Originally Posted by
Kelb_Panthera
As I read, I more and more get the impression that your issue isn't so much with the system as a rules-lawyer player being a bit of a munchkin.
Be firm with him. "If the magic and the item can be separated by simple dispel magic, it's not a magic item. It's the target of a spell effect. If you disagree, stow it. Whether that's RAW or not is irrelevant because that's how I'm ruling." Same goes for the know (local) issue. "I'm exercising rule zero here. I don't care that the book doesn't say it works that way, that's how it works when I'm the DM."
It -is- RAW but that's not the issue. The issue is that the player is causing disruptions by disrespecting the DM's position as arbiter of the rules. If the players want you to take on the responsibility of building and running a fun game, especially in such a complex system, they have to accept the fact that you must act as an authority to do so. Just don't let it go to your head and remember that the purpose of the game is for -everyone- to have fun.
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Honestly though, I don't really see the problem or even how to setup a problem that is virtually solved with a single check and still call it a fully constructed problem. Take your secret page example; choosing not to layer a mage's magic aura over it or lay a sepia snake sigil under it (both if I'm feeling nasty) just strikes me as careless. In any case knowing it's a secret page effect doesn't give them the password to bypass it.
If I was the mage that identified it, I'd immediately be suspicious. The lack of further protection suggests to me that the secret page is, itself, the clue I should be looking for. Perhaps it's a red-herring and dispelling the secret page will actually destroy the information I'm looking for, or at least part of it, instead of revealing it. Perhaps the "false" page is actually the cipher for the coded information it's covering up or vice-versa. Worse, say I was looking for research notes and the secret page effect constitutes half of what I'm looking for. I must -still- find the password if I'm to be sure.
I think you see my point.