Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft has a neat section on curses (p.192) but sadly doesn't offer us any more help, except that it mentions a number of different ways that a curse might be gained only one of which is specifically described as magical.
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TexasDevin has had the best advice so far. A curse is a narrative device. Narrative which the participating characters don't know about is, at best, backstory. You might also say it doesn't exist until the characters know about it. Whether a specific interaction of abilities works is mostly about what makes for the best story. I'd fully endorse detect magic--although I also agree with other posters that it's more fun to get/give a descriptive answer rather than to have the spell identify the effect. As far as dispel goes... it depends a lot on what you need to get out of the scene narratologically. Do you need the characters to bond? Throw in a cast level check to dispel the effect in order to prove the point that the caster is making an effort to help their friend. Setting up a quest arc? Of course dispel doesn't work--any novice wizard can tell you that curses require specific remedial steps, now which one did you say it was again? Dealing with the fallout of an unplanned fight? Of course dispel works, because why would we waste game time on mook #26's attack's rider effect.
I already said curses aren't necessarily magical 3 years ago. That is still true.
Crawford has refered to it before as there being a difference between the natural magic of the setting (breath weapons, impossible creatures, etc) and practical magic like spells. Everything in the game that is magical will either be a spell, magic item, or say it is magic in the description. Everything else is not magic.
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In my last session, the fighter was cursed for entering sacred grounds. I didn't reveal this to him until later when his behavior started to change. The warlock argues that because he had used detect magic earlier he would have been able to tell if he was cursed or not. He also used dispel magic to try and remove the curse. I allowed it because I wasn’t sure whether or not to, but for future reference, I would like to know whether you can detect a curse with detect magic and whether you can remove it with dispel magic rather than the spell remove curse.
I don't like using dispel magic for removing curses because then it makes you wonder what the point of remove curse is. But you could make an argument that a curse is a magical effect and therefore can be dispelled. In fact, if you look at the text for bestow curse, it says that if you cast it at level 9, it lasts until it is dispelled.
To me, a curse feel like a narrative tool as much as it is a magic effect. If I had a player who picked up a powerful curse, I might say it was too strong for dispel magic below a certain level (and that level might be higher than the players in my party are capable of casting). A homebrew solution I have seen used sometimes is to have remove curse identify the process for removing the curse rather than removing it altogether. Then as the DM, you get to send the party to gather faeflowers, which only grow near the summit of the icecrag mountains deep within frost troll territory. Now your curse is a big deal.
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I would agree that Detect Magic should be able to detect the presence of a curse affecting a party member, even if they would have no way of knowing that it's specifically a curse and not like... the effect of a magic object they're carrying or something.
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Detect magic works to detect magical effects. You would be able to tell the PC was under the effect of magic, but not that they were cursed per se.
Dispel magic specifically only ends active spells. You would need remove curse to end a curse that is not a spell.
Detect yes, remove no as I don't see curses as an active spell ( un less its an actual spell cast by someone on him)
Detect magic shows you auras. So instead of sayin “Yes they are cursed” as a DM I would instead say “you see an aura of necromancy, or transmutation if it’s lycanthropy, etc around so and so”. And if there are others in the party wearing magic, give the same description for them. Keep it covered up under auras. People assume Detect Magic is also Identify - it’s not, not at all.
We don't have a lot of guidance in the rules on curses, really it's just DMG p.139 on cursed items:
So we know that identify can't detect a curse on an item, but that tells us nothing about whether detect magic should sense anything. The question then is are all curses magical, or only the ones imparted by a spell? If you are cursed by a dying person and a god decides to impart the curse, is it magical or something else (divine)? If a curse is magical, does it belong to a school of magic that detect magic can see?
These are probably questions that can only be answered on a case-by-case basis; for example, if in your setting all minotaurs are cursed, do they exert an aura to dispel magic? I'd say they probably shouldn't, as while magic may have cursed them at birth, there isn't really any magic involved in keeping them a minotaur, that's just what they are.
Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft has a neat section on curses (p.192) but sadly doesn't offer us any more help, except that it mentions a number of different ways that a curse might be gained only one of which is specifically described as magical.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
TexasDevin has had the best advice so far. A curse is a narrative device. Narrative which the participating characters don't know about is, at best, backstory. You might also say it doesn't exist until the characters know about it. Whether a specific interaction of abilities works is mostly about what makes for the best story. I'd fully endorse detect magic--although I also agree with other posters that it's more fun to get/give a descriptive answer rather than to have the spell identify the effect. As far as dispel goes... it depends a lot on what you need to get out of the scene narratologically. Do you need the characters to bond? Throw in a cast level check to dispel the effect in order to prove the point that the caster is making an effort to help their friend. Setting up a quest arc? Of course dispel doesn't work--any novice wizard can tell you that curses require specific remedial steps, now which one did you say it was again? Dealing with the fallout of an unplanned fight? Of course dispel works, because why would we waste game time on mook #26's attack's rider effect.
I already said curses aren't necessarily magical 3 years ago. That is still true.
Crawford has refered to it before as there being a difference between the natural magic of the setting (breath weapons, impossible creatures, etc) and practical magic like spells. Everything in the game that is magical will either be a spell, magic item, or say it is magic in the description. Everything else is not magic.