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I asked the question on SciFi.Stackexchange, In the Dresdenverse, can Wizards detect each other?, partially spurred on by things that happen in the novel. But I started researching it in relation to the game, and realized that no where in the game did they say one way or the other, other than through The Sight or Soulgaze. The closest thing I can see as justification is Wizard Senses on YS222, but that still doesn't go into detail on what they can sense- especially if another Wizard is not actively using magic, or indeed doesn't know that they are a wizard. I also noted that on YS281 it talks about hidden power- but in relation to artifacts or stores of power- not wizards.

Is there something else that I'm missing that's more explicit towards this? Or is this one of those things that's going to vary by campaign?

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Anyone with Lore can try to actively notice a wizard, but reactive (if conditional) use is an effect of The Sight

Wizard’s Touch. As another aspect of your arcane senses, when you touch another being who has some magic potential, the GM may ask you to roll Lore to catch just a hint of a “spark”—indicating their nature as something other than mundanely mortal. Even on a failed roll, you might experience some sort of sense that something is “off,” without being able to pin it down. [YS174]

Thus, while anyone can use Lore to try detecting the presence of the supernatural, another practitioner can get a reactive roll called for by the GM and likely notice something even if they fail... but only on the condition that they touch. This reflects experience in the books, as said elsewhere.

Even success, however, is not definitive proof of wizardry: it's just knowledge that the person touched is supernatural in some way. Handing him your cell phone and trying to compel him to break it, or calling Penn and Teller wizards instead of magicians (or Merlin a magician instead of a wizard) and rolling Empathy to see how hard he bites his tongue, might actually be more definitive.

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Going off of what's in the novels, I would say that there's no inherent way to tell if they're being good other than the methods you have listed above. A wizard might be able to feel ambient power circulating in an area but oftentimes will not be able to divine the source of it without knowing what they are looking for specifically.

Now, cold reading might help a wizard out. Things such as "She's not going near that computer and gets nervous if she does" or "He seems to be worrying his runic bracelet a lot" and your character may be tipped off to a talent they are concealing. Otherwise, the Wardens would have a lot easier time catching rogue sorcerers.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ In White Night, it's part of the plot (as stated in comments that other question), but never mentioned again AFAIK. I wonder if that was just continuity fail. But your point about Wardens and sorcerors is a good point. \$\endgroup\$
    – Chuck Dee
    Jan 31, 2013 at 18:13
  • \$\begingroup\$ I was thinking about that whole Paranet thing and trying to remember. That might've had more with the Fae \$\endgroup\$
    – CatLord
    Jan 31, 2013 at 18:15
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    \$\begingroup\$ It actually wasn't White Night- it was Blood Rites. A practitioner keeps her hands full so she doesn't have to shake hands with Dresden. (being obscure for spoiler's sake) "The touch of one practitioner's hand against another was electric and unmistakeable." But there's never another mention of it in any of the novels. \$\endgroup\$
    – Chuck Dee
    Jan 31, 2013 at 21:38
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The justification on YS222 seems quite appropriate to me. Since everybody can use Lore to "detect the presence of the supernatural", and wizards can even use it to investigate and understand it, there's nothing stopping a wizard from detecting another by using the Lore skill, unless of course the other wizard has taken measures to mask his presence.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Still seems a bit nebulous and could vary per campaign, especially with some things that have gone on in the books (canon). Things would be a lot easier if you could sense practitioners. \$\endgroup\$
    – Chuck Dee
    Jan 31, 2013 at 21:08
  • \$\begingroup\$ Don't know about the books, but it seems perfectly plausible under normal circumstances. Or maybe it is common practice for wizards to have wards to prevent that, then that's your typical block with a strength that must be overcome \$\endgroup\$
    – edgerunner
    Jan 31, 2013 at 21:52

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