Magic Device Use

[White Warlock]

Is it supposed to allow for 'any' item to be used as long as you have a high magic device score? Are those the 3.5 rules, or is this an NWN2 rule? I mean, i cannot fathom how a chaotic evil character should be allowed to use a holy avenger... but with a high enough magic device use skill, they can.

[Blackwill]

Using it should in theory not be a problem. Gaining its special (or magical) abilities would. That should AFAIK depend on the alignment of the PC and other factors depending on the item.

[White Warlock]

Umm, that's what i'm trying to indicate here. NWN2 allows 'all' race, class, level, and alignment restrictions to be bypassed with a marginally high 'Magic Device Use' skill level. I really doubt that's what is in the 3.5 books for this skill, and if it's not, we either need to tackle it ourselves, attempt to encourage the community at large to address it, or have Obsidian correct it.

[psycho_leo]

Is it supposed to allow for 'any' item to be used as long as you have a high magic device score? Are those the 3.5 rules, or is this an NWN2 rule? I mean, i cannot fathom how a chaotic evil character should be allowed to use a holy avenger... but with a high enough magic device use skill, they can.

Yes, with a high enough UMD skill they could, but the ranks in UMD for using something as the holy avenger are ridiculously high. For the sake of the argument I created a CE rogue and used the console to pump up his UMD skill. The minimum rank from him to be able to weild the Holy Avenger (and he did so and took advantage of all the properties like he was a paladin) was no less than 45. I had to lvl him all the way to lvl 20, boosting UMD to the max with skill focus and bossting his CHA to 50 (with 48 CHA was still unusable). Needless to say this is completely absurd and there's no way you can do that without hacking the hell out of a character.

[dergon darkhelm]

By PnP rules, which I figure ALFA will adopt for UMD as well, A C-E PC with only a decent amount of UMD should be able to use a Holy Avenger with a certain degreee of succes.


PnP does not account for item value when trying to use a mgaic item.

It would be a simple "Emulate an alignment" check....a DC 30 each time the character attempted to wield the sword.

A lvl 6 rogue with mak ranks UMD and 14 charisma has better than a 50/50 chance of using the Holy sword.

[HEEGZ]

Hmm, so weapons restricted by alignment are not always restricted?

[dergon darkhelm]

USE MAGIC DEVICE (CHA; TRAINED ONLY)
Use this skill to activate magic
Check: You can use this skill to read a spell or to activate a magic item. Use Magic Device 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 a Use Magic Device 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 Use Magic Device 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 a Use Magic Device check for that purpose.


Emulate an Ability Score: To cast a spell from a scroll, you need a high score in the appropriate ability (Intelligence for wizard spells, Wisdom for divine spells, or Charisma for sorcerer or bard spells). Your effective ability score (appropriate to the class you’re emulating when you try to cast the spell from the scroll) is your Use Magic Device 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. Use Magic Device 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 Use Magic Device 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 Use Magic Device check (see above).
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 race of your choice. You can emulate only one race at a time.

[HEEGZ]

Hmm, well I'd like to see emulation only possible if there is actually a script that checks every in game hour. Otherwise nerf it out. However, it seems from one of the posts above that you need an insanely high skill level to do so, so might be a moot issue, i've not tested anything in game.

[dergon darkhelm]

yeah ---

The NWN engine (at least in NWN1) makes a one time check of your UMD skill (assuming you take 20) and applies against a preset UMD skill requirement that becomes higher based on item value.


_____

To follow PnP we should make it a UMD check d20 upon equipping and then somehow on regular basis after.,....... not sure if that's possible or not.