Magic Items
Your nonmagical pieces of equipment are the tools of your trade; they allow you to play your characters to their full potential. Magic items, on the other hand, add capabilities and powers beyond that; they allow your character to transcend the rules and accomplish extraordinary things. A magic item can make you better at what you normally do, and a magic item can transform the way you play beyond your normal options. They exist in the game to add interest and fun, to reward and enhance your character, and to offer novel options for telling stories and creating adventures.
That said, the "Rule Zero" of magic items is that if an item does not serve those purposes, or if a particular item does not fit the theme or tone of a campaign, the game master may choose to eliminate it from the game, even after it has been introduced to play, through a declaration by the Universal System. If the System disallows an item owned by a PC, then it replaces the forbidden item with an item of basically equivalent value.
On this page: Types of Magic Items | Using Items | Body Slots | Obtaining Magic Items | Magic Item Descriptions
On other pages:
- Consumable Items: Magical items you use and then lose.
- Permanent Items: From vorpal swords to flying carpets, all the most iconic items.
- Casting Items: Magic items that increase your casting options.
- Free-Willed Items: Artifacts and intelligent items.
- Constructs: Magical creatures given a semblance of life.
- Cursed Items: Items warped accidentally in crafting, with quirks or curses that may harm or hinder.
- Crafting Items: How to make your own magic items.
Soul-Links
When you advance in tier, your character may choose to soul-link (also known as soul-bond) permanent items -- that is, you bind yourself to an item, give up some experience points, pump in magical energy, and unlock special powers that grow each time you move to a new tier. Consumable magic items cannot be soul-linked, and the most powerful must be soul-linked to function at all.
While your character level is 1 to 5, that is, while you are in the Tyro Tier, you cannot soul-link an item. After you advance to character level 6, you may soul-link magical items. When you reach Adventurer Tier at level 6, the Universal System will first confirm your advancement choices based on class and character level, as usual. Then the System will survey your inventory, identify items that can be soul-linked, and if it finds any, ask you to pick items to link. Each time you level up going forward, the System will again review your possessions and ask if you want to soul-link — or unlink — any eligible magic items.
The advantage to soul-linking an item is that if lost, broken, or destroyed, it is restored to you the next morning. And of course, soul-linking an item unlocks more powerful options. The disadvantage is the cost in experience points and wealth. Soul-linking is entirely optional; you can use consumable and permanent items freely without soul-linking, and since you are not spending xp, you will advance more quickly than your allies who do soul-link magic items.
Spending Experience Points on Soul-Links
The cost in experience points is paid when your game master hands out xp. If you have a soul-link (or more than one), you earn less xp than you would have optherwise. The cost varies with how many items you have linked:
- One item linked: Pay 1% of xp gained.
- Two items linked: Pay 3% of xp gained.
- Three items linked: Pay 6% of xp gained.
- Four items linked: Pay 10% of xp gained.
- Five items linked: Pay 15% of xp gained.
- Six items linked: Pay 21% of xp gained.
- Seven items linked: Pay 28% of xp gained.
- Eight items linked: Pay 36% of xp gained.
- Nine items linked: Pay 45% of xp gained.
- Ten items linked: Pay 55% of xp gained.
You cannot soul-link more than 10 items. Note that sometimes a soul-link is referred to as a soul-bond.
Spending Wealth on Soul-Links
In Labyrinths and Liontaurs, gems are not natural phenomena. They are the precipitation of concentrated mana that permeates the world. Gems are condensed magic! And they are used to create and to power magic items. Gems can certainly be found underground, but they can also be found in other places, including the organs of magical monsters.
When you soul-link an item, it becomes more powerful. The item feeds on gems to energize that magical power. You use gems each time to level to fuel your soul-linked item.
Types of Magic Items
At low levels, magic items will be more rare, and permanent ones even more so. No character can start the game at first level with a magic item. As you adventure, you acquire lesser items, such as potions, and then more powerful ones as your progress in your adventuring career.
