Detect Thoughts

Category: Baldur’s Gate Spells

Level 2 Divination spell available to Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Lets you read the surface thoughts of the people you talk to until a Long Rest. It has no combat use whatsoever. It has a great deal of dialogue use, and that is where this game keeps its best content.

Spell description: Focus your mind to read the thoughts of certain creatures while talking to them.

Spell properties

  • Range: Self
  • Duration: Long Rest
  • Concentration spell
  • Ritual spell
  • Conditions applied: Read the thoughts of certain creatures while talking to them.
  • Cost: Action + Spell Slot
  • Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Detect Thoughts at higher levels provides no additional benefits.

How to obtain Detect Thoughts

  • Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 3

Source items: Uncovered Mysteries, Hammer of the Just, Mask of Soul Perception, Potion of Mind Reading, Scroll of Detect Thoughts

DETECT THOUGHTS

Level 2 Divination Spell

Focus your mind to read the thoughts of certain creatures while talking to them.

Range: Self Duration: Long Rest
Action Level 2 Spell Slot

When to cast Detect Thoughts

Cast it before a conversation you care about. A handful of dialogues in every act have a Detect Thoughts option that only appears while the spell is running, and some of them hand you information, a shortcut, or a way out of a fight you would otherwise have to win the hard way.

It lasts until Long Rest and it is Concentration, which is fine because you are not casting it in combat. Put it up when you walk into a town or a camp full of people who might be lying to you, then talk to everyone.

The Potion of Mind Reading does exactly the same thing without spending a spell known, and a Bard has better things to learn. Keep the potions, take the spell only if you have room for it.

Looking for more spells? Check out our full sortable and filterable list of all BG3 spells in the database.

Browse all BG3 Spells →

Spell properties

Level
Level 2
School
Divination
Casting resource
Action + Spell Slot
Damage type

Range
Self
Duration
Long Rest
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Notes & sources

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Spell mechanics, descriptions and values are based on Baldur’s Gate 3 version 4.1.1.7209685 and may change with future patches. Where applicable, sources are cited within each article.

Copyright disclaimer & licensing
Some or all of this work is © Larian Studios.
Some spell icons and game data are property of Larian Studios and used here under their fan content policy. Any fan-created works using content from Larian fall under: Larian Fan Content Policy and / or Baldur’s Gate 3 Fan Content Terms. Some of the icons used in these spell cards were downloaded from Sammy8932 on NexusMods.

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