Identifying Magic Items

So, I’ve been thinking about the magic items my players encounter in my DCC campaign, and how they identify them.  To this point, I’ve been pretty coy about it, handling it on the fly.  Ultimately, I’d like my players to succeed in learning about their objects, so I don’t have to keep a slowly growing secret list of item abilities behind my Judge’s Screen, but I want figuring out what the items do to be a challenge, and fun for my players -- not too easy, but not impossible.

The DCC Core Rulebook is pretty sparse in how magic items are identified – there are some obvious examples of identifying things like simple bonuses in the description of the spell Detect Magic, but what if it’s not just a +1 sword?  Can you figure out what a potion does by tasting a sip of it?  Is there an inscription on a dagger scabbard, and if so in what language?  This had me brainstorm multiple ideas for how to identify a magic item.  I believe no one spell or method should work reliably as an ‘Identify’ spell, and there can be fun in trying different things. 

Look at just Tolkien from Appendix N – magic items are identified by throwing them in the hearth fire in Bag End, or read in Rivendell under the light of a specific moonlit night, or revealed under the last light of Durin’s Day, or by researching legends in the dusty libraries of Minas Tirith, or just knowing the name of the blade Glamdring when found in a troll lair, and such.  There’s a multitude of ideas on how to make things fun and different each time.

So, for your enjoyment below, here’s a random table I’ve put together on *how* an object can be identified, and each item can be different.  This might also inspire you for the background and provenance of the magic item in question.

