D&D 5E GM's - How do you handle identifying magical items?

[DMCF]

Identify scrolls work great in MMOs and computer games as money sinks but I'm finding I don't like it in PnP or even online "PnP" games. The three main reasons are that items are a pain to track (especially potions and scrolls), it detracts from the epic of conquest, and in some cases detracts from the story that can be crafted from the weapon itself.

The first reason is simple. I describe all these potions and scrolls and in the end I have to bookmark everything because the players will ID them in town and only have descriptions. (I run 3 games a week, this is tedious!)

I feel enhances the feeling of defeating a powerful boss if some of the loot is immediately identifiable. For that reason I'd rather give a few hundred less gp and let them know there is a +2 longsword right away. Tying an adventurer's lust for loot to an difficult/pivotal battle seems like a handy mnemonic.

Numerous books have been written with sentient items that have helped shape the story. Sometimes I want to draw on this to keep things interesting for the players and I don't want them to identify an item immediately.

In the end, I guess (to me) it feels like a vestigial step of an outdated system that does nothing to enhance (and in some cases may detract) from the game's possibilities.

 

[Nebulous]

Although I'm not currently using them, i was always a huge fan of legendary weapons that grow in power with the PC and unlocked more abilities, giving them the incentive to keep and cherish the item and not drop it for the next Big Thing.

Otherwise, if handing out potions the players will often take a sip and i'll give a brief example of what might happen. They also try to metagame with detect magic and figure out magic schools and what the item might do based on that. Lastly they usually just hire a wizard to identify something for them.

 

[iserith]

Identify scrolls work great in MMOs and computer games as money sinks but I'm finding I don't like it in PnP or even online "PnP" games. The three main reasons are that items are a pain to track (especially potions and scrolls), it detracts from the epic of conquest, and in some cases detracts from the story that can be crafted from the weapon itself.

The first reason is simple. I describe all these potions and scrolls and in the end I have to bookmark everything because the players will ID them in town and only have descriptions. (I run 3 games a week, this is tedious!)

I feel enhances the feeling of defeating a powerful boss if some of the loot is immediately identifiable. For that reason I'd rather give a few hundred less gp and let them know there is a +2 longsword right away. Tying an adventurer's lust for loot to an difficult/pivotal battle seems like a handy mnemonic.

Numerous books have been written with sentient items that have helped shape the story. Sometimes I want to draw on this to keep things interesting for the players and I don't want them to identify an item immediately.

In the end, I guess (to me) it feels like a vestigial step of an outdated system that does nothing to enhance (and in some cases may detract) from the game's possibilities.

I follow the guidelines in the DMG (page 136). A character can fiddle with a magic item during a short rest and discover its properties. An identify spell speeds up this process. In some cases, I will outright say what the magic item is if it is the stuff of legends or has a reason to be labeled (especially in the case of potions or the like).

 

[ThirdWizard]

I require identify to be cast on items to know the details of the item.

What I do is create a handout on an index card, on one side a picture of the item and on the other the details of what the item is and does. When they identify the item, they can flip it over to take a look.

I've attached a few of the handouts.

 

[Lanefan]

I require identify to be cast on items to know the details of the item.

Do you also allow trial and error to give any info? Example: party picks up a longsword, they know it's magic via detection but have no idea what its powers and-or plusses might be; so the party Fighter uses it for the next several battles. If she stumbles on to a power e.g. it suddenly glows blue when Orcs are near that's fine, and I'd give her a roll of some sort after a while to see if she'd figured out how much (if any) the sword was helping her actually fight. Of course, the first time she uses it she's also going to trigger any curses it might have...

Lanefan

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

In my game, identifying an item requires the identify or legend lore spells, or similar.
Expermientation might also work.

The identify spell does not determine curses. The legend lore spell hints at curses.

 

[Lancelot]

I have three categories: consumables, boring permanent items, and special permanent items.

I allow characters to identify consumables with a short rest and a successful Arcana roll, based on the rarity of the item. Potion of Healing? DC 10. Potion of Something Very Rare? DC 20 or 25. Otherwise, they have to wait for a long rest. This serves two purposes. Firstly, it creates some tension in the dungeon. Occasionally, you'll get a situation when a character will "take a chance" in a tense combat with an unknown potion. This can lead to hilarious results. I've never yet seen a player get frustrated or angry at this; most players at my table actually love the uncertainty. You pays your money, you takes your chances. But secondly, the auto-identify after a long rest is a safeguard to prevent record-keeping. I don't want to be tracking every potion long-term. Once we're clear of the session, the player can just write it down on his sheet.

For uncommon or well-known magic items (sword +2, elven boots, ring of invisibility), I simply tell them what it is when they find it. It's assumed that trial-and-error will quickly figure it out, and it's a hassle for me to remember to add the +1 to attack and damage if the character is simply using a +1 weapon. I'd rather just tell them, and let them do the math.

However, for special items (e.g. multi-property items, or home-grown items), it requires an identify spell. They might, at best, get a single property of the item by trial-and-error. But all the deeper qualities require proper identification. This keeps identify relevant and valuable, while not forcing it's use for every potion of healing and +1 sword.

 

[Celtavian]

I require identify to be cast on items to know the details of the item.

What I do is create a handout on an index card, on one side a picture of the item and on the other the details of what the item is and does. When they identify the item, they can flip it over to take a look.

I've attached a few of the handouts.

Cool.

 

[Celtavian]

I imagine it depends. I might allow some kind of skill check for things that can be discerned through skill like exceedingly good craftsmanship or a magical edge to a blade. I allow the standard method using spells. I allow experimentation. They may be able to discern by how an enemy uses the item. I like magic item identification to be organic.

 

[HarrisonF]

A short rest to identify items is one of my favorite changes in this edition. I really hated going through the experimentation via RP. The first dozen times I did it over the years it was OK, now it just gets tedious. "Oh a magic sword, let's go through this checklist to find the magic properties"

The identify spell has a few advantages over the short rest testing approaching:

1. Curses. Short rest will get you hit with these every time, whereas identify may find some curses before they hit you.
2. Origin. The identify spell gives you a lot more info about the item, such as the neat origin you can rollup in the DMG. In certain cases this is useful to know.
3. All powers. In some unusual cases, the short rest may only give obvious powers and non-obvious ones only matter when they happen or identify happens.