D&D General 1e feel for 5E

[cbwjm]

Was it 4e, then, where you'd learn all the properties of a magic item just by having it in your possession for 24 (?) hours?

In 1e Identify requires a 100 g.p. pearl each time, which makes it a bit hard to just hand-wave.

Most of the time IME it's shortage of pearls that limits their ID casting.

No, you're correct about 5e (unless they removed this option in 2024). Identify is the quick way of determining magical properties, otherwise you learn them with a short rest.

 

[Clint_L]

No, you're correct about 5e (unless they removed this option in 2024). Identify is the quick way of determining magical properties, otherwise you learn them with a short rest.

Huh, you're absolutely right. Somehow I've missed it and been playing it like 1e this whole time. Eh, I think I'll keep doing it that way.

 

[haakon1]

In 3x, you can Identify potions by sipping and a Spellcraft check, and scrolls with Read Magic or Spellcraft.

I don’t recall if it’s RAW, but I also support AD&D style “test it and guess” for permanent magic items, possibly helped by Spellcraft.

 

[Yaarel]

I dont think we were ever consistent. But I remember. To figure out a magic item, the DM would give dreamy hints, when tasting a potion or trying to wield an item. Stuff like for a Flametongue sword, "Maybe the sword feels warmer." Some of the hints were easy to recognize, but others were perplexing.

It would be fine to do this in 5e, during a 1-hour short rest. The player would need to guess correctly, instead of automatically knowing. It was ok to keep asking for hints for different ways of experimenting.

 

[Lanefan]

I dont think we were ever consistent. But I remember. To figure out a magic item, the DM would give dreamy hints, when tasting a potion or trying to wield an item. Stuff like for a Flametongue sword, "Maybe the sword feels warmer." Some of the hints were easy to recognize, but others were perplexing.

It would be fine to do this in 5e, during a 1-hour short rest. The player would need to guess correctly, instead of automatically knowing. It was ok to keep asking for hints for different ways of experimenting.

In character as Lanefan back in the day, I wrote a fairly comprehensive guide to field-testing magic items: how to test, what to test for, what not to test for in the field (e.g. "Water Breathing - field testing not recommended"), best practices to avoid triggering curses, and so forth.

One of these days - and I've been saying this for ages now - I'll have to figure out how to post it here. Till that time, you can find it here:

Guide

Enjoy.

 

[Yaarel]

In character as Lanefan back in the day, I wrote a fairly comprehensive guide to field-testing magic items: how to test, what to test for, what not to test for in the field (e.g. "Water Breathing - field testing not recommended"), best practices to avoid triggering curses, and so forth.

One of these days - and I've been saying this for ages now - I'll have to figure out how to post it here. Till that time, you can find it here:

Guide

Enjoy.

We accepted that experimenting with a magic item necessarily meant if it was a cursed item, it was already too late to avoid it.

For the Water Breathing potion, a taste of it (or even a strong smelling of it), might be something like, the neck itches (with hints of gills), or the lungs feel really dry (with need of water).

 

[Lanefan]

We accepted that experimenting with a magic item necessarily meant if it was a cursed item, it was already too late to avoid it.

For the Water Breathing potion, a taste of it (or even a strong smelling of it), might be something like, the neck itches (with hints of gills), or the lungs feel really dry (with need of water).

For the potion, sure; but if it's a bracelet of water breathing or a helmet of water breathing or etc., absent clues on the item itself your only real field-test option is to stick your head in the bay and try breathing the water in. As this is usually a very unhealthy (if not outright deadly) thing to do if the item does not in fact give this ability, field-testing for water breathing is not recommended.

 

[Yaarel]

For the potion, sure; but if it's a bracelet of water breathing or a helmet of water breathing or etc., absent clues on the item itself your only real field-test option is to stick your head in the bay and try breathing the water in. As this is usually a very unhealthy (if not outright deadly) thing to do if the item does not in fact give this ability, field-testing for water breathing is not recommended.

The hints can be subtle and gradual. A bracelet of Water Breathing, could be dry lungs, eventually craving to inhale water if near water. Or gills forming fully when touching water.

In 5e, the target of a magical effect always knows it and what it is. I like this clarity. But arguably, someone experimenting with a magic item in this delicate tentative way isnt fully under its effect yet, so there is still room for hints.

Also, these hints are part of what "attunement" feels like. The clearer one understands the "mentality" of the magic item (to some degree all magic items are sentient), the more responsive the magic item is.

 

[Lanefan]

The hints can be subtle and gradual. A bracelet of Water Breathing, could be dry lungs, eventually craving to inhale water if near water. Or gills forming fully when touching water.

In 5e, the target of a magical effect always knows it and what it is. I like this clarity.

Where I don't like it - I'd far rather have it be uncertain or unknown until proven. Slap a bracelet of water breathing on your wrist? You won't notice anything until-unless you find yourself trying to breathe water and realize "Holy hell, I can breathe water!"

If 5e works as you say, that makes it far too easy for spell targets to realize they've been enspelled; and where's the fun in that?

Also, these hints are part of what "attunement" feels like. The clearer one understands the "mentality" of the magic item (to some degree all magic items are sentient), the more responsive the magic item is.

Is the bolded 5e RAW or something you added yourself?