Magic Items Overview

Magic Items and Mundanes

For the most part, magic items won’t function for a mundane. Sure, the mundane might feel joy and attachement to such an item, or perhaps fear and loathing, depending on the person and the function of the item, but rarely does a mundane recognize and understand as such an item for what it truly is. Most of the world doesn’t believe in magic or the supernatural. So, for these people, a magic item that actually operates while in their possession is either seen as a trick or a special effect, or the person convinces himself that he didn’t really see what he thinks he just saw. In some cases, such an event might disturb a mundane to such an extent that psychological harm occurs.

Incantation-Based FX Items

Making most magic items is a solitary endeavor, one in which the spellcaster spends days (perhaps weeks) preparing an item to receive and permanently hold a spell. It is possible to do the same thing with an incantation, but this requires the help of secondary casters. This has a greater chance of failure than infusing an item with a spell as the process requires both a Craft check and the appropriate skill check for casting the incantation.

The person creating the item must have the appropriate item creation feat or ability (such as the Mage’s Scribe Scroll ability), spend the appropriate amount of time fashioning the item, succeed at the required Wealth check (purchase DC = one-fifth of the item’s listed purchase DC), and spend the appropriate amount of XP. Then the creator must succeed at the required Craft check. If this check fails, the materials are used up but the XP are not spent. If it succeeds, then the item has been successfully prepared to receive the incantation.

The person who created the item must then serve as the primary caster in performing the desired incantation. This occurs as written in the incantation’s description. Failed incantations have all the usual repercussions, plus the item has been tarnished and must be prepared before another attempt can be made to infuse it with the incantation.

Determining the Purchase DC

Calculating the purchase DCs for items created to hold incantations is technically impossible, as incantations have neither caster levels nor spell levels. For the purpose of calculating and item’s purchase DC, use the following conversions.

Caster Level = 5 + total number of successful skill checks required to complete the incantation (minimum 11).

Spell Level = total number of successful skill checks required to complete the incantation.

Armor And Shields

Below are some examples of modern-day magical armor and shields.

Staffs

Staffs are long shafts of wood, metal, or other materials that store a specific combination of spells.

Potions

A potion is a single-use elixir that either duplicates a spell of 3rd level or lower or bestows some other temporary, spell-like effect upon the imbiber. Despite the name, potions can take many forms—oils, pills, perfumes, and colognes represent a few variations.

Rings

A ring is a circular metal band worn on the finger that contains a spell-like effect (often an effect that persists as long as the ring is worn).

Sample rings include the following:

Tattoos

Tattoos are single-use “items” containing a spell-like effect that effects only the bearer.

Sample tattoos include the following:

Wondrous Items

Wondrous items include anything that doesn’t fall into the other groups, including jewelry, tools, books, apparel, and gadgets.

Sample wondrous items include the following:

Artifacts

Artifacts are wondrous items that are especially powerful, particularly difficult to craft, or unique. They are ancient relics whose origins are shrouded in mystery. Even the most powerful artificers cannot create artifacts, for they are items whose power has grown through time. They are true objects of legend and, in many cases, instigators or catalysts of world change.

Activating an Artifact

Unless otherwise noted, activating an artifact takes an attack action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Artifacts are activated by command word or use-activated.

Destroying an Artifact

Artifacts are unnaturally resilient and can only be destroyed by extraordinary means. The secret to destroying an artifact is often as well-guarded and mysterious as the artifact itself, requiring a successful Research check (DC 25) to uncover.

Destroying the artifact is even more arduous—and frequently the basis for an entire adventure.

To illustrate the difficulty of destroying an artifact, several means of destruction are presented below (and the GM is encouraged to devise other means).

• Locate and retrieve an ancient Babylonian scroll with a transformseed incantation, which will turn the artifact into something that can be destroyed by conventional means.

• Use a subjugate outsiderincantation to summon a powerful demon, then command it to take the artifact and plunge it into a pit of Hell.

• Find the living descendant of an ancient Mongol dynasty whose blood, when spilled on the artifact, will cause it to dissolve.

• Place the artifact on an altar in a Paris cathedral, then splash it with holy water from the Aspergillum of Saint Javier, which was stolen from the cathedral in the 15th century and was last seen in a private art collection in Singapore.

• Persuade or trick a red dragon emperor or empress into devouring the artifact, which will be consumed in the fires of its stomach.

• Locate an Egyptian brazier with the power to summon an efreeti noble, then use a wish to command the efreeti to smash the artifact with its great iron falchion.

Artifact Purchase DCs

Artifacts cannot generally be purchased on the open market, although a careless vendors might sell one inadvertantly (by failing to realize its true nature or power). Since artifacts are often unique items, one must strike a deal with the current owner (who usually demands an exorbitant price). Players may not equip their characters with artifacts without their GM’s permission.

For the purposes of reward values, an artifact’s purchase DC is 30 + its FX modifier. The FX modifier depends on the item’s nature, as shown below:

Artifact Effects	FX Modifier
Each single-use effect	—
Each continuous effect, permanent effect, or +3 enhancement bonus	+10
Each effect with a limited number of uses per day, or each +2 enhancement bonus	+7
Each effect with a limited number of charges, or each +1 enhancement bonus	+5

Sample Artifacts

Examples of artifacts include the following.

Vehicular Magic Items

This section describes several magic “accessories” for vehicles.

A vehicular magic item functions only when it is properly placed on or within the vehicle: either attached to the vehicle in its proper place, painted on the vehicle, or incorporated into its design. Simply placing an item in the front seat will not activate the item’s magic effect. Removing the vehicular magic item from its intended location also ends the effect, although the item continues to radiate magic.

Vehicular Magic Item Purchase DCs

A vehicular magic item’s purchase price is 20 + the item’s caster level + its FX modifier. The FX modifier depends on the item’s nature, as shown on the table below:

Item’s Nature	FX Modifier
Single-use item	—
Continuous effect or bonus	+3
Limited number of uses per day	+2
Limited number of charges	+1

Limits for FX Items on Vehicles

Just as characters are limited in their ability to carry magic items, a vehicle can only bear so many functional magic items. The limits are as follows:

1 ramplate or set of bumpers

1 steering wheel

1 coat of paint

1 set of tires

1 pair of headlights

1 horn or siren

1 containment area (ashtray, glove compartment, trunk, etc.)

1 non-electronic accessory (hung from the rear view mirror, on the dashboard, etc.)

1 seat or set of seats

1 engine or engine accessory

1 set of windows (including windshield and side windows)

2 electronic accessories (stereo, CB radio, car alarm, etc.)

Vehicular Magic Items Descriptions

The following section described several new vehicular magic items.