Consumable Items
Consumable items are used up when activated. They may be single-use items, such as potions, or have charges, such as wands. But if they are used, eventually they will be used up. Consumable items cannot be soul-linked. They sometimes take up a body slot.
Permanent Items
Permanent items last forever. Many must be equipped into an body slot if you wish to use their magical powers. They may be soul-linked if you wish to use enhanced magical aspects of the item.
Casting Items
Powerful casting items add to your spells known list and grant you extra spell slots for daily casting. They usually do not take up a body slot; some can be used as weapons. Many have a special secondary magical power, which uses your character level, casting stat, and BAB to determine variable effects, saving throws, attack rolls, and so forth. They must be soul-linked to be used, and then only if their type of magic (arcane, divine, natural) matches your own.
Free-Willed Items
Intelligent items and lesser artifacts have minds of their own, minds that the crafter creates or provides. A free-willed item not only requires a soul-link, but can only function if you end all soul-links with other items.
Constructs
Constructs, including golems, are magical creatures that are created and controlled by you. It is possible, albeit rare, to soul-link a construct.
Using Items
Almost all magic items must be worn, held, or touched to function. To use a magic item, it must be activated, although sometimes activation simply means putting a ring on your finger. Some items, once donned, function constantly. If the individual magic item rules do not specify, activating an item requires a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. By contrast, spell completion items (scrolls) are treated like spells in combat and do provoke attacks of opportunity when activated.
The four ways to activate magic items are described below.
Spell Completion
This is the activation method for scrolls. A scroll contains instructions for casting a spell, even if you do not know it. To use a spell completion item, your caster level must be equal to or higher than the scroll's. Activating a spell completion item is a standard action (or the spell's casting time, whichever is longer) and provokes attacks of opportunity exactly as casting a spell does.
Spell Trigger
This is the activation method used for wands. A spell trigger item releases the magic of just one spell, exactly as if you had cast it, but using the wand's caster level and save DC. Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity. No gestures or spell casting is needed — just a single word must be spoken.
Spell trigger items always have charges — usually 50 when freshly crafted. If you have the spell on your known spells list, activating the wand costs but one charge. If you know a first level (or higher) spell of the same type (arcane, divine, inherent, or natural), but not the specific spell in the wand, activating it costs three charges. If you do not know a spell of the same type, you may not activate it. If your caster level is less than the wand's, the cost in charges is increased by two extra charges.
Command Word
If no activation method is suggested either in the magic item description or by the nature of the item, assume that a command word is needed to activate it. Command word activation means that a character speaks the word and the item activates. No other special knowledge is needed.
A command word can be a real word, or some seemingly nonsensical word, or a word or phrase from an ancient language no longer in common use. Activating a command word magic item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Sometimes the command word to activate an item is written right on the item. Occasionally, it might be hidden within a pattern or design engraved on, carved into, or built into the item, or the item might bear a clue to the command word.
The Knowledge (arcana) and Knowledge (history) skills might be useful in helping to identify command words or deciphering clues regarding them. A successful check against DC 30 is needed to come up with the word itself. If that check is failed, succeeding on a second check (DC 25) might provide some insight into a clue. A detect magic spell offers a +5 enhancement bonus on these checks. The spells identify and analyze dweomer both reveal command words if the properties of the item are successfully revealed. If you are clever, you may note a foe speaking a command word when the item is used against you!
Use Activated
This type of item simply has to be used in order to activate it. A character has to drink a potion, swing a sword, interpose a shield to deflect a blow in combat, look through a lens, sprinkle dust, wear a ring, or don a hat. Use activation is generally straightforward and self-explanatory.
Many use-activated items are objects that a character wears. Continually functioning items are practically always items that one wears. A few must simply be in the character's possession (meaning on his person). However, some items made for wearing must still be activated. Although this activation sometimes requires a command word (see above), usually it means mentally willing the activation to happen. The description of an item states whether a command word is needed in such a case.
