Can a spell which detects the presence of vis, detect it in a living magical animal if it penetrates its magic resistance?
Or to ask another way, what's the easiest method of detecting whether a creature is magical (aside from observing magical activity).
Forcelessly casting pilum of fire?
Alive = magical,
Dead = Lunch.
I'm hard pressed to find a downside to this method
I agree with Tarlynxeno's proceedure of detecting for might with forceless casting.
I might have a character spont something along the lines of
Confirm the beast that is spyed
In Im 4
Range sight, duration inst, target ind
detects whether target is an animal
base 1 +3 range
If the spell does not work the most likely option (yet not the only option) is that the target has might. If you can get an In An total of 20 together you could pull this off with no fatiguing.
this will work at sight range and it will not, scare mundanes or piss off any heartbeast form bjornaer who might be targeted with it in the same way that a PoF might.
Wouldnt T:Vision and D:Conc be even more useful? (More expensive, granted)
The downside of the method of Tarlynxeno is that if it is a magic animal, it might get pissed of because you attacked it.
Eriks way is probably the best yes.. nevermind the Bjoernaer example, it might also be a faerie creature of some kind.. .. lots of potential to break the code if you just mindlessly chuck fire at everything ^^
It could also be a familiar.. or a shapechanged dragon 