D&D 5E Magic items and identify

[iserith]

This leads to some complications for me:

How should this testing work for a normal magic weapon for example? Let's say someone finds a longsword which is a +1 longsword. If he says he attacks with the longsword should I tell him that his modifier and damage is increased by one? Should I just secretly add it to damage and attack and let him figure out that monsters are hit or die although they shouldn't? But if I do the latter I eventually have a lot to keep track of. I don't really want to have lots of ??? items on the character sheets and then keep lots of notes which what unidentified item is. That's why I'm kind of tending towards not allowing them to use the item as long as it's unidentified, so they are motivated to identify it as fast as possible.

"The weight of the blade suddenly shifts in your hand as you swing it, turning what looked like a near miss into a successful strike. The blade bites deep with less effort than one might expect. You've got +1 to hit and damage with this fine sword - why and whether the weapon has further mysterious properties is yet unclear."

What I think backs it up is that identify also includes learning how to use the item properly. I could argue that if you didn't spend an hour to learn how to slash with the magic longsword properly, you can't benefit from it.

The example in the DMG has it where a PC dons a ring of jumping, then jumps, finding he or she can jump higher. No time spent figuring the thing out is required in some cases. I think the same would apply for the sword.

Also what about magic scrolls? Can you copy them even though you don't know what spell it is? I'd think you first need to understand it before you can copy it.

Any creature that can read a written language can read a scroll.

 

[Galendril]

The rules are so wonky on this. First there's learn the properties of an item during a short rest rule. And then there's the Identify spell.

I have a wizard player in my campaign with identify, so I've ruled more towards the 1st edition end of the spectrum where an Identify is the only way to safely know the properties of almost all magic items. Players can experiment, but they run the risk of incurring the wrath of cursed items.

As for potions, a sip gives them a clue.

Protection scrolls: anyone can read them.

Spell scrolls: anyone with the spell in their class' spell list can read them.

 

[MG.0]

I play the old school way:

Simple experimentation can reveal some properties of an item, but not everything. A +1 magic sword for example would be pretty easy to identify after being used in actual combat by someone proficient with that type of weapon. If that same sword could also shed light, that may not be so easily discovered. An item that the DM decides requires a command word, e.g. maybe a carpet of flying or wand of magic missiles, would not be usable unless the word is actually inscribed on it, perhaps requiring research or a quest to discover.

The Identify spell will reveal the properties of pretty much everything except special items like relics and artifacts and anything the DM decides requires extra work.

Identification via short rest does not work. I think it is silly.

Attunement does not exist. I think it is pointless.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Identification of simple things like +1 bonus, I do almost immediately. It's just a pain for me to remember that bob has a +1 sword and so I need to add +1 to hit and damage on all his rolls.

The fact that one can attune to an item I tend to tell a player immediately: depending on the item, they'll get a feeling that they need to feed it something of themselves, or allow it to be closer to them or whatever. Some items that might not be the case (especially if the item has an unattuned benefit as well as an attuned one).

Potions may or may not be identified by what's written on their bottle, what effect they have when drunk/fed to bugs/sniffed/cooked or by what they look like.

Other items may or may not work depending on what it takes to activate them and what they do. A bag of holding needs no identification to make it work for instance, but you won't know it's limitations until you hit or exceed them. A wand won't work unless you know it's command word... but you may have heard it's previous owner use it, in which case go ahead!

The main benefit of the identify spell is that it tells you everything about the item in question. You get what it does, limitations like weight limits or uses, how many charges it regenerates, how many charges it has etc etc. I give you the entry in the DMG, plus any modifications I've made.

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

Let's say someone finds a longsword which is a +1 longsword. If he says he attacks with the longsword should I tell him that his modifier and damage is increased by one? Should I just secretly add it to damage and attack and let him figure out that monsters are hit or die although they shouldn't?

Like Rya, I figure that is too much work. I tell the player, "That sword is +1 to attack and damage rolls and does magical damage. You can add the appropriate bonuses but your character will need three or four combats to work out what is going on."

In my games, experimentation might not tell you the item. If it is a ring of water walking then as soon as you attempt to swim, you'll know what it is. If it is an amulet of poison resistance then you'll work out what it is the next time you are hit by poison.