Unless stated otherwise, activating a use-activated magic item is either a standard action or not an action at all and does not provoke attacks of opportunity, unless the use involves performing an action that provokes an attack of opportunity in itself. If the use of the item takes time before a magical effect occurs, then use activation is a standard action. If the item's activation is subsumed in its use and takes no extra time use, activation is not an action at all.
Use activation doesn't mean that if you use an item, you automatically know what it can do. You must know (or at least guess) what the item can do and then use the item in order to activate it, unless the benefit of the item comes automatically, such as from drinking a potion or swinging a sword.
Size and Magic Items
When an article of magic clothing or jewelry is discovered, most of the time size shouldn't be an issue. Many magic garments are made to be easily adjustable, or they adjust themselves magically to the wearer. Armor and weapons also generally resize to fit. Size should not keep characters of various kinds from using magic items.
There may be rare exceptions, especially with race-specific items.
Saving Throws Against Magic Item Powers
Magic items often produce spells or spell-like effects. For most items, a saving throw against a spell or spell-like effect from a magic item, the DC is 9 + half the caster level + the ability modifier of the minimum ability score needed to cast that level of spell. For soul-linked items, the saving throw uses the minimum ability score needed or the owner's ability score, whichever is higher; and the item's caster level or the owner's whichever is higher.
Some item descriptions give saving throw DCs for various effects. If a DC is not specified, assume that it is half the item's caster level plus the casting ability score modifier for the lowest ability score needed.
Body Slots
Permanent magic items usually need to be worn, held, or touched by a character who wants to employ them or benefit from their magical capabilities. It's possible for a creature with a humanoid-shaped body to wear as many as 12 magic items at the same time. However, each of those items must be worn on on a particular part of the owner's anatomy, known as a “body slot.”
In general, a humanoid-shaped body can be decked out in permanent magic gear consisting of one item from each of the following groups (two items are allowed in the fingers slot). A few permanent items are slotlesss and do not use a body slot. A few consumable items take up a body slot. Casting and free-willed magic items generally do not take up slots, although some may (see individual descriptions).
Arms: shields, bracelets, and bracers.
Eyes: eyes, glasses, and goggles.
Feet: boots, shoes, and slippers.
Fingers: rings (up to two).
Hands: gauntlets and gloves.
Head: headbands and phylacteries, circlets, crowns, hats, helms, and masks.
Neck: amulets, brooches, medallions, necklaces, periapts, and scarabs.
Shoulders: capes, cloaks, and mantles.
Skin : earrings and other piercings, anklets, and other adornments touching the body.
Torso: suits of armor, robes and vestments, sashes, shirts, and vests.
Waist: belts and girdles.
Slotless: Some items do not use a body slot, though they usually require a free hand to use.
Of course, a character may carry or possess as many items of the same type as he wishes. However, only one magical item can be worn at a time in a given slot (two on fingers). In general, more than one magical item cannot be worn in a slot, or if allowed by the game master, only one can provide a magical or mechanical benefit. If you are using a magical suit of armor, you cannot also use a robe of useful items, since both use the torso slot.
You can only soul-link one item (or two rings) for a given slot, and you may not use other items in that slot once the link is established.
Obtaining Magic Items
Magic items can be found (as loot or rewards), crafted, or purchased. The game master is free to decide by fiat about item availability for sale, but here are some guidelines that may be of use, based on the size of the community in which you are seeking items for sale.
| Community Size | Base Value | Consumable | Permanent | Casting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorp | 50 gp | 1d4 items | — | — |
| Hamlet | 200 gp | 1d6 items | — | — |
| Village | 500 gp | 2d4 items | 1d4 items | — |
| Small town | 1,000 gp | 3d4 items | 1d6 items | — |
| Large town | 2,000 gp | 3d4 items | 2d4 items | 1d4 items |
| Small city | 4,000 gp | 4d4 items | 3d4 items | 1d6 items |
| Large city | 8,000 gp | 4d4 items | 3d4 items | 2d4 items |
| Metropolis | 16,000 gp | * | 4d4 items | 3d4 items |
| * in a metropolis, nearly all minor magic items are available. | ||||
Magic items are valuable, and most major cities have at least one or two purveyors of magic items, from a simple potion merchant to a weapon smith that specializes in magic swords. Of course, not every item in these rules is available in every town.
