Loremaster's Greater Lore - How Long Does It Take And How Much Does It Cost?

[airwalkrr]

The loremaster's greater lore ability states that loremasters know magic items as the identify spell. However, this is an unusual application of an extraordinary ability. Most extraordinary abilities are not based on spells so there is little precent to help the thought along. The monster manual states that using an extraordinary ability takes a free action unless otherwise stated, but is silent on what exactly constitutes being otherwise stated. Does the ability need to explicitly call out the type of action? So in the case of identify, one could read the greater lore ability to mean that the loremaster gains the benefit of identify, not necessarily being required to partake of the same actions since it is an extraordinary ability. One could also infer that "as per the spell" indicates that the loremaster must follow all restrictions of the spell, including casting time (1 hour) and material component cost (100 gp pearl).

In summation, we are left with one question: Does greater lore require 1 hour and a 100 gp pearl (if so, can it be interrupted like the spell?) or does it require merely a free action?

 

[nameless]

Per the rules on (ex) abilities, I say it is a free action. The range of touch still applies, so I'd also rule that the item much be within arm's reach and clearly visible. A 13th level character could easily cast Analyze Dweomer anyway, which lets you identify items as a free action at range, one per round. It's more of a fringe benefit that a Loremaster can automatically identify any normal magic item... a party of that level won't have a problem identifying it anyway.