Nondetection

• Level: 3
• School: Abjuration
• Class: Bard, Ranger, Wizard
• Casting Time: Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: V, S, M (a pinch of diamond dust worth 25+ GP, which the spell consumes)
• Duration: 8 hours

For the duration, you hide a target that you touch from Divination spells. The target can be a willing creature, or it can be a place or an object no larger than 10 feet in any dimension. The target can't be targeted by any Divination spell or perceived through magical scrying sensors.

Tactical Usage

Nondetection serves as essential anti-surveillance magic that protects targets from magical detection and scrying attempts by hostile forces. The 8-hour duration provides extended protection during infiltration missions, sensitive negotiations, or when carrying valuable items that enemies might track through divination magic.

Target selection should prioritize high-value individuals carrying sensitive information, magical items, or strategic intelligence that enemies would seek through scrying. Party leaders, spellcasters with powerful items, and individuals with critical knowledge benefit most from comprehensive detection immunity.

Operational security improves dramatically when protecting meeting locations, safe houses, or item storage areas from magical surveillance. Enemy intelligence networks often rely on divination magic, making Nondetection crucial for maintaining strategic surprise and tactical security throughout extended operations.

Spell Combinations

Nondetection synergizes excellently with other protection spells to create comprehensive security packages. Mind Blank provides superior but shorter-duration mental protection, while Nondetection offers longer-term divination immunity that complements mind-shielding effects perfectly.

Stealth operations benefit from combining with Invisibility, Pass Without Trace, and Silence to create operatives who are undetectable through both magical and mundane surveillance methods. Zone of Truth resistance planning works well with divination immunity.

Item protection strategies improve through layering with Magic Aura to disguise magical signatures and Secret Chest for secure storage that combines physical concealment with magical detection immunity for comprehensive item security.

Material Component Details

Nondetection requires diamond dust worth 25+ gold pieces that is consumed during casting, representing a significant but manageable resource investment for mid-level characters. Diamond quality affects cost but not effectiveness, allowing flexibility in component acquisition.

Component preparation involves grinding diamonds into fine powder, typically performed by jewelers, alchemists, or specialized magical suppliers. Bulk purchasing of diamond dust provides economic efficiency for parties expecting frequent surveillance threats.

Cost management becomes important for extended operations requiring multiple castings or continuous protection of multiple targets. Wealthy parties might maintain standing supplies, while resource-conscious groups reserve usage for critical situations and high-value targets.

Creator Notes

Nondetection provides excellent counter-intelligence capabilities that can significantly impact information warfare and espionage scenarios without overwhelming encounter balance. Enemy divination becomes less reliable, encouraging alternative intelligence gathering methods.

Surveillance dynamics shift when protected targets become invisible to magical detection, requiring enemy adaptation through mundane observation, interrogation, or physical tracking methods. Cat-and-mouse dynamics develop between protection and detection capabilities.

Campaign security improves when players can protect sensitive information and strategic assets from magical surveillance, though creative counter-measures and alternative detection methods maintain appropriate challenge levels for intelligent enemies.

Environmental Interactions

Nondetection creates an absolute barrier against divination magic that functions regardless of environmental conditions or magical field strength. Anti-magic fields suppress the protection while active but resume normal function upon leaving such areas.

Scrying sensors and magical surveillance devices cannot detect or observe protected targets, effectively creating blind spots in enemy intelligence networks. Divination spells simply fail when targeting protected individuals, objects, or areas.

Physical detection methods remain fully effective - the spell only blocks magical divination and scrying. Visual observation, tracking, interrogation, and mundane investigation techniques work normally against protected targets.

Common Rulings & Clarifications

Protection scope includes immunity to Locate Object, Locate Creature, Scrying, Clairvoyance, and similar divination magic targeting the protected subject. Area divination spells that don't specifically target the subject might still provide general information about surrounding areas.

Target limitations allow protection of willing creatures, places up to 10 feet in any dimension, or objects of similar size. Unwilling creatures cannot be protected, though unconscious or incapacitated subjects might be considered willing in appropriate circumstances.

Detection immunity prevents magical location, remote observation, and information gathering about the protected target. Indirect divination that gathers information about related subjects or surrounding areas might still provide circumstantial intelligence.

Duration consistency means protection persists for 8 hours regardless of target activity, location changes, or environmental conditions. Dispel attempts can end the protection early if they overcome the 3rd-level magical effect.

Alternative Applications

Witness protection scenarios benefit enormously from magical concealment of individuals with dangerous knowledge or sensitive testimony. Political refugees, defectors, and rescued prisoners gain unprecedented security from enemy divination networks.

Item security applications include protecting valuable magical items, important documents, or strategic resources from magical theft or intelligence gathering. Treasure hoards and secret caches become invisible to divination-based treasure hunting.

Diplomatic immunity gains new dimensions when envoys and negotiators cannot be magically surveilled or information-gathered during sensitive negotiations. Trade secrets and political intelligence remain secure from magical espionage.

Related Spells

Detection immunity connects to Mind Blank for superior mental protection, Magic Aura for magical signature disguise, and Private Sanctum for area-based divination blocking. Lead sheeting provides mundane but effective scrying protection.

Concealment magic includes Invisibility for visual hiding, Pass Without Trace for tracking immunity, and Sanctuary for targeting prevention. Disguise Self and Alter Self provide appearance modification rather than detection immunity.

Counter-intelligence spells like Misdirection and False Vision provide deceptive information rather than complete concealment. Zone of Truth resistance and Charm immunity complement divination protection for comprehensive mental security.

Scaling Analysis

Nondetection does not scale with higher-level spell slots as its protection scope and duration remain consistent regardless of casting level. Multiple targets require separate castings rather than enhanced area coverage or improved effectiveness.

Campaign utility scales with enemy sophistication and divination prevalence in the setting. High-magic campaigns with frequent scrying make Nondetection essential, while low-magic environments might find limited applications for divination immunity.

Resource scaling becomes important as diamond dust costs accumulate with frequent usage. Wealthy parties can maintain continuous protection, while resource-limited groups must carefully prioritize when divination immunity provides sufficient value to justify material expenditure.

Narrative Flavor

Nondetection manifestation should emphasize the subtle but absolute nature of magical concealment being established. Divine casters might invoke protective veils or sacred sanctuary, while arcane users could weave dimensional shields or reality distortions around the target.

Protection establishment appears as a faint shimmer or barely visible aura that quickly fades to complete invisibility. Magical sight might detect the initial casting but cannot perceive the ongoing protection once established.

Different magical traditions might manifest unique concealment styles - wizards could create geometric shields that deflect divination attempts, rangers might invoke natural camouflage that confuses magical senses, while bards could weave harmonic barriers that discord with scrying frequencies and detection resonances.