The alarm spell is written rather open-endedly. It wards an area so it's an abjuration spell, but it detects creatures so it works like a divination spell. It can be set against specific types of creatures, but what if those creatures are protected from detection?
If a creature is invisible will a 1st level alarm spell detect them, keeping in mind See Invisibility is a 2nd level spell.
All other spells that detect creatures are divination spells, which leads one to think that Alarm has divination elements. The Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location, quote "While wearing this amulet, you are hidden from divination magic. You can't be targeted by such magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors." Since the Amulet blocks divination/detection spells (Scrying is 5th) level and Crystal Balls which are Very Rare or Legendary, would it also work on a 1st level Alarm spell?
It's an Abjuration spell so absolutely no - an item/ability that prevents detection from Divination will not affect it.
Someone with Invisibility on would be detected by the Alarm spell - but when the person who cast it wakes up or investigates - they won't suddenly be able to see them. They'll just know something entered the warded area.
I agree with everything Emmber said. If you know that there's an Alarm on an object or area (which is difficult in and of itself), your best bet is probably to cast Dispel Magic.
Yes, its an abjuration spell, but it's one with the Detection descriptor. No other abjuration spell has that, so how is it detecting a threat? Detection spell lie in the realm of divination, so it seems to me there's some sort of crossover.
True, Dispel Magic is a cure-all, but against a simple 1st level spell it would seem there'd be other ways. I know it doesn't say in the book... you can't write down every possible contingency or minutia. Just seems logical to me that there are ways to get around it by looking at similar things.
It is not a divination spell and it is not the only non-divination spell that has a detect effect or aspect (instant summons, glyph of warding, faithful hound, there are more you get the idea).
You can detect it with detect magic and dispel it with dispel magic. Or fly over it, or attack from outside its range, etc.
Yes, its an abjuration spell, but it's one with the Detection descriptor. No other abjuration spell has that, so how is it detecting a threat? Detection spell lie in the realm of divination, so it seems to me there's some sort of crossover.
The Detection tag is an organizational tool of D&D Beyond. It has nothing to do with the rules.
Glyph of Warding isn't a detection spell, it's a warding, as is Guard and Wards. (hence the names) Alarm is the only Abjuration spell with the Detection tag. (Did a search for Detection spells from all schools in the DnD Beyond Database to be sure). I suggest Alarm is a Divination spell in the Abjuration School... much like Control Weather is a conjuration spell (similar to Call Lightning), but it's in the Transmutation school. It's in the Abjuration school because it's protection magic designed to keep an area safe from intruders. HOW it does that is what I'm suggesting could be related to divination magic. IF that is the case then it is possible then things that can stop spells many levels higher than Alarm might be able to affect it as well.
I'd think the tags, being an organizational tool while not in the rulebooks would help you navigate in a manner that's helpful and not misleading... especially since it's provided by the ones who wrote the rules in the first place. Of course, I could be wrong and the descriptors have nothing to do with what they're attached to and serve no purpose.
That is not how the rules work. If you want to homebrew or discuss philosophy of spell schools, you are in the wrong forum.
And glyph of warding detects when a creature is present regardless of if it is invisible or protected from divination, how is that not exactly the same argument you are making for alarm? Instant summons can tell you a creature's location and is not divination. And there are more spells that detect creature's presence that are not divination.
Divination is the school of looking for information. Abjuration is the school of protecting a person, place, or thing. Alarm is a defense measure, not an investigative tool, 100% abjuration.
Again, the tag is not the rules. You will not find that tag in any rulebook, because it's something the staff of D&D Beyond (who are not Wizards of the Coast) made up to help users search for things.
Control Weather is not a conjuration spell. It is a transmutation spell.
The "how" may indeed be related to divination magic, but it is not divination magic; it is abjuration magic, because Alarm is an abjuration spell. You can houserule however you'd like. I don't even think what you're suggesting is unreasonable; there are a lot of spells that could reasonably fall under two (or even more) schools. But that's not the rules, which is what this forum is about.
