tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134750084087927747.post5178923580219066833..comments2023-10-15T06:44:30.195-06:00Comments on Ode to Black Dougal: Why B/X Is My Favorite #19P_Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374589162025099763noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134750084087927747.post-66025102166610388652010-05-09T18:53:24.582-06:002010-05-09T18:53:24.582-06:00In my game I don't tell players what the power...In my game I don't tell players what the powers of an item are during a session without experimentation, but after a session I spill the beans. For practical reasons: I've got a large pool of players and its easy for magic items, treasure, or xp to be forgotten in between sessions. I let them know what's what (if they make it back to town, that is) so we don't lose it.<br /><br />One of my co-DMs in the sandbox doesn't do that, and we currently have a missing Rope of Climbing as a result. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134750084087927747.post-7442172952176690492010-05-05T13:30:48.559-06:002010-05-05T13:30:48.559-06:00I had much grumbling in my 3rd ed campaign, and it...I had much grumbling in my 3rd ed campaign, and it would have gone away without Identify. Hmmm.AndreasDavourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134750084087927747.post-70875609020028165572010-05-03T20:04:05.614-06:002010-05-03T20:04:05.614-06:00Ah, legend lore! I remember the days were we had ...Ah, legend lore! I remember the days were we had to spend several sessions trying to identify an item. We actually had great fun consulting with sages, searching out obscure texts, and so on.Aaron E. Steelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789462075611254929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134750084087927747.post-82309201529463552622010-05-03T12:42:57.840-06:002010-05-03T12:42:57.840-06:00I don't think Identify causes so much trouble....I don't think Identify causes so much trouble. Mainly because in my game, you need to choose which areas of spellcasting you'll use, so not everyone has access to Identify. The player with Identify is sometimes not present. Just yesterday in our last game session, the party found a ring and a girdle they thought might be magical, so they started trying them on. <br /><br />A secondary consideration is that a cursed item may not show its curse immediately. Perhaps it functions as some other beneficial item for some time, then upon certain conditions (deadly combat, upon the wearer dropping to half HP) the beneficial effects end and the curse begins. <br /><br />Some cursed items may have beneficial effects. These items, even though everything may be known about them, are not so easy to handle. You have to decide if the benefit is worth the drawbacks. Those items tend to be very interesting to me. <br /><br />An idea I had a while back was to give the M-U the name of the item when he Identified it. He would then have to research what that item did, using his own accumulated library or asking help from someone else. This allows you to have common or rare items, with common items easier to find info about and rare items the reverse. Unique items may have little or no information recorded about them. And it still encourages experimentation. <br /><br />The referee should, in any case, be prepared to describe any obvious effects of a magic item. The hint need not be too strong, but it should be obvious in retrospect when the item has been fully identified. But beware players wasting a lot of time experimenting while everyone gets bored with it. And beware the players who hand you a list of experiments to be done upon every item. While clever, and time-saving, this amounts to a poor-man's Identify spell. <br /><br />Of course it still doesn't save them from cursed items ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134750084087927747.post-52409759764106087442010-05-02T22:28:26.503-06:002010-05-02T22:28:26.503-06:00I hate, hate, hate the way the New Edition does ma...I hate, hate, <i>hate</i> the way the New Edition does magic items.DMWieghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03682249561077936507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134750084087927747.post-25390390674421527512010-05-02T19:37:23.084-06:002010-05-02T19:37:23.084-06:00Hear! Hear!Hear! Hear!JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08532311924539491087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4134750084087927747.post-63349572339940519462010-05-02T16:26:04.287-06:002010-05-02T16:26:04.287-06:00I'll drink to that. Divination spells really h...I'll drink to that. Divination spells really have to be handled carefully to make the game more and not less fun. Legend lore yes, level 1 Identify no.Roger G-Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594440701279968693noreply@blogger.com