Unidentified Items
When characters find treasure or buy items from an untrusted source, it can be quite a surprise when the name and function of a magical item are not known. This can be a challenge to mange in practice. How do you apply characteristics of the weapon without the player knowing what is happening and how does a gamemaster keep track of what are the full characteristics of an item?
Hidden items provide support for these cases, giving gamemasters control of the experience. Characteristics of a hidden item:
Has a reference to an item that represents the full description and actions available.
Can be “Identified” replacing all of the attributes of the item, including name and description, with the referenced item.
Players in a campaign are not allowed to see that an item’s hidden information or to identify a hidden item. These actions can only be performed by the gamemaster.
Outside of a campaign characters are allowed full access to make sure that characters don’t end up with “stuck” items.
Hidden Items
Clicking the Hidden checkbox will make an item hidden. Once an item is hidden additional options are displayed.
PICK: allows selecting the item that the contains the full description and attributes of the item.
IDENTIFY: transforms the item into the selected item. Clicking this will replace all of the information about the item.
Item Link: The item link allows you to click and see the details of the linked item.
Identifying an Item
In addition to using the IDENTIFY button from the edit item dialog, the details view of an item has an identify button. There is also a label on the item indicating that it is unidentified that links to the referenced item. Clicking IDENTIFY swaps the information and saves the item.
When a player learns what an unidentified item does the gamemaster can go to the character sheet click the item and identify it or can go to shared treasure and identify the item.
Creating Hidden Items
While it is certainly possible to create hidden items in the global item reference list, that can also be very confusing since you want them to have deceptive names and descriptions. Instead when granting treasure or building treasure for an encounter, it is better to create a new item.
There are two ways to create a hidden item.
Start with a Mundane Item
Pick the mundane version of the magic item. Mark the item as hidden and then pick the magical version of the item. This will give a hidden item that looks and functions normally but that has no magical characteristics until the item is identified.
Start with a Magical Item
Pick the magical version of the magic item. Mark the item as hidden, it will automatically be linked to the magical item. Then change the text and remove any special abilities that shouldn’t be visible. This will give an item that has some of its special abilities, but where the players won’t be able to see what those abilities are. This works well for cursed items that you might want to appear to be a great magic item, but that actually includes penalties that aren’t fully visible until the item is identified.
Other Uses
While hidden items are primarily designed to be used for unidentified items, the feature can be used in other ways. This feature can be used anywhere you want to be able to change what item does. Possible scenarios:
Items that level up. If you have an item that can be transformed into increasingly powerful items then this can be used. Just create items that each link to the more powerful version. Note: the GM will have to do the uplevel action.
Swappable items. If you have an item that changes between two forms then you can have the to versions be hidden versions of each other. Note: the GM will have to make the switch.
Hide the details of an item. If you want players to never see the details of what an item has for special abilities then you can mark an item as hidden and just not bother with having it linked to another item. Players will only know that they cannot edit the item to see its special ability modeling.
Fake out players. Just mark a mundane item as hidden with no linked item. Players will see that they cannot edit the details of the item, but won’t know that it isn’t really special.