Draft:Object detection (spell)
| Menu name | object detection |
|---|---|
| Base mana cost | 3 |
| Target | Ground objects on the current local map |
| Learning | Thieves' Guild membership; general spell learning |
| Related items | Potion of object detection |
Object detection briefly displays where objects lie on the current local map. This spell finds ground loot rather than identifying its properties or searching a living monster's possessions.[1]
Learning
Joining the Thieves' Guild teaches object detection immediately, alongside the lockpick and attribute rewards. The membership page explains the variable dues and admission conditions; no promotion is required for this spell.[2]
The other routes are random research through a scroll of spells or the Collegium, a Knowledge wish that selects this spell, and use of identified Kolwynia. The common learning rules distinguish research from automatic teaching.[3]
Effects
The initial cost is 3 mana. On each occupied ground square the spell draws the category symbol of the first object in that square's pile. It does not list every object in a pile, identify their names, or reveal items still carried by monsters. Walls and distance do not block this scan.[4]
The symbols remain until acknowledgement, after which the ordinary map is restored. Squares outside the current display's vertical window are not drawn. The spell does not add a persistent object-tracking state or reveal the surrounding terrain; clairvoyance serves the latter purpose.[5]
Strategy
Use object detection to decide whether an unexplored area contains loot worth investigating. One symbol may stand for a mixed pile, so a modest-looking marker is not proof that nothing valuable is there. The spell also gives no assurance that the route is safe: monster detection answers a different question.
Once you know the square, apportation can retrieve its contents without stepping onto it. This is useful near traps, hazardous terrain or enemies, but costs additional mana and does not bypass carrying arrangements. A noncursed potion can substitute for the initial survey when you have not learned the spell.
References
- ↑ spell.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 421–424; effect1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 476–492.
- ↑ guild2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 46–98.
- ↑ effect3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 271–307; effect1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 613–620; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 292–307.
- ↑ spell.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 506–507; effect1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 476–492.
- ↑ effect1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 476–492; scr.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 57–78; scr.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 815–829.