Bubka's Superior Identification

When this spell is cast, one item can be examined by the wizard in order to identify the nature of its enchantment. The item need only be hand-held or touched, not worn or used in any way. The following information can be obtained:

* One basic magical property of the item is always revealed to the wizard. This takes one round. Multiple castings reveal the same property unless the wizard has advanced at least one level.

* A second magical property might be revealed. The wizard will know in 1d4 rounds if there is a second such property, and will need a further 1d3 rounds to identify the nature of this enchantment. The chance for successfully identifying a second magical property is 3% per point of Intelligence, plus 3% per level (to a maximum of 95%). Failing this check indicates that, as far as the caster can determine, the item does not possess or contain any additional enchantments.

The spell can be repeatedly cast on the same item to inquire about third and subsequent magical properties (if there are any), with the same chance for success as for a second property. However, attempts to confirm earlier detections will always reveal the same result (even if that finding was in error). Exact properties are revealed by this spell, such as the fact that a weapon is a sword +/. (If the weapon was also of the flame tongue variety, this could be discovered only as a second property.)

In the case of charged items, the number of charges is treated as a second property and, if the wizard makes the roll, there is still a 25% chance that the number of charges is overestimated or underestimated by 2d10% (equal chance for over or under, but the number estimated will never be less than 1 or greater than the maximum possible).

Unlike the 1st-level identify spell, casting of this magic does not subject the wizard to a loss of Constitution. However, the spell cannot be cast more than once every two hours due to the intense concentration it demands, or else the wizard repeating the spell will at once suffer a severe headache lasting 1d4 hours and be unable to memorize or cast any spells for a full 12 hours after the headache subsides.

The material components for the spell are the same as for the identify spell, except that the pearl must be of high quality, at least 250 gp value.

Notes: Rare or very rare. (Updated from Dragon Magazine.)