Yeah, the "Detection" descriptor (and all the other tags) is as far as I can tell something D&DBeyond added to help users find spells they're interested in. They're just tags to help search, so you can do something like "find all healing spells". They do not interact with the rules and as far as I can tell are not mentioned in the physical rulebooks or other online sources of spells. Sorry that in this case you're finding it adds confusion instead of helping, I guess.
But RAW is pretty clear. Alarm is not a divination spell, it's an abjuration spell. It does exactly what it says in the description, which is that it alerts you "When a Tiny or larger creature enters the warded area".
If "creatures are protected from detection", whether that prevents Alarm from working or not probably depends on the actual effect that's protecting them from detection and what it does.
If a creature is Invisible, that does not help against Alarm - since Alarm does not require the creature to be visible and does not rely on sight.
The Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location protects you from being targeted by divination magic and protects you from scrying sensors. Alarm is neither of those things, so it has no interaction with that amulet.
In your game, as DM, you're free to house-rule that Alarm is actually a divination instead of abjuration spell, or that things that work against divination spells work on it, or whatever you like. RAW those things wouldn't work, though.
I think something to consider is that most divination spells that detect something do so as the caster is actively searching for something, be that magic (like detect magic) information (like divination) or a person/thing (like [spell]see invisibility[/spell).
Abjuration spells, particularly those that operate like wards, operate mostly passively, in that the action they are performing does not typically require ongoing focus or concentration by the caster (they are the "set it and forget it" spells). Examples are mage armor, death ward, or nondetection. Looking at the mechanics of the alarm, it works most similarly to these "passive" ward spells than to the "active" divination spells, which is why it is considered abjuration.
... It can be set against specific types of creatures, but what if those creatures are protected from detection?...
No, Alarm can't be set only against specific creatures. It is by default all Tiny-to-Large creatures, and you can designate specific creatures that will not trigger it. You can't cast Alarm to trigger only by Undead or anything. That is the realm of more powerful magic.
As to how Alarm might detect an invisible creature? Meh, it's magic. Imagine it not as a sensor trying to detect creatures, but like a physical bubble of protective abjuration magic which gets popped when a creature moves into it.
The ways to thwart it are to not move into it (teleport past, tunnel a new entrance or something), dispel it, trigger it by throwing rats into it, and so on.
The easiest way to thwart Alarm, which a DM has done to me in the past, is to have an invisible creature hiding in the area of effect when you cast it. I have a DM who successfully did that to me twice. Unfortunately the two creatures were written into the module, he just noticed that it was possible and played them perfectly.
Think of it like a laser security system. The invisible creature is still tangible so it'll still trip the alarm sensor... Alarm doesn't detect a specific creature it detects (not divines) a presence in its perimeter
So how does one even Detect the Alarm spell if Detect Magic can't actually see the aura of something that is invisible? Is the Alarm spell visible in any way? The rules don't say that you inscribe anything visible or detectable anywhere, it's just way too vague as to how that works, so it does seem like the spell is a little bit too powerful for a simple 1st circle spell that can't be protected against.
And if you can't Detect where the Alarm has been cast, since Detect Magic will only tell you "something" is magical in a 30 ft area, you can't Dispel it unless it's a door in a tunnel and there's literally nothing else to dispel.
So how does one even Detect the Alarm spell if Detect Magic can't actually see the aura of something that is invisible? Is the Alarm spell visible in any way? The rules don't say that you inscribe anything visible or detectable anywhere, it's just way too vague as to how that works, so it does seem like the spell is a little bit too powerful for a simple 1st circle spell that can't be protected against.
And if you can't Detect where the Alarm has been cast, since Detect Magic will only tell you "something" is magical in a 30 ft area, you can't Dispel it unless it's a door in a tunnel and there's literally nothing else to dispel.
The spell is cast on a window, door, or area no larger than a 20-foot cube. None of those things is invisible unless it's also the target of some other magic that makes it invisible. Cast Detect Magic and the door that has Alarm cast on it will glow with an aura of abjuration magic. If it's the area, the whole area would glow. Technically an area isn't an object, and given what forum this is, that does bear mentioning, but I expect any DM worth their salt would realize that it's not actually the design intent that an area cast be able to circumvent Detect Magic.
