Detecting/Identifying Magical Items (SNS)

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﻿At 1st level, all appraisers can detect whether or not an item is magical. This ability is similar in effect to the detect magic spell. An appraiser can attempt to do this once per day per level. The appraiser must make a success- ful appraisal skill roll in order to detect magic. Failure means that the appraiser does not know if the item is magical.
==Optional Critical Failure Rule==
If the appraiser rolls a 99-00 when attempting to detect magic, he inadvertently activates the item. This may not seem dangerous when dealing with standard magical weapons and armor, however, accidentally activating a wand of fireballs could prove potentially devastating. Note that charged items such as wands, staves, and rods-lose a charge when accidentally set off by an appraiser's critical failure.
﻿After reaching 3rd level, an appraiser can identify magical items as per the wizard spell of the same name. This ability requires no actual spellcasting and is nowhere near as exhausting to an appraiser as casting the actual spell. Appraisers cannot identify artifacts or relics.
To identify a magical item, the appraiser must spend one full day inspecting it and consulting local historians. The materials for this identification process cost one-half of the item's XP value. Appraisers usually pass this cost on to the owner of the item, in addition to their usual fee of 1-3% of the item's determined value.
To identify the item, the appraiser must roll under his appraising skill score. Failure indicates that the appraiser has not identified the item. A roll of 100 means that the appraiser has somehow misidentified the magical item. In addition, the DM can use the critical failure rule described above. If the appraiser succeeds, he can identify the magical item just as if he had cast the identify spell.
Once an appraiser reaches 8th level, he can make even more accurate and precise identifications of magical items. When an 8th-level appraiser attempts to identify a magical item, the DM should give him the same bonuses as a wizard who grinds up a luckstone and adds it to the material component of the identify spell. In other words, the appraiser can always determine the exact number of bonuses or charges that an item possesses once he reaches eighth level. In addition, he can figure out all of the functions of a multi-function device with a single attempt.