D30	Magic Item Identification
1-5	Object can be safely tested (with a sip, or swinging a sword, or flourishing a cloak) to be known.
6-7	Object can manifest a random power or ability simply by force of will by the wielder (DC 15 Personality check, a roll of 1 results in temporary 1d3 Personality damage).  Once manifested, the wielder can repeat the ability (DC 10 Personality check).
8	Item is free-willed and commands its own abilities (if a single use item, roll again – if not a magic sword, roll for alignment, intelligence, and purpose like a magic sword, found in DCC Core Rulebook page 367-369).  The wielder can attempt an Ego check (opposed Intelligence Check) to command it.      Clue: The object shifts in your hand of its own volition.
9	Object’s abilities can be found in forbidden writings of a temple of Chaos (Locate Object check of 16-34 depending on location, and then a DC 15 Intelligence check if the language is understood, a roll of 1 results in minor corruption)
10	Object’s command words or instructions are cunningly hidden upon the object, such as in the stitching patterns of a cloak, or letters inscribed on each rivet, or in the mottled metalwork if held to the light just so (a DC 15 Luck check if handled and studied for a day).
11	Object’s command words or instructions are only visible in certain circumstances.  Roll 1d10: (1) In darkness when illuminated by magical light, (2) when submerged in sea water, (3) By the light of a full moon, (4) when laid on a sanctified altar of a randomly determined god, (5) when anointed with holly water, (6) when rubbed with the ashes from an undead creature, (7) when cast into a fire which does not harm it, (8) in the presence of a song or rhyme being uttered, (9) when laid on the corpse of its’ creator, (10) in the dreams of the wielder on an annual day of significance, (11) when bathed in the blood of a chaotic creature, (12) if struck by lightning
12	Object is inscribed with command words or instructions in a random terrestrial language (Comprehend Languages check of 14+ will identify).      Clue: flowing script appears on the object)
13	Object is inscribed with command words or instructions in a random supernatural or extraplanar language (Comprehend Languages check of 20+ will identify)      Clue: Strange, alien words appear on the object.
14	Object is inscribed with its’ creators own secret tongue (Comprehend  Languages check of 32+ will identify)      Clue: Bizarre and irregular markings appear down the length of the item.
15	The aura of the object can be discerned to identify the object’s properties (Detect Magic check of 20+ will identify a simple bonus, a check of 24+ will identify one random ability, or a check of 28+ will identify all abilities).       Clue: The object has a soft glow about it in the right light, and feels strange to the touch.
16	The object is found in the tattered or broken remains of wrappings, a scabbard, or coffer that once was inscribed with command words or instructions (Mending check of 20+ will restore the container, inscribed with a random language).      Clue: The object is found in the decayed remains of a coffer/scabbard/shroud/wrappings.
17	The magical command word or instructions is inscribed upon the object (Read Magic check of 14+ will decipher it).      Clue: Softly glowing letters can be seen upon the object.
18	The magical runes or glyphs that display the command word or instructions are inscribed on the object (Read Magic check of 18+ will decipher them).      Clue: Runes are stamped into the object, and appear deeper than the thickness of the object would allow.
19	A magical verse, poem, or saga is etched into the object that details the command words or objects (Read Magic check of 20+ will decipher them).      Clue: Small, intricate lettering is etched into the entire surface of the object, and if looked at very closely, appear to be some sort of shifting words.
20	The command words or instructions are invisibly stamped upon the object (Detect Invisible check of 20+ to discover them).      Clue: The object appears gleaming and unblemished, like new, and curiously reflects light.
21	The object has religious significance and can easily be identified by any cleric of a randomly determined church (must be of at least a certain level – roll 1d6)      Clue: Iconography is stamped upon the object.
22	The command words or instructions are on an object far from where it was discovered.  Roll 1d8: (1) in a history book, (2) inscribed in a tomb, (3) carved into a lintel of a church, (4) written in a prayer book buried with the creator, (5) chiseled into a standing stone or stellae in the wilderness, (6) in a spellbook that has passed into the possession of a powerful wizard, (7) part of a village or town local rhyme, song or legend, (8) found under a flagstone in a crumbling ruin (Locate Object check of DC 16-34, depending on the distance away).      Clue: The object is clearly of specific construction: roll 1d8: (1) elven, (2) dwarven, (3) religious in nature, (4) marked with the heraldry of a noble family, (5) inscribed with a wizard’s mark, (6) an ancient fallen kingdom, (7) marked with the signs of a great patron, (8) goblin or some other monstrous race
23	The command words or instructions are known to an otherworldly spirit (Consult Spirit 18+ if a benevolent minor spirit, 32+ if an unwilling or capricious spirit or patron that is not aligned with the caster).
24	The command words or instructions are known to a foul demon (Demon Summoning DC 18-32, depending on the power of the demon).      Clue: The object is marked with unspeakable foul markings, and is sinister in appearance.
25	The command words or instructions are known only to the wizard or cleric that created it, and they have taken the secrets to their grave (Speak With the Dead check of 24-34, depending on how long ago they perished).      Clue: The object bears a single rune or maker’s mark.
26	The object is famed, and if it’s name is known, it’s abilities are well recounted (a trained check of 15-20 depending on the rarity of the object, by someone skilled in the correct skill.  Roll 1d8: (1) alchemy, (2) metalcraft, (3) dwarven history, (4) elven history, (5) a random religion, (6) a random patron, (7) a randomly determined lost kingdom or city, (8) a legendary knight
27-30	Roll Twice on the table for multiple possibilities to discover the item’s abilities.

Finally, if you want to allow it, you can let your players just throw money and time at the problem.  This shouldn’t replace players using ingenuity and exploration to figure out their items, but can be a second, less forgiving option.

If a character wishes to do their own research and investigation, purchasing books, buying rounds of drinks for town elders, asking for permission to read church records, and  the like, they can spend 1d6 weeks investigating (at 10 gp per week) for an Intelligence check – a DC 10+ result will reveal a clue about the object, and a DC 15+ result will reveal a random ability or property of the object.  If they wish to hire a wizard, sage, historian, noble, or guildmaster to do the research for them, the cost is higher (20 gp per week for a hireling with a +1 modifier, 30 gp per week for a hireling with a +2 modifier, and so on).  If you feel cruel, a natural 1 rolled on the check may result in false or slightly twisted information.

I’m going to try this going forward, and I may tweak it.  If anyone has any suggestions to expand or refine this table, feel free to share your ideas by emailing me at archadethered@gmail.com.