How do I hide magic properties of weapons from the PC's receiving them?

[lokisweapon]

I cannot figure out how to give my PC's an acidic longsword without telling them it's acidic. Is there a way to present it to them as a simple longsword but still have it act as an acidic sword?

[Moon Wizard]

There is a way to hide what kind of item you are giving the player, by using the Item Identification option in the Options window (upper right corner menu button with checkbox). With this option On and the individual item set to Unidentified, then the user will only be able to see the unidentified name and notes.

However, unidentified weapons are not set up automatically on the character, like identified weapons. Because, as soon as you set it up in the weapon screen and/or make a roll, the player knows exactly what attack/damage modifiers that the item provides.

In my games, I would drop a generic version of the weapon on the character, so that the basic weapon entry is set up and handled. Then, they need to let me know that they are using the "unidentified" weapon (or I mark it with *** or something similar). Then, as a GM, you need to tell players if their hit/miss result on an attack roll changed based on the weapon's properties, or apply any damage modifiers manually (CTRL + mouse wheel in combat tracker is easy). This is pretty much the same way you handle at the game table face-to-face. Once they identify the item, I will delete the generic version, and add the magic version with all the details ready to go.

Regards,
JPG

[lokisweapon]

Thank you, this is a great idea.

[Mirloc]

I use the exact same trick Moon, I have a set of "unidentified magic items" that I used for the task. I have the player make the roll and give them "situational bonuses" - but I use those all the time, had a player who didn't even know they had a magic item for 3 sessions, but he used it almost constantly.