Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Thurilien Lindoriad 03-03-08, 12:58 AM	The SRD states, in relevant part: Appraising a rare or exotic item requires a successful check against DC 15, 20, or higher. A common item has a DC of 12. Is there some consensus or clarification regarding what items are common/rare/exotic, or is it always just going to be a DM judgment call? I'm mostly interested in items such as pieces of jewelry or gemstones. These are encountered fairly frequently, but are they "common?" Thanks!
Kouk 03-03-08, 04:25 AM	Primarily it is probably the DM's interpretations. Here is my interpretation: I would think "common" would include all the things listed as general equipment for sale in the Player's Handbook, and maybe simpler (low-cost) items such as plates or furniture and such. "Common" things would be wooden chairs, normal weapons and armor, steel tableware, etc. Common jewelry might be a simple gold band, a silver chain necklace, pearl earrings, etc. Relatively inexpensive items which anyone might have access to. Uncommon items might be masterwork weapons, expensive silks and ball gowns, rare books etc. Complex jewelry like an electrum and gold-wired bracelet made to look like a serpent, a brooch made up of many tiny rubies and sapphires, or a diamond ring of exceptional size and purity. Rare items will be something you might say, "Well, you don't see that everyday!" Letter openers of mithral with a handle made from a dragon's tooth, inlaid with platinum and engravings. A magical cold iron sword with 3-inch wide gemstones on its hilt, and a grip made from demon leather. A fist-sized blue diamond with what appears to be a dragon in flight suspended in the center, hanging from a chain of purest adamantine and gold made to resemble scales, with a clasp resembling dragon talons grasping each other. And so on... If you have access to a DMG, take a look at the Art Objects described in the Treasure section and note their increasing complexity as the value increases. Edit: Things don't necessarily have to be exotic and complex though, pure rarity can also be a gauge. Maybe you find a kind of animal nobody has seen in decades. Maybe a gold coin from an ancient civilization which is valuable to collectors would otherwise go unnoticed and spent as a standard coin without a good Appraise check. Maybe you are able to determine that a certain plain masterwork shield is created in the fashion of the ancient sea elves, and can sell it to a collector or museum.
Thurilien Lindoriad 03-06-08, 01:30 AM	Thanks for the input, Kouk. So, in your reply, you mentioned "uncommon" items. The book lists common, rare, and exotic items. Where would you put "uncommon" items? I think that is probably the biggest area for DM discretion. That is, call it common, or call it rare? Exotic is pretty self-evident to me, but the line between common and rare is less so. All in all, looks like it's DM discretion once again! (that would be easier to deal with if we didn't have rotating DMs...) Thanks again. Your ideas seem very reasonable. I hadn't thought of common as meaning common to "anyone's" experience. I had thought of it as common to player characters. I suspect your interpretation might be what the authors had in mind.
Kouk 03-06-08, 07:00 PM	Oh, I was sort of just making up examples heh. Basically along the lines of Common is 10ish, Uncommon is 15ish, and Rare is 20ish. I think rather than one category for "rare" and one for "exotic", you could read it as "rare or exotic item", meaning one category for "not common". Basically, "higher than 12". In some campaign worlds, what is rare or exotic may not be the same as another campaign. For instance, in the Dark Sun campaign setting, metal is really rare and obsidian weapons are pretty normal, which is the reverse of most campaign worlds.
elonin 03-07-08, 07:26 AM	I thought that barring a feat using appraise is useless to know what a magic item is. Or are you talking about rare etc peices of art?
Thurilien Lindoriad 03-07-08, 02:44 PM	Hi elonin- None of this would apply to magical items. Just valuable nonmagical items, such as artwork, jewelry, gemstones, etc. Kouk- I think rather than one category for "rare" and one for "exotic", you could read it as "rare or exotic item", meaning one category for "not common". Basically, "higher than 12". I agree with that. I take it to mean "If the item is not a common item, the DC is 15, 20, or higher." It's easy for me to distinguish a common item from an exotic item, but tougher for me to distinguish a common item from a rare item (in other words, where to draw the line). I like your rule of thumb that if it's within the everyday experience of the average person in the given setting (read: a commoner), then it's common. Otherwise it's rare, and go ahead and set a DC at 15 or higher according to the DM's best judgment.
Kouk 03-07-08, 03:46 PM	I thought that barring a feat using appraise is useless to know what a magic item is. Or are you talking about rare etc peices of art? You mean my sword example? Appraise won't necessarily tell you what the magic on it is, but it might be valuable in itself even without the magic.
elonin 03-07-08, 05:47 PM	Yes the sword may be an exquisite peice that merits value even without magic. I was a bit confused by the OP. Thought that first post was about magical stuff.
Tedronai 03-08-08, 01:54 AM	While an appraise check will not allow you to identify an item as a magic item, nor tell you what a known magic item's function might be, I find it difficult to believe that, knowing those values, you would not be able to determine it's worth. I'm also not aware of any relevant text directly stating as much.
elonin 03-08-08, 06:48 AM	There is a feat allows you to appraise magic items. Can't remeber it's name but it's existance implies that you normally can't attempt that use.
Zarith 03-08-08, 08:06 AM	Appraise Magic Value (Complete adventurer pg103)