How do you do item identification?

[SidusLupus]

I bring up this topic because as a player and DM, item identification really has only ever been pay the standard fee to learn the crunch. In general we're all wary of new items and never touch them beyond stowing them in the pack and having them properly identified later. Every new item costs money out of the hoard to know what it is, and the players have never questioned it.

However, recently I came up with a few custom items which break the rules on item creation but fit quite nicely with what was going on. I was at a bit of a loss as to how to have the players identify them. As a comprimise I made them go through various identifications. First by ye old identifier, then to the church as the things had a bit of evilness in them.

So, in an effort to spice things up in the game, tell me of how you do it? Do your players ever just try something out to see how it works? How have you handled special items that aren't standard? Or perhaps cursed items?

 

[Jack of Shadows]

I bring up this topic because as a player and DM, item identification really has only ever been pay the standard fee to learn the crunch. In general we're all wary of new items and never touch them beyond stowing them in the pack and having them properly identified later. Every new item costs money out of the hoard to know what it is, and the players have never questioned it.

However, recently I came up with a few custom items which break the rules on item creation but fit quite nicely with what was going on. I was at a bit of a loss as to how to have the players identify them. As a comprimise I made them go through various identifications. First by ye old identifier, then to the church as the things had a bit of evilness in them.

So, in an effort to spice things up in the game, tell me of how you do it? Do your players ever just try something out to see how it works? How have you handled special items that aren't standard? Or perhaps cursed items?

Mostly,

I just go with the usual Identify spell method. Scrolls are obviously via Read Magic and use the "all potions of the same type smell and taste the same" ruling for potions. Otherwise the party carries the dang things around the whole adventure when they could have seriously used them.

I've also just started using Legacy Items and I'm finding the research requirement really adds some interest to the item. Fortunately my players are abiding by my request that no one else buy the book (shhh... don't tell WotC).

Jack

 

[Crothian]

identify, read magic, spellcraft for potions.....

 

[ThirdWizard]

What's the higher version of identify? Analyze dweomer (I keep getting this confused)? Identify only gets the basics, after all.

The PCs usually pay to have someone else identify items for them. Usually the city, who will immediatley buy anything from them for a bit less than half market value. This gives them a way to quickly liquidate, but not at full price as if they went out and haggled a bit (opposed diplomacy checks in my game).

 

[Nifft]

The character drops a pearl of not insignificant worth into a glass of fine red wine. Over the course of an hour, he chants over the item in question while stirring the wine, which dissolves the pearl. Upon the hour's expiration, he drinks the wine, and knowlege flows into him.

(Note that the Pearl is the holy gemstone of Selene, Goddess of Knowlege, Magic, the Moon and the Sea.)

-- N

 

[Oryan77]

Spells & scrolls of course. But I allow players to use Arcane Knowledge to ID magic items (DC 30) and Alchemy to ID potions (DC 25).

 

[Runesong42]

I just tell them what it is.

I run a solo campaign, and I don't see a huge reason to keep most magic items secret. I also don't use cursed items explicitly... I treat them more like minor artifacts in that they can do good things but with one or several bad side effects.

 

[Steverooo]

What I do (or, more properly, what my PCs do) depends a lot upon their abilities, and spells memorized... I tend to play Rangers, so magic isn't usually an option.

My PCs take at least a Rank of Spellcraft, even if they have to buy it Cross-Class. That, and a good INT Bonus, allows them to ID most scrolls, even without Read Magic. If necessary (and above fourth level), they can wait for the next day, and cast it.

Potions can be identified by the party's Sorcerer or Wizard, with Knowledge (Arcana), or I could take a crack at it with Craft (Alchemy). Otherwise, Identify.

Magic items first have to be detected, or observed in use. If the enemy troll attacks you with a Wand of Fireballs, Duh!, it's magic! Make a Listen check to overhear the command word or phrase, get the wand, and find someone who can use it! If the same Troll was also wearing Bracers and using a bow, you can try on the Bracers, as it's a pretty good bet that they're not cursed...

Do they re-size to fit? (Trolls are size Large, you're probably size Medium or Small.) If they do, it's a pretty good bet that they're magical! Now try to take them off... If you can't, then they're cursed! If you can, then they're either 1) Bracers of Defense/Armor, 2) Bracers of Archery, or 3) Something new that the GM has cooked up, or gotten from a third-party source... In any case, all treasure should have Detect Magic cast upon it, and this will show the Dweomer of the item(s). So if the Bracers are showing an aura of Abjuration, then they are protective. If the bow detects as magical, then it is probably, as well (although it could just be Nystul's Magic Aura). In any case, the aura should tell...

Now testing can occur, although this usually doesn't reveal much... Telling a +5 bow from a normal one might be easy, but telling a +1 from a normal one would be rough! Telling a flaming sword (or a magical one that sheds light) would be ridiculously easy, however!

Next (when in a safe place) could come Identify, if still needed. This will give you the basics. If still needed, you can pay someone for Analyze Dweomer, assuming the party doesn't have access to it. A wand of Analyze Dweomer will work wonders, in such a situation!

EDIT: Also, note that the DMG gives a % chance that any item is made of a special material, or has something on it that might indicate its use... Thus, a ring with feathers all the way around it might just be a Ring of Feather Fall, while an arrow with a ruby head shaped like a spider might be an Arrow of Spider-Slaying, for instance. When generating treasure, GMs should include such chances, and allow perspicacious PCs to take advantage of them (as well as Knowledge checks, Bardic and otherwise)!

 

[was]

Try it out or hire a sage to research it for them.

 

[StupidSmurf]

1. The party uses Identify spells (though I've done a DM Override and allow the spell to ID one item per level of the caster, like it used to, as opposed to the so-called improved way outlined in 3.5).

2. Alchemy checks can yield potion types, although the more rare the potion, the greater the difficulty.

3. My personal favorite: Bardic Knowledge. If the bard makes the check, I end up making up a quick backstory on the spot, that gives clues as to the item's nature. For instance, here's three items:

"Oh yes, you've heard of this ring. It was owned by Hrothgar "Not in the Face!!!" Orlowson, follower of Sune. He was a vain fellow who didn't like getting injured in combat, so he had this ring made to help make him harder to hit. He was able to spend a little bit more and get something slightly more powerful than the minimal ring of this type."

"Now THIS wand was crafted by Slomo Turtlestep, an obese wizard who couldn't run very fast. With a shot of this wand, he could run away in a most expeditious manner!"

"This rod was owned by the gnome prankster Berfy Germaine Zurubbabel III, a complete prankster. Something different happened every time he pointed the thing!"