Buy me a coffeeDivination · Poison Detection · Investigative Magic
Detect Poison Spell
Discover hidden toxins, recognise venomous creatures and determine whether danger lies in a cup, a wound, an object or the surrounding area.
The modern D&D 5.5e/2024 version is named Detect Poison and Disease. Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e retain the shorter name Detect Poison. The modern spell maintains awareness around the caster, while the older versions examine one chosen creature, object or 5-foot cube in an instant.
Quick Rules Reference
1st-level Divination ritual
Range Self; Concentration, up to 10 minutes. Senses the location and kind of poisons, poisonous or venomous creatures and magical contagions within 30 feet.
Cantrip, orison or 1st-level spell
Close range; one creature, object or 5-foot cube; instantaneous. A DC 20 Wisdom or Craft (alchemy) check identifies the exact poison.
0-level or 1st-level spell
Close range; one creature, object or 5-foot cube; instantaneous. No saving throw and no Spell Resistance.
Spell Mechanics
D&D 5.5e / 2024
Detect Poison and Disease
Level 1 Divination — Cleric, Druid, Paladin and Ranger
- Casting Time
- Action or Ritual
- Range
- Self
- Components
- V, S, M — a yew leaf
- Duration
- Concentration, up to 10 minutes
Effect
While you maintain the spell, you sense the location of poisons, poisonous or venomous creatures and magical contagions within 30 feet of yourself. You also sense the kind of poison, creature or contagion in each case.
Blocking Materials
The detection is blocked by 1 foot of stone, dirt or wood; 1 inch of metal; or a thin sheet of lead.
Rules Precision
- The printed Range statistic is Self. The 30-foot distance belongs to the spell’s effect.
- The detection moves with you and remains active while you maintain Concentration.
- The spell reveals the kind of qualifying danger, but not its saving throw DC, dose, remaining duration or numerical damage unless another rule supplies that information.
- The current wording detects magical contagions rather than every ordinary nonmagical illness.
- A creature with the Poisoned condition is not automatically detected unless a poison or another listed subject is present.
- Counterspell may interrupt the casting when its trigger and range requirements are met.
- Dispel Magic may end the ongoing spell when used successfully against its caster or effect.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game First Edition
Detect Poison
Divination
- Level
- Antipaladin 1, Arcanist 0, Cleric 0, Druid 0, Hunter 0, Inquisitor 0, Mesmerist 0, Occultist 0, Oracle 0, Paladin 1, Psychic 0, Ranger 1, Shaman 0, Sorcerer 0, Warpriest 0, Witch 0, Wizard 0
- Casting Time
- 1 standard action
- Components
- V, S
- Range
- Close — 25 feet + 5 feet per 2 caster levels
- Target or Area
- One creature, one object or one 5-foot cube
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Saving Throw
- None
- Spell Resistance
- No
Effect
The casting determines whether the chosen creature, object or 5-foot cube has been poisoned or is poisonous.
Identifying the Exact Poison
Attempt a DC 20 Wisdom check. A character with Craft (alchemy) may attempt a DC 20 Craft (alchemy) check before the Wisdom check or after the Wisdom check fails.
Blocking Materials
The divination is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Specialised Concealment
- Obscure Poison: detection requires a secret caster-level check against DC 15 + the opposing caster level. The Wisdom or Craft (alchemy) identification DC increases by 10.
- Languid Venom: detection requires a secret caster-level check against DC 11 + the opposing caster level. Its identification DC also increases by 10.
- If both effects apply, their values do not stack. Use the higher detection DC and the higher identification-DC increase.
- Contingent Venom functions as Languid Venom and therefore inherits its detection complication.
- A failed identification check does not undo successful detection; the caster still knows that poison is present.
- Because the spell is instantaneous, Dispel Magic cannot erase the information after resolution.
