Detect Magic is Dead

[ProfessorCirno]

Personally, I think enchantments that are big and flashy (like the sword that bursts into flames) will be auto-identified as it's used, whereas non-flashy items will need a skill check.

The real question: will PCs just put on items they find to identify it, knowing I'm more then willing to curse them if I've been on an exceptional bad streak of Dungeon Crawl losses?

This board needs an evil devilish grinning smilie...

 

[Fifth Element]

I also feel it bleeds a lot of the fantastic mystery surrounding magic items.

What, you mean that fantastic mystery that is solved by casting a 1st-level spell?

Assuming that the rules state you can only identify an item that you can use in this way, I'm very happy with this. Why should the wizard be the one to ask about the Great Big Spiky Weapon of Death? Most wizards don't care about swords.

 

[Lacyon]

I know you can just change how it works, but why not make this watered down approach the option instead of the standard?

Why spend time making the default complicated and messy when a good chunk of people don't want complicated and messy and a further good chunk of those people who do want complicated and messy are going to throw out the system you came up with and substitute it with one of their own anyway?

Some guidelines on how to create your own more complex system would be nice, but probably aren't necessary.

 

[DandD]

While I have no problem with any class identifying magical items , doing so by sitting down and taking a fiver seems a little weak. And you are right, wizards are no longer any more important than another class. All clases are simply superheroes.Wizards are just CC and ranged DPS, and easily replaced.

Nah, they're for now the only controller-class in D&D 4th edition. But as soon as other cotrollers are avaiable, we can finally ditch wizards. Hooray.

Seriously, some people simply are conditioned to believe that things should stay as they are, even if the system totally sucks and took out the fun for other people.
If they want to handicap themselves, they're all allowed to do that. But there's no need that others have to suffer for that.

 

[Knight Otu]

Well, it helps with merchants avoiding being scammed. I'd say a skill check wouldn't be out of line, but if it is to be meaningful, the DC would have to be higher. Or maybe a skill challenge?

 

[Mort]

Not a fan of this at all. The fighter should definitely not be inspecting the robe with all the pretty designs to determine that it's a robe of the archmage. But, as has been said, it'll be easy enough to retrofit.

I don't see anything wrong will letting a fighter get a good idea of what weapons, armor and other "martial" items do. If the fighter wants to sink enough skill points to be able to reliably identify obscure magic not associated with his class(which means he's really skimping on other skills probably a lot more usefull to his class) more power to him, he has to make sacrifices to do so.

 

[MrMyth]

While I have no problem with any class identifying magical items , doing so by sitting down and taking a fiver seems a little weak. And you are right, wizards are no longer any more important than another class. All clases are simply superheroes.Wizards are just CC and ranged DPS, and easily replaced.

The five minute mark actually feels somewhat right to me. I know that in any games I'm in where they is no easy magic to ID stuff, as soon as characters get a new magic item, they spend several minutes asking...

Player 1: "Ok, I put on the magic boots. Then I try to jump real high."
DM: "Nothing strange happens."
Player 1: "Ok, I try to run really fast... in circles."
DM: "Nothing strange happens."
Player 2: "Oh, I know, try running up a wall!"
Player 1: "Yeah, I do that!"
DM: "No such luck."
Player 1: "I'll try... quickly shuffling back and forth to the right and left."
DM: "Nothing strange happens."
Player 3: "I'll try throwing some rocks at him while he's moving."
DM: "You notice he seems especially adept at dodging objects while moving..."

...and while that makes for a nice little scene, and the occasional bit of hilarity, it does slow the game down - especially when they do the same routine for every magic item in the pot.

Or, if they don't try this, and don't have any magical means of IDing stuff... they spend several levels running around with useless items.

So assuming that characters can spend a five minute downtime performing the usual hijinks to figure out an item seems reasonable to me. And hey - for an especially odd item, you can force them to make some skill checks or something similar, or make them actually act out the process of testing what it can do.

As others have said, it's easier to add in a bit of complication than it is to take it out.

 

[DSRilk]

Obviously we don't know what the rules actually are yet, but here's my take if it's just a freebee:

Arcana (trained): move action to sense magic (creature or item)
Arcana (trained): short rest to identify the type of magic on a creature or item

No class restrictions, just skill in knowing about magic. I'd say trained only because it's not just a matter of "hey, I've heard of magic!" in my opinion. Also, I'd keep it automatic. Checks get on my nerves

 

[Vaeron]

I like the idea - it's like the Lore skill in NWN... Will save a lot of time and wasted spell slots.

 

[DandD]

I don't see anything wrong will letting a fighter get a good idea of what weapons, armor and other "martial" items do. If the fighter wants to sink enough skill points to be able to reliably identify obscure magic not associated with his class(which means he's really skimping on other skills probably a lot more usefull to his class) more power to him, he has to make sacrifices to do so.

There are no skillpoints in D&D 4th edition anymore (fortunately). Only trained or not trained (meaning, a constant +5 bonus).