[RPG] How to the characters differentiate magic items from normal items

dnd-5emagic-items

In an adventure I'm running, the characters will probably retrieve arrows from skeleton archers. In their quivers, one of the arrows is a +1 arrow.

How can the characters differentiate magic items from normal items? Is it only a visual clue? Do they have to cast the Detect Magic and Identify spells?

Best Answer

This is answered by the Identifying a Magic Item section on page 136 of the DMG (I won't quote the entire text):

Some magic items are indistinguishable from their nonmagical counterparts, whereas other magic items display their magical nature conspicuously. Whatever a magic item's appearance, handling the item is enough to give a character a sense that something is extraordinary about it. [...] Sometimes a magic item carries a clue to its properties. The command word to activate a ring might be etched in tiny letters inside it, or a feathered design might suggest that it's a ring of feather falling. Wearing or experimenting with an item can also offer hints about its properties...

In the end whether a PC can differentiate a magic item from a nonmagic one comes down to how the DM wants to present the item and details about the item and whether the PC actually "handles" the item. Short of that, Detect Magic would give a PC a visual on if an item is magical without them having to handle it first.

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