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In Pathfinder Psionics, the standard rule is that magic and psionics are more or less the same. Spell Resistance is also Power Resistance and so forth.

Can Detect Magic detect a n active psionic effect? If so, can it be used to identify the effect? If it can be used to identify, does a Spell Craft check suffice, or is a Psi Craft check required.

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up vote 5 down vote accepted

Paizo has studiously avoided publishing a single official word on psionics. The only psionics rules are from a third party, Dreamscarred Press, but are in the online Pathfinder SRD. According to those rules, if you are using magic-psionics transparency, then you treat powers just like spells or spell-like abilities, so yes, detect magic would detect them.

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But could it identify them? Would it allow a PsiCraft or SpellCraft roll? – C. Ross Jul 26 '11 at 12:22
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The question reduces to "How does that work with a spell-like ability?" Transparency means "the same" so yes. Spellcraft would let you ID a power as it was being used; Detect Magic would identify an active power's school (note those are two different things). If you use magic-psi transparency then psi is magic and all the same rules apply. – mxyzplk Jul 26 '11 at 12:26
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+1 to Paizo for not including psionics. Of course, at some point they will. As much as many groups (including my own) hate psionics, they will inevitably include it in some form to make a buck or two when they start to run out of other ideas. – BBlake Jul 26 '11 at 13:25
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@mxyzplk Then why did Psionic's Unleashed include the separate PsiCraft skill at all? By your definition it would be a complete overlap of SpellCraft. – C. Ross Jul 26 '11 at 16:19
@C. Ross Because you don't have to use "magic-psionics transparency". That's just the default. A GM could, if they wanted, make them opaque to each other, at which point a Psicraft skill is necessary. Besides, I don't think I'd let a psionic character take Spellcraft unless they were also a wizard, regardless of transparency. – SevenSidedDie Jul 26 '11 at 17:01
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