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<blockquote data-quote="theNater" data-source="post: 4315748" data-attributes="member: 62560">What do you think the characters are doing during the short rest in which they identify the item?&nbsp; Staring at it until the details of its abilities imprint themselves onto their brains?No, they're trying it on, taking swings with it, trying out likely command words, hopping on one foot while the item is equipped, and so on until it does something.&nbsp; Then they have seen what it does, so they know its properties.&nbsp; The character may not know the name of the item, but once they know what it does, you may as well tell the player the name for ease of record-keeping.Adding exactly what to the game?&nbsp; Is the combat insufficiently challenging that the players need a random chance of not healing a dying ally to keep it interesting?There are no random treasure tables.&nbsp; The recommended way to distribute loot is to make use of player wishlists.&nbsp; However, random treasure is pretty easy.&nbsp; Example:&nbsp; I'm putting together an encounter.&nbsp; I intend to include a 2nd level item in the treasure.&nbsp; I scan through the treasure tables in the PHB.&nbsp; There are 11 2nd level magic items.&nbsp; I roll a d12, with the understanding that if I get a 12 I'll reroll.&nbsp; I get a 7.&nbsp; I go through the lists one more time, counting as I go.&nbsp; Item 7 is a Staff of Fiery Might.&nbsp; Done.&nbsp; Took me less than a minute.Of course, if I'd gotten a kind of weapon or armor I'd have to make another roll to determine what the base item was, but I have a d6(for armor type or weapon category) and dice of appropriate sizes for each weapon category(categories have 10, 17, 4, 3, 2, and 1 weapons in them, so the only thing that might require rerolls is the d20 used for military melee weapons).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="theNater, post: 4315748, member: 62560"] What do you think the characters are doing during the short rest in which they identify the item? Staring at it until the details of its abilities imprint themselves onto their brains? No, they're trying it on, taking swings with it, trying out likely command words, hopping on one foot while the item is equipped, and so on until it does something. Then they have seen what it does, so they know its properties. The character may not know the name of the item, but once they know what it does, you may as well tell the player the name for ease of record-keeping. Adding exactly what to the game? Is the combat insufficiently challenging that the players need a random chance of not healing a dying ally to keep it interesting? There are no random treasure [B]tables[/B]. The recommended way to distribute loot is to make use of player wishlists. However, random treasure is pretty easy. Example: I'm putting together an encounter. I intend to include a 2nd level item in the treasure. I scan through the treasure tables in the PHB. There are 11 2nd level magic items. I roll a d12, with the understanding that if I get a 12 I'll reroll. I get a 7. I go through the lists one more time, counting as I go. Item 7 is a Staff of Fiery Might. Done. Took me less than a minute. Of course, if I'd gotten a kind of weapon or armor I'd have to make another roll to determine what the base item was, but I have a d6(for armor type or weapon category) and dice of appropriate sizes for each weapon category(categories have 10, 17, 4, 3, 2, and 1 weapons in them, so the only thing that might require rerolls is the d20 used for military melee weapons). [/QUOTE]

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