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<blockquote data-quote="GameDoc" data-source="post: 6029858" data-attributes="member: 53915">Earlier in the thread I mentioned the detect magic spell.&nbsp; After following the subsequent discussion, I am actually contemplating the consequences of eliminating that spell.&nbsp; I'm thinking more narratively about how characters in myth and literate come upon magical items.&nbsp; Rarely is there a wizard standing by to say &quot;By Jove! You've just uncovered a +3 sentient flaming sword of destiny!&quot;How long did it take Gandalf to figure out Bilbo's ring was in fact the One Ring?&nbsp; For that matter how did Bilbo even discover it was magic.&nbsp; He found it on the cavern floor and at that point it was an interesting trinket, a souvenir for this strange adventure he'd been coopted into.&nbsp; The he met Gollum who was all obsessed about getting it back and that's the first hint at something more.A fighter finds a nice shiny sword in a tomb and says &quot;Hey that's seems better than my sword.&nbsp; I'm taking it.&quot;&nbsp; Its just loot at that point ot a mundane upgrade in gear.&nbsp; Then while trying to make his escape he swings it at skeleton, misses, and it cleaves through a marble column.&nbsp; Now he realizes: &quot;magic sword!&quot;With magic items, the discovery is part of the fun.&nbsp; Even if detect magic doesn't fully identify the properties, it's a free ability to at leat sort times into magical and not-magical, and takes away from the mystique a bit.That said, I think it's equally bad to deny arcane characters one of their major roles in fantasy, that of the expert on magic who does help identify or at least explain magical phenomenon.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="GameDoc, post: 6029858, member: 53915"] Earlier in the thread I mentioned the detect magic spell. After following the subsequent discussion, I am actually contemplating the consequences of eliminating that spell. I'm thinking more narratively about how characters in myth and literate come upon magical items. Rarely is there a wizard standing by to say "By Jove! You've just uncovered a +3 sentient flaming sword of destiny!" How long did it take Gandalf to figure out Bilbo's ring was in fact the One Ring? For that matter how did Bilbo even discover it was magic. He found it on the cavern floor and at that point it was an interesting trinket, a souvenir for this strange adventure he'd been coopted into. The he met Gollum who was all obsessed about getting it back and that's the first hint at something more. A fighter finds a nice shiny sword in a tomb and says "Hey that's seems better than my sword. I'm taking it." Its just loot at that point ot a mundane upgrade in gear. Then while trying to make his escape he swings it at skeleton, misses, and it cleaves through a marble column. Now he realizes: "magic sword!" With magic items, the discovery is part of the fun. Even if detect magic doesn't fully identify the properties, it's a free ability to at leat sort times into magical and not-magical, and takes away from the mystique a bit. That said, I think it's equally bad to deny arcane characters one of their major roles in fantasy, that of the expert on magic who does help identify or at least explain magical phenomenon. [/QUOTE]

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