The Economics of Identify

[Alchemist]

How about a psion with Psionic Identify? I don't see any sort of cost attached to that power...

...of course, it takes a whole day to manifest.

 

[Arkham]

Or someone could just create a custom item to cast Identify at will...
Make it a nice, mostly immobile item, like an altar, or a large table that writes out the properties of any item that is placed on it.

 

[kenobi65]

The high cost of identify makes sense in games where the DM wants to keep magic items mysterious and wants the PCs to pay a price for knowledge and certainty.

In games where the DM does not see the need to make magic items mysterious, or even prefers that the PCs know all the properties of their magic items to facilitate book-keeping, the cost can be reduced or eliminated.

Agreed. I think the entire process is a holdover from 1E, which had a philosophy that the DM must tell the players as little as possible (recall that, in 1E, the attack and saving throw tables weren't even in the PHB!).

IME, what this sort of thing encourages is the players spending far too much time fiddling around with their unidentified magic items, trying to wheedle information out of the DM ("Is it easier or harder for me to swing this sword, compared to my +2 sword?"). If that's enjoyable for you, knock yourself out. I hate it with a passion.

 

[Slife]

Or someone could just create a custom item to cast Identify at will...
Make it a nice, mostly immobile item, like an altar, or a large table that writes out the properties of any item that is placed on it.

But how would anyone know that's what it was really doing.

 

[GlassJaw]

A cleric with the Magic domain and the Domain Spontaneity feat is great too.

 

[Victim]

But how would anyone know that's what it was really doing.

How does anyone know the caster is accurately relating the item's properties?

IIRC, several outsiders have identify as a spell like ability. It's fast and cheap! They can corner the market.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Use reliable vendors. Merchants who cheat their customers won't be merchants long.

 

[Slife]

How does anyone know the caster is accurately relating the item's properties?

IIRC, several outsiders have identify as a spell like ability. It's fast and cheap! They can corner the market.

Should have put a in.

 

[Arkham]

But how would anyone know that's what it was really doing.

The PCs identify their own items. This would be for the merchant or tax-man to double check what the PCs claim the item is. As for the PCs buying items and getting screwed, that's what courts and arbitration is for. ( Or a large blade in a soft merchant belly on some cold dark night. )

 

[Bad Paper]

- Get a cleric with the Magic domain to cast it on the item. This is preferable, since clerics don't need to expend any money for the spell, but how many such priests are around to fulfill such functions? Also note that it is a second-level spell for them - reducing the number of times they can cast it each day.

Well, it's a domain spell for them, so they can only cast it once per day...unless they put it in each of their third, fourth, fifth, etc. domain slots, too.

In macroeconomical terms, this is one of the things written off in the "half-price sale" overhead. In microeconomical terms, the party usually has enough loot to pay for an analyze dweomer spell, which drops the per-item cost.