Auras Version 2.02

The base element of any Aura is strength. The strength of an Aura is always revealed by any magic that detects or reads Auras. The categories of strength are, from weakest to strongest:

1. Magic (magical wall, illusion)
2. Formerly Living Composite (chair, stew)
3. Formerly Living (dead orc, log)
4. Non-Sentient Animates (stone golem, skeleton)
5. Living Plants (rose, oak)
6. Living Animals (dog, cat)
7. Sentient Animates (flesh golem, vampire)
8. Living Sentient (human, sphinx)
9. Long Living Sentient (dragon, titan, elf)
10. Avatar (material form of a Demon, etc.)

The rest of an Aura consists of information intrinsic to the possessor. This information will vary depending upon the Generic type of the target, but will either affect the life-force of the target, or be magical. Only effects that are still current or continuos in nature will be detected.  Information may be gained in descriptive terms, values or even proportions as appropriate for the type of information being read.

Information that may be gained from a living being includes: its Generic True Name, its plane of origin, approximately how far it is through its life-span (e.g. juvenile, 50%, about 100 years old), its general state of health (e.g. healthy, diseased, 1/2 Endurance), aptitude with a magical ability (e.g. low overall, Rank of specific ability) and to which College of magic (if any) it is attuned. These last two facts are discernible because the skills that they represent have an affect on the level and type of magic in the entity's Aura. Relatively little information can be divined regarding the non-magical learned abilities of an entity. It will be possible to learn what is the being's most intrinsic skill or ability, but lesser skills may not be sufficiently intrinsic so as to have made an impression on the being's aura.

Magical auras will include information such as College, exact name of a spell or other effect, level of magical ability (low, medium, high, very high), approximate length of time that the magic has been in effect (providing it is still present), and approximately how much duration remains.

Any one part of an object will be representative of the entire object, for example the Aura of a toe sticking out from underneath a blanket will reveal the same information as if the entire being were visible. A detached thumb could reveal some information about its former owner, up to the time it was detached, providing it is intrinsic to the thumb, for example Generic True Name, plane of origin, or age -- when it was removed.  The thumb would not reveal a magical college or a skill, as these are properties of living beings only.

9.1 Detect Aura Talent

Only one attempt at Detect Aura may be made per object. An individual object will change over time, however, and a fresh attempt may be made when the aura has changed sufficiently to class it as a “new” object.  If an aura has been successfully read, the same information will be available without a new Cast Check being made, until such time that the object changes sufficiently to be considered a “new” object.

Aura require direct line of sight to be read.  It is not possible to use Detect Aura through a mirror, crystal ball, Wizard’s Eye, or by any other indirect means.

9.2 Interpretation and Examples

1. In general the more specific the question the more specific the answer – the exact nature is left to the GM’s discretion. For example:
• “What was the last type of magic to impact on this person?” might get “A spell”
• “What is the nature of the most recent magical affect on this person?” might get “fortitude”
• “What was the last spell to impact on this person?” might get “Strength of Stone”
2. All things change over time, even if outwardly they look the same. While the times may vary from object to object depending on circumstances, they tend to follow a seasonal cycle following the seasons. An object whose aura was read in Spring will have changed sufficiently by Summer to be able to be DAed again.
3. The single attempt rule also applies to multi-hex objects. Only one DA may be performed per item – one cannot DA a wooden floor three times just because it covers 3 hexes. Attempts to do so will get the response (even before rolling the dice) – “you see an aura, formerly living, and the answer is oak”, that is the same aura they had previously read until a change of season. After the change of season a new attempt to detect the aura would have to be made.
4. Once an aura has been detected, it is available to the detector for the looking, as is the answer to the question/s asked, until the aura changes. For example, having detected the Aura of a Ward, the Adept is able to re-read the same information freely. If the Ward was then dissipated, the aura would vanish.
5. A DQ aura is located very close to the skin surface. Thus a person in a full suit of plate armour, with the visor down, and no part of the body visible whatsoever would not be able to have their aura read. Cloth will hide an aura, but make up will not.
6. The size of the object will be determined by its utility. Thus 100’ of corridor could be a single object, while the next 5 feet, because it has a wooden floor, or is magical say, may be an object. The GM may deliberately break things up so as not to give away too much information from the groupings chosen.