We ran in to this situation recently. The paladin of the group claimed that his Divine Sense can detect if an object is cursed or not. Is that really the case?

I found that a bit overpowered, but we try to keep to RAW as closely as possible.


No, RAW it cannot detect that.

The text of the paladin's Divine Sense feature reads:


It continues:


So there is nothing about sensing cursed objects. Moreover, let's look at an actual cursed object in the DMG. For example, the armor of vulnerability states explicitly:

This armor is cursed, a fact that is revealed only when an identify spell is cast on the armor or you attune to it.

This doesn't mean there cannot be an ability or item that would recognize a curse in such an object, but the paladin's Divine Sense is not it.

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    \$\begingroup\$ So if there is a curse that also gives "desecrated" to item, then and only then Paladin can detect it - but even then, he will detect desecrated quality, not the curse that caused it, right? \$\endgroup\$ – Mołot Jan 17 '19 at 16:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Mołot Yes, that's how I see it \$\endgroup\$ – J.E Jan 17 '19 at 22:17

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