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5e
Detect Poison
Divination
- Class Lists
- Assassin 1, Cleric 0, Druid 0, Paladin 1, Ranger 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 0
- Casting Time
- 1 standard action
- Components
- V, S
- Range
- Close — 25 feet + 5 feet per 2 caster levels
- Target or Area
- One creature, one object or one 5-foot cube
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Saving Throw
- None
- Spell Resistance
- No
Effect
The casting determines whether the chosen creature, object or 5-foot cube has been poisoned or is poisonous.
Identifying the Exact Poison
Attempt a DC 20 Wisdom check. A character with Craft (alchemy) may attempt a DC 20 Craft (alchemy) check before the Wisdom check or after the Wisdom check fails.
Blocking Materials
The divination is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Rules Precision
- Detect Poison appears as a 1st-level spell on the assassin prestige-class spell list.
- The initial result reveals the presence of poison. The DC 20 check determines its exact type.
- The spell does not reveal whether further poison saves remain, repair ability damage or restore hit points.
- The casting may be countered under the normal D&D 3.5e counterspell rules before it resolves.
- Because the duration is instantaneous, Dispel Magic cannot erase the result after resolution.
Edition Comparison
| Rule | D&D 5.5e / 2024 | Pathfinder 1e | D&D 3.5e |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spell name | Detect Poison and Disease | Detect Poison | Detect Poison |
| Operation | Ongoing awareness around the caster | Instant examination of one target or cube | Instant examination of one target or cube |
| Range | Self; senses within 30 feet | Close | Close |
| Duration | Concentration, up to 10 minutes | Instantaneous | Instantaneous |
| Identification | Kind is sensed automatically | DC 20 Wisdom or Craft (alchemy) | DC 20 Wisdom or Craft (alchemy) |
| Disease interaction | Detects magical contagions | Not part of this spell | Not part of this spell |
| Wood or dirt barrier | 1 foot | 3 feet | 3 feet |
How Detect Poison Works
Detect Poison magic answers a limited but urgent question: is a qualifying toxin or venom present here? It is most valuable before the suspected substance is consumed, washed away, burned, mixed with other material or removed from the scene.
The modern spell surveys the caster’s surroundings for up to 10 minutes. The older spells are precise examinations: the caster chooses one creature, object or 5-foot cube and receives an immediate result. In every edition, the spell is informational rather than curative.
A negative result is evidence rather than absolute proof of safety. The danger may be beyond range, behind a blocking material, protected by specialised magic, outside the selected older-edition target or excluded by the modern spell’s defined categories.
Best Uses in Play
Food and Drink
Examine a cup, communal meal, water skin, medicine bottle, ingredient or sealed provision before anyone consumes it.
Wounds and Weapons
Determine whether a fang, arrow, needle, blade or hidden trap introduced poison into a creature.
Venomous Creatures
The modern spell can reveal the location and kind of poisonous or venomous creatures within 30 feet, subject to its barriers.
Crime Scenes
Test cups, gloves, cosmetics, keys, letters, handles, jewellery, remains and likely delivery objects before the evidence is disturbed.
Hazardous Rooms
Investigate an alchemical laboratory, fungal cavern, poisoner’s workshop, monster den, contaminated well or suspected gas trap.
Magical Contagions
In D&D 5.5e, identify the location and kind of a magical contagion before symptoms or transmission reveal it by other means.
Tactics and Investigation
Secure the scene first
Stop anyone from drinking, cleaning, burning or moving the suspected source. Detection becomes less useful once the material has been dispersed or destroyed.
Search systematically
In Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e, begin with the victim and the most likely delivery object, then test nearby containers and 5-foot cubes. One casting does not examine an entire room unless the selected cube covers the relevant area.
Account for shielding
A lead lining or sufficiently thick stone, wood, dirt or metal can defeat the spell. Inspect suspicious containers and architecture rather than treating a negative result as final.
Protect Concentration
The D&D 5.5e spell is useful while moving through a dangerous site, but it ends when Concentration is lost and prevents the caster from maintaining another Concentration spell simultaneously.
Move from detection to treatment
In Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e, follow a positive result with an antidote, medical care, Delay Poison or Neutralize Poison as appropriate. These linked pages contain legacy-edition material and should not be treated as official D&D 5.5e spell mechanics.
