Identifying Items Without a Wizard

[ve4grm]

The party I'm running for consists of:
- Favored Soul
- Ranger
- Barbarian/Bear Warrior
- Favored Soul/Warmage/Geomancer

None of them have the Identify spell on their respective spell lists.

Any advice on how they should identify magic items?

Thanks!

 

[YawningWizard]

Have them identified at a temple or store (for a price), invest skill points in Lore, buy potions that increase your Lore in order to identify the items, or, at least that's how it works in video games.

Seriously though...invest skill points in "Spellcraft", check out the page over at d20srd.org.

 

[ve4grm]

Have them identified at a temple or store (for a price), invest skill points in Lore, buy potions that increase your Lore in order to identify the items, or, at least that's how it works in video games.

Seriously though...invest skill points in "Spellcraft", check out the page over at d20srd.org.

Right, so Spellcraft handles scrolls and potions. And other items at epic level (50+CL or 70+CL).

What about for non-epic?

 

[Grogg of the North]

Knowledge Arcana: DC 30
Can only be used on unique or extremely common items.
May reveal a hint to the item's function or, possibly every detail.

Search: DC 15 may reveal clue about function.

Spell Craft:
Potions: DC 25

Detect Magic: Exceed DC to ID school by 10 or more

Reveals the item's function, means of activation, and the number of charges remaining.

Use Magic Device:
Activate DC + 5

Reveals the item's function, means of activation, and the number of charges remaining.

Fail by 10 or more results in a mishap.

Bardic Knowledge
Standard Equipment for a well-known faction or person: DC 20
Uncommon or Ancient Item with many copies in circulation: DC 25
Known only in legend: DC 30+

Reveals something of the item's history and give a hint of it's function

You can also get an Artificer's Monocle, from the MIC, that lets you easily ID items while casting Detect Magic.

 

[Greenfield]

I think the Spellcraft notes above are in error.

SPELLCRAFT (INT; TRAINED ONLY)
Use this skill to identify spells as they are cast or spells already in place.
Spellcraft DC Task
13 When using read magic, identify a glyph of warding. No action required.
15 + spell level Identify a spell being cast. (You must see or hear the spell’s verbal or somatic components.) No action required. No retry.
15 + spell level Learn a spell from a spellbook or scroll (wizard only). No retry for that spell until you gain at least 1 rank in Spellcraft (even if you find another source to try to learn the spell from). Requires 8 hours.
15 + spell level Prepare a spell from a borrowed spellbook (wizard only). One try per day. No extra time required.
15 + spell level When casting detect magic, determine the school of magic involved in the aura of a single item or creature you can see. (If the aura is not a spell effect, the DC is 15 + one-half caster level.) No action required.
19 When using read magic, identify a symbol. No action required.
20 + spell level Identify a spell that’s already in place and in effect. You must be able to see or detect the effects of the spell. No action required. No retry.
20 + spell level Identify materials created or shaped by magic, such as noting that an iron wall is the result of a wall of iron spell. No action required. No retry.
20 + spell level Decipher a written spell (such as a scroll) without using read magic. One try per day. Requires a full round action.
25 + spell level After rolling a saving throw against a spell targeted on you, determine what that spell was. No action required. No retry.
25 Identify a potion. Requires 1 minute. No retry.
20 Draw a diagram to allow dimensional anchor to be cast on a magic circle spell. Requires 10 minutes. No retry. The DM makes this check.
30 or higher Understand a strange or unique magical effect, such as the effects of a magic stream. Time required varies. No retry.

Check: You can identify spells and magic effects. The DCs for Spellcraft checks relating to various tasks are summarized on the table above.

See the Bold text above. The Spellcraft, when used with Detect Magic, can identify the school of magic involved. It does not tell you the spell or spells, activation or charges.

Further, Detect Magic can tell you One aura only: The strongest one. It never tells you the spell name, activation of an item or magical trap, nor how many charges. It will give an idea about the spell level or an item's caster level.

See Player's Handbook page 219.

Now there may be more to these in some other source book (I don't claim any true scholarship vis-a-vis the full D&D library), but this is what it says about those skills and spells.

So, as a suggestion, consult the PHB page 129, and look up the cost of spellcasting services.

 

[Grogg of the North]

I was looking at the rules in the Magic Item Compendium.

 

[Greenfield]

Okay, that explains a lot.

 

[YawningWizard]

I could have copied and pasted the info, but I wasn't sure if we were allowed to.

 

[ve4grm]

I was looking at the rules in the Magic Item Compendium.

I'll need to check those out.

 

[Maxperson]

The party I'm running for consists of:
- Favored Soul
- Ranger
- Barbarian/Bear Warrior
- Favored Soul/Warmage/Geomancer

None of them have the Identify spell on their respective spell lists.

Any advice on how they should identify magic items?

Thanks!

The feat Magic Appraisal will help.