Use Magic Device

Use Magic Device allows a character to use a magic item as if your character had the required class, race, or alignment.

Modifying ability: Charisma

Classes: Bard, Rogue, Warlock, Assassin

Requires training: Yes

Check: The base difficulty class (DC) of this task is determined by the value of the item, and modified by the type of emulation the character is attempting:

• emulate a specific race - DC increases by 5
• emulate a specific alignment - DC increases by 10
• emulate a specific class - DC does not increase

To cast a spell from a scroll (if the difficulty mode of the game is set to Hardcore or higher), you must make a DC check of 25 plus the level of the spell.

Special: A Warlocks' deceive item feat adds a 4 bonus to UMD checks.

Use: Automatically applied whenever a character attempts to use or equip an item normally unusable by his class, race, or alignment.

Difficulty class (DC) depending on item value and type of emulation

Item value	Class emulation DC	Race emulation DC	Alignment emulation DC
100	1	5	10
9,000	5	10	15
17,000	10	15	20
38,000	15	20	25
150,000	20	25	30
350,000	25	30	35
700,000	30	35	40
1,100,000	35	40	45
1,500,000	40	45	50
1,900,000	45	50	55
2,300,000	50	55	60
3,000,000	55	60	65
5,000,000	60	65	70
6,000,000	70	75	80
9,000,000	80	85	90
12,000,000+	impossible	impossible	impossible

Version 1.022 (1588) in-game description of the UMD skill

Emulate an Alignment: Minimum DC10

Emulate a Class: Minimum DC13

Use a Scroll: Lvl 1(DC13), Lvl 2(DC15), Lvl 3(DC17), Lvl 4(DC19), Lvl 5(DC21), Lvl 6(DC23), Lvl 7(DC25), Lvl 8(DC27), Lvl 9(DC29)

Use a Wand: DC10

Use a Rod: DC12

Also, scrolls with higher than minimum possible caster level have increased DC.

Notes

• Unlike in NWN1, the player can now gain ranks in Use magic device with any class.
• Note that UMD does NOT allow a character to use weapons or armour for which they lack proficiency. For example, a Wizard can NOT use a magical warhammer just because he has UMD.

*Values need to be ammended as a result of version 1.21 changes.

• Note: Tiny races like Deep Gnome STILL can not use Longbow even with approriate UMD.

Known Bugs

• If a character needs to have Use magic device to equip a wearable item and if that character must use either a Charisma or skill boosting item, spell, or effect to equip the item using the Use magic device skill, that character will lose the equipped item upon area transfers. The item is not simply un-equipped as it should be. It's actually deleted from inventory. This problem is fixed with the 1.12 patch.
• A Wizard, Sorcerer, or Bard that has enough points in this skill to turn a red (unusable) scroll to white (useable) can use the scroll without making a skill check. This will happen regardless of the gameplay difficulty level. The reason why this is a bug is that with this ability, they can use Cleric, Druid, Ranger, or Paladin scrolls without fail and without making a skill check. According to PnP rules, a skill check would be required in this situation. This problem does not persist in patch 1.23, with some exceptions. See talk page for more details.
• A Cleric, Druid, Ranger, or Paladin that has any skill in Use magic device that attempts to cast an in-class spell from a scroll but does not actually have that same spell currently memorized and available to cast must pass the Use magic device skill check if playing on hardcore difficulty or higher. For example, if a Cleric that does not have Lesser Restoration memorized, has at least 1 rank of Use magic device, and attempts to cast Lesser Restoration from a scroll, that Cleric must pass the skill check against 25 + the innate spell level of the scroll (2 in this case for a total DC of 27). The opposing skill check is a d20 random die roll + total Use magic device skill. As such, this will most likely result in failure to cast the spell from the scroll because the caster would need at least a skill of 7 to even have a chance (rolling a natural 20) to succeed. This problem is fixed with the 1.12 patch.

Specifically bugged lines of script: The x2_pc_umdcheck script tests to see if a spell is being cast from an item and makes the Use magic device skill check if necessary. However, there were several problems with the patch 1.06 version of this script. *This section needs to be updated to the 1.21 version of the script.

• Lines 74 to 86 of the code specifically checks to see if the user is a bard, wizard, or sorcerer. An or condition is used to make this check. However, the check doesn't test to see if the item is prohibited from use or not. Any character that has even a single level in any of these classes will pass ALL Use magic device checks for casting spells from scrolls because of this section of code. This section needs to be changed to check the item properties of the scroll against not only these classes, but all spell-casting classes (such as clerics, druids, ranger, and paladins) to see if a skill check is needed.

• Lines 88 to 99 of the code are old (from NWN1) and should be re-written. This section performs an and operation against not having the skill, not having levels in rogue, not having levels in assassin, and not having levels in shadowdancer. This section indirectly permits clerics, druids, rangers and paladins to cast scrolls from their classes. However, like lines 74 to 86, it does not perform the check properly. Instead of comparing item properties and classes, this code assumes that if you don't have any ranks in Use magic device and that you aren't one of these three tested classes, that you MUST therefore be permitted to use the scroll by default. This assumption was made invalid with the changes to the NWN2 implementation of the 3.5 version of the skill - permitting ALL classes to take it. This section causes any cleric, druid, paladin, or ranger with a single point in the skill to have to pass a skill check later in the script in order to cast the spell from scroll.

• Lines 101 to 110 of the code perform a very poor check in order to once again help out clerics, druids, rangers, and paladins. However, it only tests for memorized spells, not spells that are known. As such, any cleric, druid, paladin, or ranger that reaches this point in the script and has the spell currently memorized (and castable) casts the spell from the scroll without a skill check. But any such character that does NOT have the spell currently available for casting falls through this check and must make a skill check later in the script. For example, all clerics have the ability to cast Lesser Restoration. However, if that spell is not memorized and the cleric has any ranks in Use magic device, this check fails and the caster must pass a skill check (and will most likely fail that check) to cast the spell from scroll.

See also

• NWNWiki:Use magic device