Why Identify?

[Pinotage]

It obvious, really. You want to know what the item is, you cast identify.

But why does it cost 100 gp? If there's one thing I've found in years of gaming that's always a pain, it is the need to identify items and find 100 gp pearls. Is it a game balance thing? Now, I'm not against the concept, but I fail to understand the spell component, since it is often a game play issue. Parties argue all the time about identify when treasure division comes around.

It just seems that identify is nothing more than an issue without any good reason for having to pay the price.

Pinotage

 

[Aeric]

I'm guessing that this was originally intended to create situations where the party has to discover the properties of the magic item(s) in question by trial and error. At low levels, you can't really afford a lot of 100gp pearls. At higher levels, you might find yourself deep in a dungeon and fresh out of pearls, and going back to town at this point isn't really an option, but you really REALLY want to try out that new item you found. Figuring out how items work in this fashion could add a bit of the mystery back to magic and magic items.

Of course, by the time a wizard gets to the level where the party is getting lots of magic items (in a standard campaign, of course), there is enough wealth in the group that buying a score or more of the pearls while in town is no big deal. I know that's how it is in my current game (we're level 10 in Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil).

The exact material component is "a pearl of at least 100gp value, crushed and stirred into wine with an owl feather; the infusion must be drunk prior to spellcasting." I'm guessing that both the pearl and the owl feather represent wisdom...not sure about the wine, though.

 

[Creamsteak]

I don't mind identify, but I'm fairly loose with material components (if there's not enough pearls, then there's something else that will work). The thing that bothers me most is trying to discern potions. I actually had a group of PCs pitch an alchemists lab stocked with potions because they couldn't identify them (or didn't want to, or something).

 

[Pinotage]

Of course, by the time a wizard gets to the level where the party is getting lots of magic items (in a standard campaign, of course), there is enough wealth in the group that buying a score or more of the pearls while in town is no big deal. I know that's how it is in my current game (we're level 10 in Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil).

While I'm not all that averse to buying pearls when they're available and the party has time, it does become an issue when pearls are available and there isn't time. On your average dungeon, Identify almost becomes the spell most cast by a Wizard, and in most cases there isn't time to take 2 days off to identify items and you don't want to do them 1 per day as it won't get you anywhere fast.

I'm glad you mentioned RtEE since that's where the problem crops up in my current game as a player. We're running through the Crater Ridge Mines at the moment, and as you may know, you find a lot of stuff there that needs ID. Rastor is a small village. It's not going to be able to supply in all your identify needs (Well, any needs really. It's a pretty useless place all in all ). How does your group ID stuff even if they have the pearls? Do they take days off?

Pinotage

 

[Frostmarrow]

I don't mind identify, but I'm fairly loose with material components (if there's not enough pearls, then there's something else that will work). The thing that bothers me most is trying to discern potions. I actually had a group of PCs pitch an alchemists lab stocked with potions because they couldn't identify them (or didn't want to, or something).

Nowadays identifying potions is a function of spellcraft. From the SRD:

[DC] 25 Identify a potion. Requires 1 minute. No retry.

 

[Frostmarrow]

It obvious, really. You want to know what the item is, you cast identify.

But why does it cost 100 gp? If there's one thing I've found in years of gaming that's always a pain, it is the need to identify items and find 100 gp pearls. Is it a game balance thing? Now, I'm not against the concept, but I fail to understand the spell component, since it is often a game play issue. Parties argue all the time about identify when treasure division comes around.

It just seems that identify is nothing more than an issue without any good reason for having to pay the price.

Pinotage

I don't really get it either. It gives the wizard an important function within the party but the cost is real strange. Nothing could be easier to houserule, though. -Whatever floats your boat.

 

[Felix]

It goes along with the theme of making the Wizard, the most powerful (because of versatility) class in the game, very costly to play. The material components of the higher level spells is enormous, as are the scribing costs. Some folks might not like it, but it's true.

"But ID is only a 1st level spell," you might say. True, but it maintains its value as you gain levels, letting you know every function of a magical item. All magical weapons and armor are masterwork, and so are worth more than the 100gp already. So you never have to worry about losing money.

At least they changed the casting time to 1 hour instead of 8... gods that was annoying.

 

[Tatsukun]

All in all, I like the changed (3.5) identify spell. I like that you get to know everything about an item, and that it takes one hour.

But, before, one pearl got you a lot of items, now it only gets you one. This really raises the per item cost. The problem with that is that you end up loosing money on more items (ones which sell for less than 100Gp). Also, these low sale price items usually come up at lower level when the party can’t stand to loose the money.

I actually had a low level party not take magic items because they were not willing to risk the identify cost. That’s a big change in adventuring behavior stemming form a seemingly small change to a spell. I wonder if they really thought that one out.

Long story short, we house rule it to 20 gold coins (it’s an offering to the goddess of magic on our world).

-Tatsu

 

[reanjr]

The exact material component is "a pearl of at least 100gp value, crushed and stirred into wine with an owl feather; the infusion must be drunk prior to spellcasting." I'm guessing that both the pearl and the owl feather represent wisdom...not sure about the wine, though.

You're silly! How do you drink an owl feather and crushed pearl?

 

[Lamoni]

I actually had a low level party not take magic items because they were not willing to risk the identify cost. That’s a big change in adventuring behavior stemming form a seemingly small change to a spell. I wonder if they really thought that one out.

I know this is a house rule, but I am considering allowing appraise to work with magic items. That way, identify still works the same, but the party only has to waste the time identifying things of value and they can ignore the +1 longswords. Of course, this will require someone having ranks in the appraise skill.