The obnoxious option, of course, is to release a handful of Tiny creatures near the alarm cube (bats, for example) and annoy the heck out of the mage when it pings every minute.
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The alarm spell is written rather open-endedly. It wards an area so it's an abjuration spell, but it detects creatures so it works like a divination spell. It can be set against specific types of creatures, but what if those creatures are protected from detection?
If a creature is invisible will a 1st level alarm spell detect them, keeping in mind See Invisibility is a 2nd level spell.
All other spells that detect creatures are divination spells, which leads one to think that Alarm has divination elements. The Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location, quote "While wearing this amulet, you are hidden from divination magic. You can't be targeted by such magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors." Since the Amulet blocks divination/detection spells (Scrying is 5th) level and Crystal Balls which are Very Rare or Legendary, would it also work on a 1st level Alarm spell?
It's an Abjuration spell so absolutely no - an item/ability that prevents detection from Divination will not affect it.
Someone with Invisibility on would be detected by the Alarm spell - but when the person who cast it wakes up or investigates - they won't suddenly be able to see them. They'll just know something entered the warded area.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
I agree with everything Emmber said. If you know that there's an Alarm on an object or area (which is difficult in and of itself), your best bet is probably to cast Dispel Magic.
Yes, its an abjuration spell, but it's one with the Detection descriptor. No other abjuration spell has that, so how is it detecting a threat? Detection spell lie in the realm of divination, so it seems to me there's some sort of crossover.
True, Dispel Magic is a cure-all, but against a simple 1st level spell it would seem there'd be other ways. I know it doesn't say in the book... you can't write down every possible contingency or minutia. Just seems logical to me that there are ways to get around it by looking at similar things.
It is not a divination spell and it is not the only non-divination spell that has a detect effect or aspect (instant summons, glyph of warding, faithful hound, there are more you get the idea).
You can detect it with detect magic and dispel it with dispel magic. Or fly over it, or attack from outside its range, etc.
There are others. Glyph of Warding and Guards and Wards to name only two.
If it used Divination it would be a Divination spell.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
The Detection tag is an organizational tool of D&D Beyond. It has nothing to do with the rules.
Glyph of Warding isn't a detection spell, it's a warding, as is Guard and Wards. (hence the names) Alarm is the only Abjuration spell with the Detection tag. (Did a search for Detection spells from all schools in the DnD Beyond Database to be sure). I suggest Alarm is a Divination spell in the Abjuration School... much like Control Weather is a conjuration spell (similar to Call Lightning), but it's in the Transmutation school. It's in the Abjuration school because it's protection magic designed to keep an area safe from intruders. HOW it does that is what I'm suggesting could be related to divination magic. IF that is the case then it is possible then things that can stop spells many levels higher than Alarm might be able to affect it as well.
I'd think the tags, being an organizational tool while not in the rulebooks would help you navigate in a manner that's helpful and not misleading... especially since it's provided by the ones who wrote the rules in the first place. Of course, I could be wrong and the descriptors have nothing to do with what they're attached to and serve no purpose.
That is not how the rules work. If you want to homebrew or discuss philosophy of spell schools, you are in the wrong forum.
And glyph of warding detects when a creature is present regardless of if it is invisible or protected from divination, how is that not exactly the same argument you are making for alarm? Instant summons can tell you a creature's location and is not divination. And there are more spells that detect creature's presence that are not divination.
Divination is the school of looking for information. Abjuration is the school of protecting a person, place, or thing. Alarm is a defense measure, not an investigative tool, 100% abjuration.
Again, the tag is not the rules. You will not find that tag in any rulebook, because it's something the staff of D&D Beyond (who are not Wizards of the Coast) made up to help users search for things.
Control Weather is not a conjuration spell. It is a transmutation spell.
