Appraise

Appraise (INT)

Use this skill to tell an antique from old junk, a sword that's old and fancy from an elven heirloom, and high-quality jewelry from cheap stuff made to look good.

Check: You can appraise common or well-known objects within 10% of their value (DC 12). Failure means you estimate the value at 50% to 150% of actual value. The DM secretly rolls 2d6+3, multiplies by 10%, multiplies the actual value by that percentage, and tells you that value for the item. (For a common or well-known item, your chance of estimating the value within 10% is fairly high even if you fail the check - in such a case, you made a lucky guess.)

Rare or exotic items require a successful check against DC 15, 20, or higher. If successful, you estimate the value at 70% to 130% of its actual value. The DM secretly rolls 2d4+5, multiplies by 10%, multiplies the actual value by that percentage, and tells you that value of the item. Failure means you cannot estimate the item's value.

A magnifying glass (page 111) gives a +2 circumstance bonus to Appraise checks involving any item that is small or highly detailed, such as a gem. A merchant's scale (page 111) gives a +2 circumstance bonus to Appraise checks involving any items that are valued by weight, including anything made of precious metals. These bonuses stack.

Appraising an item takes 1 minute.

Retry: Not on the same object, regardless of success.

Special: If you are making the check untrained, for common items, failure means no estimate, and for rare items, success means an estimate of 50% to 150% (2d6+3 times 10%).

Dwarves have a +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items because they are familiar with valuable items of all kinds (especially those made of stone or metal).