Magic Items
Pathfinder Core Rulebook, page 456
From the common potion of cure light wounds to the mighty holy avenger, magic items are valuable tools used by heroes and villains alike. This chapter contains a wide variety of items to enhance any character.
Magic items are divided into categories: armor, weapons, potions, rings, rods, scrolls, staves, wands, and wondrous items. In addition, some magic items are cursed or intelligent. Finally, a few magic items are of such rarity and power that they are considered to belong to a category of their own— artifacts. Artifacts are classified in turn as minor (extremely rare but not one-of-a-kind items) or major (each one unique and incredibly potent).
In this section
- Using Items 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.
- Damaging Magic Items A magic item doesn’t need to make a saving throw unless it is unattended, it is specifically targeted by the effect, or its wielder rolls a natural 1 on his save.
- Purchasing Magic Items 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.
- Magic Item Descriptions Each general type of magic item gets an overall description, followed by descriptions of specific items.
- Intelligent Items Magic items sometimes have intelligence of their own. Magically imbued with sentience, these items think and feel the same way characters do and should be treated as NPCs.
- Cursed Items Cursed items are magic items with some sort of potentially negative impact. Occasionally they mix bad with good, forcing characters to make difficult choices. Cursed items are almost never made intentionally.
- Magic Item Creation To create magic items, spellcasters use special feats which allow them to invest time and money in an item’s creation.
- Magic Items and Detect Magic When detect magic identifies a magic item’s school of magic, this information refers to the school of the spell placed within the potion, scroll, or wand, or the prerequisite given for the item.
- Magic Items on the Body Many magic items need to be donned by a character who wants to employ them or benefit from their abilities. It’s possible for a creature with a humanoid-shaped body to wear as many as 15 magic items at the same time.
- Saving Throws Against Magic Item Powers Magic items produce spells or spell-like effects. For a saving throw against a spell or spell-like effect from a magic item, the DC is 10 + the level of the spell or effect + the ability modifier of the minimum ability…