Magic Item Availability
The following guidelines are presented to help game masters determine what items are available in a given community. These guidelines assume a setting with an average level of magic. Some cities might deviate wildly from these baselines, subject to GM discretion. The GM should keep a list of what items are available from each merchant and should replenish the stocks on occasion to represent new acquisitions.
It is important that game masters not allow players to just buy any item in the rules at a "local magic shoppe." If all items are available, then what players find on an adventure is not interesting. If you can buy any item in the book, there is no incentive to craft your own, crafting being the one sure way to get what you want.
The number and types of magic items available in a community depend upon its size. Each community has a base value associated with it (see Table: Available Magic Items). There is a 75% chance that any item of that value or lower can be found for sale with little effort in that community. In addition, the community has a number of other items for sale. These items are randomly determined and are broken down by category (consumable, permanent, and casting).
If you are running a campaign with low magic, reduce the base value and the number of items in each community by half. Campaigns with little or no magic might not have magic items for sale at all. GMs running these sorts of campaigns should make some adjustments to the challenges faced by the characters due to their lack of magic gear, ans should award less wealth as loot.
Campaigns with an abundance of magic items might have communities with twice the listed base value and random items available. Alternatively, all communities might count as one size category larger for the purposes of what items are available. In a campaign with very common magic, all magic items might be available for purchase in a metropolis.
Nonmagical items and gear are generally available in a community of any size unless the item is particularly expensive, such as full plate, or made of an unusual material, such as an adamantine longsword. These items should follow the base value guidelines to determine their availability, subject to GM discretion.
Player Loot Division
The game assumes that parties will tend to be heroic, and player characters will treat each other fairly. If so, then it is safe for the game master to assume that players will divide loot into equal shares. If the game master awards a five-PC group 8,000 gp and an item worth 2,000 gp, then one PC should get the item and the other four should get 2,000 gp.
Thus, the game master should keep this idea in mind when creating awards. Make it easy to divide loot fairly. Do not give a 10,000 gp item and 1,000 gp in gems to the party — that's hard to divide.
If you have player characters who argue for unequal shares, or who steal from party members, or who charge for healing or casting spells, well, you have problems bigger than loot division, and if you prefer fairness and heroism, perhaps it is time to look for new players.
Magic Item Descriptions
Most magic items have a full description with powers detailed, as described below. A few consumable items (scrolls, potions, and wands) do not need such individual attention. Similarly, weapons, armors, and some free-willed items are each custom built with their own rules. Other items are described with the properties shown below.
Aura: Most of the time, skill or divination can reveal the school of magic associated with a magic item and the strength of the aura an item emits. This information is given at the beginning of the item's notational entry.
Caster Level (CL): The next item in a notational entry gives the caster level of the item, indicating its relative power. The caster level determines the save DC to resist it, as well as range or other level-dependent aspects of the powers of the item (if variable). It also determines the level that must be contended with should the item come under the effect of a dispel magic spell or similar situation.
For potions, scrolls, and wands, the caster level of the item is equal to the spell level of the item's spell. For other magic items, the caster level given in the item description.
Body Slot: Permanent magic items can only be utilized if worn or wielded in their proper slots. If the item is stowed or placed elsewhere, it does not function. If the slot lists “none,” the item cannot be equipped, but can be used so long as it is in the user's possession.
Price: This is the cost, in gold pieces, to purchase the item, if it is available for sale. Generally speaking, magic items can be sold by PCs for half this value.
Weight: This is the weight of an item. When a weight figure is listed as N/A, the item has no weight worth noting (for purposes of determining how much of a load a character can carry).
Description: This section of a magic item describes the item's powers and abilities. Some items refer to various spells as part of their descriptions (see Spell Lists for details on these spells).
Construction: Most magic items can be built by a spellcaster with the appropriate feat and prerequisites. This section describes those prerequisites.