Maginomicon
2013-09-28, 03:44 PM
One of the most useful tools D&D 3.5 GMs have is keeping specific informations from players. However, sometimes it becomes a nuisance, particularly when it comes to identifying magic (and psionic) items, whose properties are unknown by-default. Luckily, I recently found this little gem buried in the alternate skill use rules that alleviates that problem a full 40% of the time.
How it works:
Any time you encounter a random magic or psionic item, anyone can concentrate on the item for 1 minute. When you do, roll a d%. If the d% comes up as 40 or lower, it's a self-identifying item, and you automatically identify one power of the item. If it's a self-identifying item with more than one power, you can continue to concentrate for longer to identify those powers at a rate of one power for each additional minute. If you have bardic knowledge, ranks in Spellcraft (for magic items), or ranks in Psicraft (for psionic items), you can attempt a DC 20 check with that ability or skill to identify all of the powers of a self-identifying item in the first minute.
Self-Identifying Magic Items
Many powerful magic items, particularly minor artifacts, reveal their powers to anyone who holds them. When someone holds a self-identifying item and concentrates, she learns one of the item’s powers each minute until the item has revealed all its powers. The item always reveals powers in the order they are listed in the item’s description. A successful Spellcraft or bardic knowledge check (DC 20) reveals all the powers at once.
Any magic item other than a potion or scroll can be created as a self-identifying item. At the time of creation, the caster must decide if the item is self-identifying or not. This capability does not affect the price or creation time of an item, but once the item is finished, the decision is binding.
To determine if a randomly generated magic item is self-identifying, roll d%. An 01–40 result indicates that an item is self-identifying, and a 41–100 result indicates that it is not.
How it works:
Any time you encounter a random magic or psionic item, anyone can concentrate on the item for 1 minute. When you do, roll a d%. If the d% comes up as 40 or lower, it's a self-identifying item, and you automatically identify one power of the item. If it's a self-identifying item with more than one power, you can continue to concentrate for longer to identify those powers at a rate of one power for each additional minute. If you have bardic knowledge, ranks in Spellcraft (for magic items), or ranks in Psicraft (for psionic items), you can attempt a DC 20 check with that ability or skill to identify all of the powers of a self-identifying item in the first minute.
Self-Identifying Magic Items
Many powerful magic items, particularly minor artifacts, reveal their powers to anyone who holds them. When someone holds a self-identifying item and concentrates, she learns one of the item’s powers each minute until the item has revealed all its powers. The item always reveals powers in the order they are listed in the item’s description. A successful Spellcraft or bardic knowledge check (DC 20) reveals all the powers at once.
Any magic item other than a potion or scroll can be created as a self-identifying item. At the time of creation, the caster must decide if the item is self-identifying or not. This capability does not affect the price or creation time of an item, but once the item is finished, the decision is binding.
To determine if a randomly generated magic item is self-identifying, roll d%. An 01–40 result indicates that an item is self-identifying, and a 41–100 result indicates that it is not.