Rules Clarifications and Edge Cases
Does the spell make poisoned food safe?
No. The food or drink remains contaminated until the poison is removed, neutralised or otherwise dealt with.
Does it end the Poisoned condition?
No. It may reveal a poison that caused the condition, but it does not remove the condition or heal damage.
Does the modern spell detect ordinary diseases?
The D&D 5.5e wording detects magical contagions. Expanding it to every mundane illness is a house rule rather than the printed effect.
Does it reveal saving throw DCs, doses or damage?
No. The spell reveals the kind or exact type as its edition specifies. Numerical poison statistics require another rule, source or successful knowledge check.
Can it detect poison inside a container?
Yes, provided the poison lies within range or the selected target and the container does not meet a listed blocking threshold.
Does poison immunity prevent detection?
No. Immunity protects a creature from poison’s effects; it does not normally hide the poison or venom from divination.
Can a negative result prove that something is safe?
Not absolutely. Range, targeting, barriers, concealment magic and edition-specific definitions can all leave a danger undetected.
Counters and Concealment
Physical shielding
Lead and sufficiently thick stone, wood, dirt or metal are the spell’s clearest mundane counters. A prepared poisoner may conceal a dose inside a lined compartment or beyond the exact penetration limit.
Pathfinder concealment magic
Obscure Poison and Languid Venom force secret caster-level checks and make exact identification harder. Their values do not stack; only the stronger applicable values are used. Contingent Venom functions as Languid Venom and carries the same detection complication.
Counterspell and Dispel Magic
In D&D 5.5e, Counterspell may prevent the casting, while Dispel Magic may end the ongoing detection. The Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e versions resolve instantaneously, leaving no continuing spell to dispel after the result is known.
Decoys and incomplete searches
A detected poison may be a deliberate distraction. The spell reveals what is present; it does not identify the poisoner, prove motive, reconstruct events or guarantee that every possible delivery method has been examined.
Spellcasting Culture and Worldbuilding
Where poison-detection magic is available, courts and wealthy households develop procedures around it. Kitchens separate ingredients, cellars seal vessels, cup-bearers preserve suspicious samples and investigators examine rooms before servants erase traces of contamination.
Apothecaries may sell paid verification, temples may test medicines before treatment, and military quartermasters may examine wells after suspected sabotage. A positive result can trigger quarantine, political crisis or a race to obtain the correct antidote.
Professional poisoners respond by studying range, barriers and magical counters. Lead-lined cases become suspicious objects in their own right, while decoy toxins and delayed venoms exploit the difference between detecting danger and understanding how it was delivered.
Adventure Hooks
The Safe Banquet
Every dish tests clean, yet three guests collapse. The poison was carried on the wax seals of their invitations.
The Lead-Lined Reliquary
A temple coffer is lined with lead. Its keepers claim the lining protects a relic, but someone is using it to hide a toxic substance.
The Creature in the Wall
The modern spell reveals a venomous creature inside solid masonry, but no opening or passage can be found.
The Unknown Poison
The party detects poison but fails to identify it. Only a forbidden herbal, an imprisoned alchemist or the maker can reveal the antidote.
The Silent Carrier
A healthy traveller carries a magical contagion. Reaching the next city may begin an outbreak.
The False Negative
A secret Pathfinder caster-level check fails against concealed venom, turning apparent safety into part of the mystery.
Historical and Occult Development
Food tasters and uncertain evidence
Before reliable toxicology, suspected poisoning was judged through symptoms, residue, circumstance and the testimony of attendants or physicians. Food tasters offered reassurance but could not reliably expose substances whose effects appeared hours later.
Smithsonian Magazine: the history and limitations of poison tasting
Bezoars and protective objects
Bezoars and manufactured Goa stones were credited with the power to resist poison. They were enclosed in ornate cases, mounted as valuable objects or associated with drinking vessels, joining medicine, prestige and fear of assassination.
