D&D 5E Cursed items and Identify in 5e

[Zarithar]

I'm just wondering if anyone has come across any official rulings regarding how the Identify spell works with cursed magic items in 5e? Currently I am using the "An identify spell only has a 1% chance per caster level to reveal a cursed item’s true properties, including the cursed aspect" from the D20 SRD, and will likely continue to do so in absence of an official ruling. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Crothian]

Are we sure there will be cursed items? It just seems that items are so easy to identify and there is no mystery to magical items that it seems cursed items might not be in the game anymore.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Are we sure there will be cursed items? It just seems that items are so easy to identify and there is no mystery to magical items that it seems cursed items might not be in the game anymore.

They're mentioned in the remove curse spell.

 

[Crothian]

They're mentioned in the remove curse spell.

The curse attunes with the owner so I guess either they trick the PCs into thinking one needs to attune with the item to use it or what would be cool is during a short rest the cursed item picks a PC to attune with so it doesn't happen with the PCs knowledge and it sounds more insidious to do so.

 

[Xodis]

...what would be cool is during a short rest the cursed item picks a PC to attune with so it doesn't happen with the PCs knowledge

Now THIS is a cursed Item. What would be even better is if it removed something else you were attuned to as well in the case that you have your max allowance already. Bye bye Holy Avenger attunement, make room for Sword of Darkness attunement that you didnt want lol.

I would allow a Magical Knowledge check with every attempt to Identify, DC dependent on the power of the curse. Made in private though so the players dont catch on.

 

[Agamon]

I think Identify is actually useful for cursed items. Normally you just need a few minutes to study an item during a rest to figure it out. Identify might make for a good warning beacon if you used it instead. Otherwise, the only thing Identify is useful for is using an item without resting first.

 

[Ichneumon]

I doubt we'll see items where the curse is the entire reason for the item's existence. Instead, curses will sit atop attunements for otherwise useful gear. So I doubt there'll be a belt of gender-switching, but a belt of giant strength may have a curse that gives a cumulative 10% chance of changing the user's gender when they succeed on a Strength-based check of DC 20 or higher.

Identify is an easy way (and the only way) to reveal curses before they manifest. But it won't necessarily result in every cursed item being tossed aside like rubbish. If the item's good enough, PCs will be tempted to risk or put up with the curse in order to get the benefits.

 

[Rune]

I doubt we'll see items where the curse is the entire reason for the item's existence. Instead, curses will sit atop attunements for otherwise useful gear. So I doubt there'll be a belt of gender-switching, but a belt of giant strength may have a curse that gives a cumulative 10% chance of changing the user's gender when they succeed on a Strength-based check of DC 20 or higher.

Identify is an easy way (and the only way) to reveal curses before they manifest. But it won't necessarily result in every cursed item being tossed aside like rubbish. If the item's good enough, PCs will be tempted to risk or put up with the curse in order to get the benefits.

I think in my games, all magic items will be cursed in this way.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I think in my games, all magic items will be cursed in this way.

Every time a character rolls a critical hit or drops a foe with this weapon, roll on the following charts to determine the character's new gender, race, and alignment.

 

[Ichneumon]

Every time a character rolls a critical hit or drops a foe with this weapon, roll on the following charts to determine the character's new gender, race, and alignment.

I hope the Far Realms supplement is out by then.