Spellcraft (Int; Trained Only)
You know how spells and magic items work, and have picked up numerous bits of magical lore. Regardless of whether you're a spellcaster, you can use magic items even if you wouldn't normally be able to.
Functions: Activate magic items (that you would normally be unable to use), craft magic items, identify magic, identify monsters (constructs, dragons, and magical beasts), learn or borrow spells (from spellbooks and scrolls), recall knowledge (about arcana).
Core Skills: Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft, Use Magic Device.
Specialist Wizards: If you're a specialist wizard, you gain a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks to identify, learn, and prepare spells from your chosen school. However, you take a –5 penalty on similar checks concerning spells from your opposition schools.
Activate Magic Items
This use of Spellcraft functions as the Use Magic Device core skill, but uses Intelligence instead of Charisma.
Action: None.
Try Again: Yes, but if you ever roll a natural 1 while attempting to activate an item and you fail, you can't try to activate that item again for 24 hours.
Craft Magic Items
You must attempt a Spellcraft check as part of the process of crafting a magic item. The DC varies by the item. See the Core Rulebook for the full rules on creating magic items.
Action: None.
Identify Magic
By succeeding at a Spellcraft check, you can determine specific types of spells as they're being cast or while they are in effect. You can also pinpoint magical auras in this manner, or decipher the magical writing on scrolls without casting read magic.
| Task |
Spellcraft DC |
| Identify auras while using detect magic | 15 + spell level |
| Identify properties of a magic item using detect magic | 15 + item's caster level |
| Identify a spell as it is being cast | 15 + spell level |
| Decipher a scroll without using read magic | 20 + spell level |
| Identify a spell effect that is in place | 20 + spell level |
| Identify a spell that just targeted you | 25 + spell level |
Action: None, in most cases. Deciphering a scroll is a full-round action, and attempting to identify the properties of a magic item takes 3 rounds per item.
Try Again: You can retry checks to identify a spell. When using detect magic and identify to learn the properties of magic items, you can make only one attempt per item per day.
Perception Penalties: Attempting to identify a spell as it's being cast incurs the same penalties as a Perception check due to distance, poor conditions, and other factors.
Identify Monsters
Spellcraft can be used to identify monsters of the construct, dragon, and magical beast types. See Monster Identification.
Learn or Borrow Spells
To add new spells to your spellbook, or to prepare a spell out of someone else's spellbook, you must succeed at a Spellcraft check.
| Task |
Spellcraft DC |
| Learn a spell from a spellbook or scroll | 15 + spell level |
| Prepare a spell from a borrowed spellbook | 15 + spell level |
Action: Learning a spell takes 1 hour per level of the spell (or 30 minutes for a 0-level spell). Preparing a borrowed spell is a part of spell preparation and doesn't add any extra time.
Try Again: If you fail to learn a spell from a spellbook, you can try again after 1 week. If you fail to prepare a spell from a borrowed spellbook, you can't try again until the next day.
Recall Knowledge
Spellcraft can be used to recall knowledge on the subjects of ancient mysteries, arcane symbols, and magic traditions. See Recall Knowledge for details. Use the following DCs for certain tasks.
| Task |
Spellcraft DC |
| Identify spells that use a specific | 20 |
| material component |
| Identify materials manufactured by magic | 20 + spell level |