British Museum: medicinal container associated with Goa-stone traditions
The yew leaf as a ritual component
The modern spell uses a yew leaf. Yew is strongly poisonous and has long-standing associations with death, burial and endurance, making it a fitting sympathetic token for magic that recognises hidden toxins without curing them.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: yew botany and cultural history
From signs to chemical testing
The historical counterpart to this spell is forensic toxicology: the movement from suspicion and visible symptoms towards tests that identify a particular substance. In a fantasy setting, the older editions’ DC 20 identification check occupies the same conceptual space—the difference between knowing that poison exists and establishing what it is.
Mythological Parallels
Circe and the poisoned cup
Circe’s myths place dangerous drugs inside hospitality. Her mixtures transform those who drink them, while the herb moly protects Odysseus. The story joins poison, recognition and countermeasure in a form immediately useful to fantasy play.
World History Encyclopedia: Circe
Medea and concealed intent
Medea’s legends repeatedly connect drugs and poisoned gifts with betrayal, vengeance and trust. Detect Poison addresses the same fear: an ordinary object offered in ceremony may carry an unseen hostile purpose.
World History Encyclopedia: Medea
Mithridates and resistance
Mithridates VI became associated with attempts to build resistance through controlled exposure. His tradition represents a different defence from divination: rather than discover poison before it acts, the ruler tries to make the body harder to poison.
World History Encyclopedia: Mithridates VI
Venomous monsters
Serpents, dragons, hydras, scorpions and underworld creatures often carry venom that survives in weapons, wounds or polluted landscapes. The spell’s ability to recognise poison and poisonous creatures makes it part medical divination and part monster lore.
Related SpiralWorlds Material
-
Poisons and Toxins
Delivery methods, examples and poison rules across editions. -
Delay Poison
A legacy-edition spell that postpones poison’s effects without curing prior harm. -
Neutralize Poison
A legacy-edition treatment that removes or suppresses poison rather than detecting it. -
Detect Disease
A separate older-edition disease divination with its own mechanics and source. -
Dispel Magic
May end an active modern casting when used successfully. -
Counterspell
May prevent the modern spell from taking effect during casting.
Detect Poison Spell FAQ
What is the difference between Detect Poison and Detect Poison and Disease?
Detect Poison is the Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e name. Detect Poison and Disease is the D&D 5.5e/2024 name. The modern spell senses qualifying dangers around the caster for up to 10 minutes; the older spell examines one selected target or 5-foot cube instantaneously.
Can Detect Poison identify the exact poison?
The modern spell reveals the kind. Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e require a DC 20 Wisdom or Craft (alchemy) check to identify the exact type.
Does Detect Poison cure poisoning?
No. It provides information only. Treatment requires an antidote, medical care or appropriate restorative magic.
What blocks Detect Poison?
The modern spell is blocked by 1 foot of stone, dirt or wood; 1 inch of metal; or thin lead. Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e instead allow 3 feet of wood or dirt while retaining the same stone, metal and lead limits.
Can Detect Poison find a concealed venomous creature?
The modern spell senses the location and kind of poisonous or venomous creatures within 30 feet unless a listed barrier blocks the effect. The older spells can determine whether a specifically selected creature is poisonous.
Rules Sources and Licensing
- D&D 2024 Basic Rules: Spell Descriptions — current Detect Poison and Disease mechanics.
- System Reference Document 5.2.1 — current fifth-edition rules and licensing.
- Archives of Nethys: Detect Poison — Pathfinder 1e spell entry.
- Archives of Nethys: Obscure Poison — Pathfinder concealment interaction.
- Archives of Nethys: Languid Venom — Pathfinder delayed-venom and concealment interaction.
- d20 SRD: Detect Poison — D&D 3.5e spell entry.
- d20 SRD: Assassin — Assassin 1 spell-list confirmation.
SRD 5.2.1 attribution: This page uses material from Wizards of the Coast LLC’s System Reference Document 5.2.1 under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. View the SRD and licence.
Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e rules material identified as Open Game Content is used under the Open Game License v1.0a. Product Identity is not Open Game Content.