Arcane Lore (Int)

Your Arcane Lore skill measures your ability to recall lore about arcane spells and phenomenon, certain creatures, as well as your proficiency with utilizing the arcane arts.

Recall Information

You can use the Arcane Lore skill to recall information you know about spells, magic items, eldritch symbols, magical traditions, and the planes of existence. This functions as the Recall Information ability of the Academics skill but only covers this specialized field of study.

Identify Creatures

This functions as the Identify Creatures ability of the Academics skill but only covers this specialized field of study. Arcane Lore can identify constructs, dragons, magical beasts, oozes, and outsiders.

Identify Spell Effects

A successful Arcane Lore check can allow you to identify an arcane spell or spell effect. The base difficulty class to identify any spell or spell effect is 20 + the spell’s level. Apply the modifiers as given on the table to determine the final DC.

You can identify materials created or shaped by magic, such as noting that an iron wall is the result of a wall of iron spell, even if there are no ongoing effects to identify, with a DC of 20 + spell level.

Arcane Lore can also identify divine spells and psionic powers and other esoterica, but attempting to do so increases the DC by +10.

Read magic, detect magic, and other spells also use Arcane Lore to determine their results.

Identify Magic Item

Arcane Lore allows you to identify magic items by studying any unique or identifying markings on the items as well as the flow of magical energy through them. Identifying an item has a difficulty class of 10 + the item’s caster level.

A failure by 5 or less reveals some indication of how an item is used or activated, such as a command word, or how it might be used, but it does not identify what the item actually is or does.

In the case of items with multiple enchantments, it’s possible to identify some enchantments without identifying all of them.

Certain spells, such as detect magic and identify grant bonuses to Arcane Lore checks when identifying items.

Use Magic Item

You can use this skill to read a spell or to activate a magic item. Arcane Lore lets you use a magic item as if you had the spell ability or class features of another class, as if you were a different race, or as if you were of a different alignment.

You make an Arcane Lore check each time you activate a device such as a wand. If you are using the check to emulate an alignment or some other quality in an ongoing manner, you need to make the relevant Arcane Lore check once per hour.

You must consciously choose which requirement to emulate. That is, you must know what you are trying to emulate when you make an Arcane Lore check for that purpose. The DCs for various tasks involving Arcane Lore checks are summarized on the table below.

You can only use Arcane Lore to activate spell completion and spell trigger items if those items contain arcane spells. Arcane Lore cannot be used to activate psionic items or items from other esoteric systems.

Activate Blindly

Some magic items are activated by special words, thoughts, or actions. You can activate such an item as if you were using the activation word, thought, or action, even when you’re not and even if you don’t know it. You do have to perform some equivalent activity in order to make the check. That is, you must speak, wave the item around, or otherwise attempt to get it to activate.

You get a +2 bonus on your Arcane Lore check if you’ve activated the item in question at least once before.

If you fail by 9 or less, you can’t activate the device. If you fail by 10 or more, you suffer a mishap.

A mishap means that magical energy gets released but doesn’t do what you wanted it to do. The default mishaps are that the item affects the wrong target or that uncontrolled magical energy is released, dealing 2d6 points of damage to you. This mishap is in addition to the chance for a mishap that you normally risk when you cast a spell from a scroll that you could not otherwise cast yourself.

Emulate an Ability Score

To cast a spell from a scroll, you need a high score in the appropriate ability. Your effective ability score is your Arcane Lore check result minus 15. If you already have a high enough score in the appropriate ability, you don’t need to make this check.

Emulate an Alignment

Some magic items have positive or negative effects based on the user’s alignment. Arcane Lore lets you use these items as if you were of an alignment of your choice. You can emulate only one alignment at a time.

Emulate a Class Feature

Sometimes you need to use a class feature to activate a magic item. In this case, your effective level in the emulated class equals your Arcane Lore check result minus 20. This skill does not let you actually use the class feature of another class. It just lets you activate items as if you had that class feature.

If the class whose feature you are emulating has an alignment requirement, you must meet it, either honestly or by emulating an appropriate alignment with a separate Arcane Lore check (see above).

Note that you can’t emulate “spellcasting” or other esoteric abilities of a class to bypass making Arcane Lore checks to activate an item, but you can emulate such abilities if they are required simply to use the item.

Emulate a Race

Some magic items work only for members of certain races, or work better for members of those races. You can use such an item as if you were a member of a race of your choice. You can emulate only one race at a time.

Use a Scroll or Other Spell Completion Item

Normally, to cast a spell from a scroll, you must have the scroll’s spell on your class spell list. Arcane Lore allows you to use an arcane scroll as if you had a particular spell on your class spell list. You must have deciphered the spell first with a Linguistics check, read magic, or another ability.

The DC to use a scroll is equal to 20 + the caster level of the spell you are trying to cast from the scroll. In addition, casting a spell from a scroll requires a minimum score (10 + spell level) in the appropriate ability. If you don’t have a sufficient score in that ability, you must emulate the ability score with a separate Arcane Lore check.

This use of the skill also applies to other spell completion magic items.

Use a Wand, Staff, or Other Spell Trigger Item

Normally, to use a wand, you must have the wand’s spell on your class spell list. This use of the skill allows you to use an arcane wand as if you had a particular spell on your class spell list. Failing the roll does not expend a charge.