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"Detect Alignment"
This spell discovers emanations of evil (or of good, law, or chaos in the case of the cardinal spells) from any
creature, object, or area. Character alignment is not revealed under most circumstances: Characters who are strongly
aligned, do not stray from their faith, and who are at least 9th level might radiate good, evil, law, or chaos if
they are intent upon appropriate actions. Powerful monsters, such as ki-rin, send forth alignment emanations, even
if polymorphed. Aligned undead radiate evil, for it is this power and negative force that enables them to continue
existing. An evilly cursed object or unholy water radiates evil, but a hidden trap or an unintelligent viper does
not. The degree of evil (faint, moderate, strong, overwhelming) can be noted. Note that priests have a more powerful
version of this spell. The spell has a path of detection 10 feet wide and 60 yards long in the direction in which the wizard is facing.
The wizard must concentrate--stop, have quiet, and intently seek to detect the aura--for at least one round to
receive a reading. The Planescape setting has forced me to realize the more interesting aspects of the AD&D
alignment system, something which I generally abhor as a crutch for weak roleplayers. With
this newfound focus on alignment, I found the typical good/evil focus of the core rules to
be lacking, what with the just-as-intriguing horizons of law/chaos to explore. Hence, I
altered the alignment-based spells to take into consideration the "forgotten branch of AD&D
morality". |