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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DMCF" data-source="post: 6660144" data-attributes="member: 6790388">Identify scrolls work great in MMOs and computer games as money sinks but I'm finding I don't like it in PnP or even online "PnP" games. The three main reasons are that items are a pain to track (especially potions and scrolls), it detracts from the epic of conquest, and in some cases detracts from the story that can be crafted from the weapon itself. The first reason is simple. I describe all these potions and scrolls and in the end I have to bookmark everything because the players will ID them in town and only have descriptions. (I run 3 games a week, this is tedious!)I feel enhances the feeling of defeating a powerful boss if some of the loot is immediately identifiable. For that reason I'd rather give a few hundred less gp and let them know there is a +2 longsword right away. Tying an adventurer's lust for loot to an difficult/pivotal battle seems like a handy mnemonic. Numerous books have been written with sentient items that have helped shape the story. Sometimes I want to draw on this to keep things interesting for the players and I don't want them to identify an item immediately. In the end, I guess (to me) it feels like a vestigial step of an outdated system that does nothing to enhance (and in some cases may detract) from the game's possibilities.</blockquote>