The "how" may indeed be related to divination magic, but it is not divination magic; it is abjuration magic, because Alarm is an abjuration spell. You can houserule however you'd like. I don't even think what you're suggesting is unreasonable; there are a lot of spells that could reasonably fall under two (or even more) schools. But that's not the rules, which is what this forum is about.
Yeah, the "Detection" descriptor (and all the other tags) is as far as I can tell something D&DBeyond added to help users find spells they're interested in. They're just tags to help search, so you can do something like "find all healing spells". They do not interact with the rules and as far as I can tell are not mentioned in the physical rulebooks or other online sources of spells. Sorry that in this case you're finding it adds confusion instead of helping, I guess.
But RAW is pretty clear. Alarm is not a divination spell, it's an abjuration spell. It does exactly what it says in the description, which is that it alerts you "When a Tiny or larger creature enters the warded area".
If "creatures are protected from detection", whether that prevents Alarm from working or not probably depends on the actual effect that's protecting them from detection and what it does.
If a creature is Invisible, that does not help against Alarm - since Alarm does not require the creature to be visible and does not rely on sight.
The Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location protects you from being targeted by divination magic and protects you from scrying sensors. Alarm is neither of those things, so it has no interaction with that amulet.
In your game, as DM, you're free to house-rule that Alarm is actually a divination instead of abjuration spell, or that things that work against divination spells work on it, or whatever you like. RAW those things wouldn't work, though.
I think something to consider is that most divination spells that detect something do so as the caster is actively searching for something, be that magic (like detect magic) information (like divination) or a person/thing (like [spell]see invisibility[/spell).
Abjuration spells, particularly those that operate like wards, operate mostly passively, in that the action they are performing does not typically require ongoing focus or concentration by the caster (they are the "set it and forget it" spells). Examples are mage armor, death ward, or nondetection. Looking at the mechanics of the alarm, it works most similarly to these "passive" ward spells than to the "active" divination spells, which is why it is considered abjuration.
No, Alarm can't be set only against specific creatures. It is by default all Tiny-to-Large creatures, and you can designate specific creatures that will not trigger it. You can't cast Alarm to trigger only by Undead or anything. That is the realm of more powerful magic.
As to how Alarm might detect an invisible creature? Meh, it's magic. Imagine it not as a sensor trying to detect creatures, but like a physical bubble of protective abjuration magic which gets popped when a creature moves into it.
The ways to thwart it are to not move into it (teleport past, tunnel a new entrance or something), dispel it, trigger it by throwing rats into it, and so on.
The easiest way to thwart Alarm, which a DM has done to me in the past, is to have an invisible creature hiding in the area of effect when you cast it. I have a DM who successfully did that to me twice. Unfortunately the two creatures were written into the module, he just noticed that it was possible and played them perfectly.
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Think of it like a laser security system. The invisible creature is still tangible so it'll still trip the alarm sensor... Alarm doesn't detect a specific creature it detects (not divines) a presence in its perimeter
So how does one even Detect the Alarm spell if Detect Magic can't actually see the aura of something that is invisible? Is the Alarm spell visible in any way? The rules don't say that you inscribe anything visible or detectable anywhere, it's just way too vague as to how that works, so it does seem like the spell is a little bit too powerful for a simple 1st circle spell that can't be protected against.
And if you can't Detect where the Alarm has been cast, since Detect Magic will only tell you "something" is magical in a 30 ft area, you can't Dispel it unless it's a door in a tunnel and there's literally nothing else to dispel.
The spell is cast on a window, door, or area no larger than a 20-foot cube. None of those things is invisible unless it's also the target of some other magic that makes it invisible. Cast Detect Magic and the door that has Alarm cast on it will glow with an aura of abjuration magic. If it's the area, the whole area would glow. Technically an area isn't an object, and given what forum this is, that does bear mentioning, but I expect any DM worth their salt would realize that it's not actually the design intent that an area cast be able to circumvent Detect Magic.
The obnoxious option, of course, is to release a handful of Tiny creatures near the alarm cube (bats, for example) and annoy the heck out of the mage when it pings every minute.