D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 Identify vs other editions

[Oscaron]

One last idea I thought about.

I think it's the Gurps system, or some other that gives results by the total success of a roll or by number of successes.

i.e. Interogation roll.
Total roll of d20 +/- bonuses:
< 10 - No info
10 - Common Knowledge info
15 - New Info
20 - Major info
blah blah...

So....

One could make a chart like:

Spellcraft Roll after all bonuses:

<10 - PC is sure that item is not magic or only ornamentally magic
10 - Basic purpose of the item known
15 - Base bonus / Presence of additional abilities known but only one identified. No activation words known.
20 - Multi bonuses known / All aditional abilites identified. Activation of one power known. Recogition of basic empathy/int recognized if dormant.
25 - All bonuses, powers and activations known. May make Will contest roll to force emp/int object to 'awaken' but not control. (optional)
30 - As above, but PC gains +1 to Will contest (optional)
35 - As above, but PC gains +2 to Will contest and may attempt basic Will contest to force a morally aligned item to work if PC is 1 alignment pick away. (i.e. Neutral Good PC using an item that works for only True Neutral). Contest is made with NO bonus and must be made every round.

Adjustments:
+10 while using Identify
+various for use of facilites, rituals and time.
-1 to -20 for enchantments added to avoid identification. (arbitrary numbers here)
-Int Bonus / -Wis bonus / -Avg Int Wis bonus of int or semi-int item.
-10 Minor Artifact (or impossible)
-20 Major Artifact (or impossible)
-various for alignment differences.
blah blah

The numbers are completely arbitrary, but could be adjusted to see fit.

Just an idea I might work on.

This particular idea works with the image I have with my campaigns, similar to Wheel of Time, that magic has patterns or weaves that a magic using character can see and recognize. The chars skill in Spellcraft allows for intuitive or experienced recognition of those patterns.

A kind of magical-reverse engineering (think Sam Carter in Stargate SG-1).

With items shielded from detection, the patterns are dimmed or changed to conceal true function. Intelligent items have more organic patterns and may be able to change them slightly to hide function.

And Artifact items may follow the above, or simply be opaque to detection or so 'bright' that individual patterns cannot be discerned.

The 'Identify' spell functions as a toolkit. Magnifying glass, Flashlight or welding mask as it is needed.

Osc

 

[Gwaihir]

Hmm, Magnifying glass as the focus for identify, rather than a pearl as a consumable.

I like it! Thanks for the input.

 

[The Red Priest]

The 1e version worked thusly:

The spell lasted for a number of segments per level of caster. Every segment had the possibility to reveal a power of the item. The success chance was 15%+5%/level of MU per segment. If you added a luckstone to the components, chances increased another 25%. Yeah, a first level MU had a rough time of it, but a first level character should have a rough time of it.

In OD&D and 1e, it was common to experiment with magic items to determine their properties. Sometimes a character carried, and used, an item for quite some time before they realized it's full potential.

It was certainly a tougher game to master back then. As with many of the rules then, discovering the uses of magic items was designed to challenge the player, not just the character. If all I have to do is roll a die to figure something out, what's the fun in that? Where's the player skill? The creativity for the player to figure something out instead of the character?

 

[Oscaron]

Hmm, Magnifying glass as the focus for identify, rather than a pearl as a consumable.

I like it! Thanks for the input.

Well, I meant it figuratively, but...you're welcome!

Osc

 

[RigaMortus2]

I identifying items should take a Knowledge(arcana) or Spellcraft check, and Identify should not require an expensive component, but simply provide a +10 bonus on the skill check to identify items.

I was thinking of adding something similiar to this in my games, but only Bards are able to do it. Sort of like Bardic Knowledge, except for magic items.

 

[Vrecknidj]

This is one of those spells that should be modified by the DM to suit the campaign. I'd really surprised at how stingy it is given the sheer volume of magic in the typical D&D setting these days. I do like the idea of having the spell improve the chances of success of a skill check--not unlike detect magic perhaps. However, I wonder if maybe having some tie to the Appraise skill might be relevant. I recognize how Appraise differs here, but, part of what's being done in the identification consists in an analysis of the materials of the item. Maybe a synergy bonus for having 5 ranks in Appraise?

Dave

 

[taliesin15]

this might seem odd, but this is one reason I preferred 1.0 AD&D, in that adventurers sometimes had to consult Sages to Identify magic items--an Expert NPC sounds so bloody banal, but Sages OTOH...I just thought it added a great deal of flavor to the campaign

 

[Quasqueton]

I'd really surprised at how stingy it is given the sheer volume of magic in the typical D&D setting these days.

"These days"? The volume of magic was much greater in previous days:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=167628

Quasqueton

 

[Li Shenron]

It seems to me that 3.5 Identify spell is awfully powerful, especially as a first level spell, and especially relative to other editions.

Does anyone here use a older version of this spell instead of the 3.5? or has anyone redone it entirely?

I still use the 3.0 version with its long casting time. It forces the characters to use their off-time in a useful way.

 

[MarkB]

Here's an idea I came up with for identify. Not sure how well it'd go down with spellcasters, though.

Remove the expensive material component. Instead, there is an XP component, equal to 1/10 the amount of XP required to craft the item, minimum 1 XP.

Remove the 1 hour casting time. Instead, the casting time is 1 minute per XP the spell costs, to a maximum of eight hours.

This makes the spell cheap and simple to cast when identifying something cheap and simple like a cure light wounds potion, but more expensive when identifying an 18,000 gp sword.

Due to the variable nature of the XP component, scrolls and wands of identify would exclude this cost, which would be paid by the character activating the item.

The XP cost and casting time apply to all versions of the spell. However, Artificers may substitute Craft Reserve points for XP when using the identify infusion, and characters with the Legendary Artisan feat may reduce the XP cost by 25%.


Possibly the precise value of the XP cost should be adjusted. It's pretty cheap as-is, but I think if it got much more expensive, casters would begin to really resent having to spend their own XP to identify gear that others will be using.