A concern with Spellcraft

[Vindicator]

So Spellcraft is being used to identify spells cast by other casters. But why should the PCs know what every single other spell in the world is just because they make a check? I much prefer the idea that Spellcraft can be used to identify commonly used or well known spells. But that lurking goblin shaman who has a lot of home brewed magic . . .

How do you handle this in your games?

 

[Crothian]

I think its dumb to, but I keep it the same becasue I have never bothered with making spells common, uncommon, rare...or something like that.

 

[IronWolf]

In games I have run I generally allow a spellcraft check as the rules state. Same for most games I have played in.

I figure just because a caster may not know how to cast the spell there is a good chance they have at least read about, learned about or seen certain spells cast before. So they would still have a chance of recognizing a spell being cast for what it is.

If you are dealing with some homebrew spells or spells you consider quite obscure, then just add to the DC check to help balance for that in your game.

 

[ThirdWizard]

You don't have to have seen every possible combination of words to understand a sentence.

You don't have to know a spell's S, M, and V components to realize what a caster is doing.

Don't think of it as the caster looking and knowing that this is how you cast a certain spell, so obviously the enemy is casting that spell. The caster knows how magic itself works, how somatic, verbal, and material components combine in various ways. Or, it could even be the way magic is being manipulated about the caster, catching subtle shifts in the air, or anything you can think of. It's about knowing how magic actually works and realizing what is happening based on clues that lead to the end result.

 

[Psion]

I'm down with the "foundational principles" idea. Any two fire spells will have some similar components, etc.

 

[CM]

As a house rule, I add 5 to the DC if the spell being cast is not on the spell list of the character rolling Spellcraft.

 

[ZuulMoG]

I agree with the 'founding principles' idea, but for it to work in-game logically, arcane and divine should have seperate skills, and non-casters should not be able to take the skill. Also, arcane and divine caster would not be able to roll on each other's magic.

Yeah, that would make sense... best to scrap it now before it gets out of hand.

 

[Vanye]

I use the "common foundations" thought myself. The PC will probably not be able to tell the form the spell will end up taking (ie, single ball of fire, multiple balls, etc), but he will be able to tell some general information.

I personally treat PH spells as common, FR book spells as uncommon (I run Realms) unless other wise noted, and anything from any other source as rare/unique. PH spells I tell 'em the name of the pell, fr spells I may/may not, depending on how common I feel the spell may be, other spells, they don't have the name.

 

[Steverooo]

I view it something like this:

Whatever language a character speaks, The Language of Magic is always the same. Thus, seeing & hearing the components tells them what the spell is.

As for non-casters, this isn't a problem, for me. With the Multi-classing rules, any PC can become a caster, and Racial Favoured Classes make it even easier. An Elf, who has been around magic all his life, will be able to recognize some spells, even if he can't cast them.

Likewise, I can see no reason why there should be separate skills for Arcane/Divine magics, nor for every class. Again, The Language of Magic is always the same, even if the "discipline" the characters are trained in doesn't teach them to express it in certain ways... Kinda like Vacuum-tube technology doesn't teach you anything about working with ICs! They're both electronics, and the same rules apply, but you can't always do the same things.

 

[Li Shenron]

So Spellcraft is being used to identify spells cast by other casters. But why should the PCs know what every single other spell in the world is just because they make a check? I much prefer the idea that Spellcraft can be used to identify commonly used or well known spells. But that lurking goblin shaman who has a lot of home brewed magic . . .

How do you handle this in your games?

Circumstance bonus to DC if the spell is not from the PHB or if the DM decides that it's rare.