Detect Snares And Pits does detect certain natural hazards, quicksand (a snare), a sinkhole (a pit), or unsafe walls of natural rock (a deadfall). However, it does not reveal other potentially dangerous conditions, such as a cavern that floods during rain, an unsafe construction, or a naturally poisonous plant. The spell does not detect magic traps (except those that operate by pit, deadfall, or snaring; see the spell Snare), nor mechanically complex ones, nor those that have been rendered safe or inactive.

The amount of information revealed depends on how long you study a particular area.

• 1st Round: Presence or absence of hazards.
• 2nd Round: Number of hazards and the location of each. If a hazard is outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its exact location.
• Each additional Round: The general type and trigger for one particular hazard closely examined by you.

Each round you can turn to detect snares and pits in a new area. The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt (soil) blocks it.