The character can sense the presence of evil. The amount of information revealed depends on how long the character studies a particular area or subject:
1st Round: Presence or absence of evil.
2nd Round: Number of evil auras (creatures, objects, or spells) in the area and the strength of the strongest evil aura present. If the character is of good alignment, the strongest evil aura's strength is "overwhelming" (see below), and the strength is at least twice the character's character level, the character is stunned for 1 round and the spell ends. While the character is stunned, the character can't act, the character loses any Dexterity bonus to AC, and attackers gain +2 bonuses to attack the character.
3rd Round: The strength and location of each aura. If an aura is outside the character's line of sight, then the character discerns its direction but not its exact location.
Aura Strength: An aura's evil power and strength depend on the type of evil creature or object that the character is detecting and its HD, caster level, or (in the case of a cleric) class level.
Creature/Object Evil Power
--------------- ----------
Evil creature HD / 5
Undead creature HD / 2
Evil elemental HD / 2
Evil magic item
or spell Caster level / 2
Evil outsider HD
Cleric of an
evil deity Level
Evil Power Aura Strength
---------- -------------
Lingering Dim
1 or less Faint
2-4 Moderate
5-10 Strong
11+ Overwhelming
If an aura falls into more than one strength category, the spell indicates the stronger of the two.
Length Aura Lingers: How long the aura lingers depends on its original strength:
Original Strength Duration
----------------- --------
Faint 1d6 minutes
Moderate 1d6 X 10 minutes
Strong 1d6 hours
Overwhelming 1d6 days
Remember that animals, traps, poisons, and other potential perils are not evil; this spell does not detect them.
Note: Each round, the character can turn to detect things in a new area. The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.