And the obligatory response to the “tomato-based fruit salad” response: “found the bard!”

R’amen.

Personally a fan of the Sonic Screwdriver, because I like my drinks like I like my ladies: sweet, bubbly, geeky as hell, and able to knock my ass out.

2 parts Sprite

2 parts orange juice

1 part vanilla vodka

1 part Blue Curaçao

Combine and serve in a highball glass on the rocks.

Which is a bit fucking overkill given that the level cap in game is 12.

What I mean is that remembering stuff (like what someone casting a fireball looks like) is what 3rd edition would call a Free Action, like talking. You can do it as much as you like (that can reasonably fit into six seconds) at any time during the turn, and it doesn’t take up any resources (like your reaction). Even though you’re rolling a check, it isn’t using part of your turn.

If it did take a reaction to identify a spell as it’s being cast, that would mean that remembering something would take the same about of time and energy as an opportunity attack.

Recalling information never requires an action, the check is just there to determine if you know something or not.

If the spell is on a pc’s class’s spell list and it has components (verbal, somatic, or material), they know if the spell is being cast (e.g. if the wizard sees someone casting Fireball, they recognize it from the arm movements, magic words, and the smell of guano and sulfur). If it isn’t, giving the player a DC (10 + level of the spell) Intelligence (Arcana) check to identify it would also be fair.

I mean, yeah. Like ninety percent of Batman’s rogues gallery are just mob bosses with a gimmick. He’s a street level superhero, that’s about how much you can reasonably take on when your superpowers are martial arts and money.

“Your fucking moral compass is a roulette wheel!”