On the other hand, if it is a wand of magic missiles then no amount of experimentation will tell you the command word. Interrogating and/or tricking the previous owner, however, has a good chance of success, as posted above.

 

[Lanefan]

For the +x weapons and armour and shields, I give a roll after someone uses an item for a few real combats (beyond just sparring with a friend) to see if they've figured out how much help the item is giving...if any.

The rules are so wonky on this. First there's learn the properties of an item during a short rest rule. And then there's the Identify spell.

I have a wizard player in my campaign with identify, so I've ruled more towards the 1st edition end of the spectrum where an Identify is the only way to safely know the properties of almost all magic items. Players can experiment, but they run the risk of incurring the wrath of cursed items.

I have "Identify" always trigger any curses that are present...a risk of the spell.

As for potions, a sip gives them a clue.

Absolutely, or gives the amswer outright if it's a potion the sipper is familiar with.

Protection scrolls: anyone can read them.

Yes; and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who handles them this way.

Spell scrolls: anyone with the spell in their class' spell list can read them.

Not so fast, there. It first takes the equivalent of a spellcraft check to figure out what the spell might be unless the reader already has it in her spellbook; and always if the scroll spell is higher level than you can normally cast. And if you're a wizard trying to read a cleric scroll...well, good luck with that.

Lanefan

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Unlike is some the video games I play, "unidentified" isn't an actual item property in D&D. If you have a sword that hits harder (+1), or glows whenever you draw it, then it does that automatically--it doesn't care what you know. If it bursts into flame when you say "conflagratus!", then it's only going to burst into flame if you say that. It doesn't matter if you find the phrase written on the blade, or someone tosses you the sword and says, "Say 'conflagratus' dude!" it's going to work if you do.

If it requires attunement, that's a whole different thing. Generally the weapon is just a mundane item for you until you attune to it and unlock it's powers. But "unidentified" is not a mechanical condition. You just only know what you happen to know about an item.

 

[ExploderWizard]

The rules are so wonky on this. First there's learn the properties of an item during a short rest rule. And then there's the Identify spell.

I have a wizard player in my campaign with identify, so I've ruled more towards the 1st edition end of the spectrum where an Identify is the only way to safely know the properties of almost all magic items. Players can experiment, but they run the risk of incurring the wrath of cursed items.

Identify doesn't reveal cursed items. All the spell is good for is saving time.

 

[Li Shenron]

1. If a PC uses an unidentified item, does the PC benefit from its special properties when the item doesn't require attunement?

Yes for properties that apply automatically or are always active, but normally no for properties that needs to be activated, for which presumably you need to know what to activate.

Some magic items mention a command word. But even Identify is a bit fuzzy on whether it would tell you the command word, is it part of "you learn its properties and how to use them"? It could be read either as "how to use" = "say OPEN SESAME and it works", or "how to use" = "say the command word and it works" and still not tell you which is the command word.

2. If you take the magic item from an enemy and ask him what the magic item is and the NPC tells you, is the magic item still unidentified? What if the NPC lies?

If the NPC tells you what are the properties and "how to use them", then you can use them.

Obviously if he tells you a lie, you have wrong information and cannot use them.

3. Can a PC use or attune to an unidentified item?

Use -> Yes for passive (always-active) properties (unless attunement is actually required). Presumably No for properties that need activation.

Attune -> Yes. Attuning actually tells you how to activate the properties (DMG, p.138), and AFAIK it might even be the only occurrence explicitly mention that it tells you even any command words.

It's weird, because normally it is an Identify spell which can tell you if you need attunement (non-spell identification with a short rest doesn't mention if it tells you that). But written that way, it sounds like you can try to attune to something, and if it was indeed an "attunable" item, it will also reveal its properties.

As you can imagine, the RAW is not easily usable, since it says:

- Identify spell > reveals properties, "how to use them", if attunement needed, number of charges
- identify by focus (short rest) > reveals properties, "how to use them"
- attunement by focus (short rest)> reveals properties, "how to use them", command words

The whole thing is an invitation to f%ck the RAW and do what you like

 

[slaughterj]

Identify doesn't reveal cursed items. All the spell is good for is saving time.

If I recall correctly, the spell gets additional usefulness if the DM is using the "Hard to Identify" variant rule from the DMG.