MAGIC ITEM DESCRIPTIONS EXPLAINED

Magic items are defined using the same set of descriptive categories. These categories are not necessarily used by them all, but by default they should all have them. You never know when someone wants to break the Candle of Invocation!

Magic items are divided into categories: Armour, Weapons, Potions, Rings, Rods, Staffs, Wands, Wondrous Items and Artifacts; both Minor and Major. Multiple characters can aid, or even be necessary, in creation of items. One must be designated the creator, it is this person who pays the XP cost.

To create a magic item, the creator needs a fairly quiet, comfortable, and well-lit place in which to work. Creating an item requires 1 day per 1,000 gp in the item's base cost with a minimum of at least 1 day. Potions are slightly different, taking just one day to brew. The character must spend the gold and XP at the beginning of the construction process. Some DMs may allow the cost, either in gold or XP to be divided into regular parts in order for items to be made over a long period. A creator can make only on magic item at a time. Beginning a new item when one is not yet finished ruins that item and the costs are lost in full. The creator must work for at least 8 hours a day, and rushing by working faster in ineffectual. The days, of 8 hours, need not be consecutive, although some DMs may determine that some of the ingredients are perishable and may apply a penalty or even cause the creation to fail if left for too long.

Below is a breakdown of how to arise at the results needed for each descriptive category (Note: Some parts of the descriptions are rewritten here as without them it would be difficult to explain fully):

Prerequisite:

This may be provided by a character who has prepared the spell (or who knows the spell in the case of the sorcerer or bard), or through the use of a spell completion or spell trigger magic item or a spell-like ability that produces the desired spell effect. For each day that passes in the creation process, the creator must expend one spell completion item (such as a scroll) or one charge from a spell trigger item (such as a wand), if either of these objects is used to supply a prerequisite.

Typically a Prerequisite includes one feat and one or more spells, possibly some other requirement also. If two or more spells are included, separated by the word 'or' then one of them is integral to creation, not both.

Aura:

The aura given off by a magical item is detectable by such things a the spell Detect Magic. The aura has two parts, the strength of the aura as determined by its caster level and the school of magic that the item is most connected to. Some items have more than one spell prerequisite but normally only has one school connection. This would be the most in keeping with the items purpose.

To determine an item's aura if it is not described, check the caster's level with the table below, copied from the Detect Magic spell. Then look up the spells contained in the Prerequisite and the spell's school is the aura given off. In the case of two or more spells being Prerequisites, then choose the school most appropriate.

Caster Level:

This determines the item's power. It also determines the item's saving throw bonus as well as many other level-dependent aspects of the item's properties. It is the level contended with should the item be attacked with the Dispel Magic spell or similar situation. For potions, scrolls and wands, the creator can set the caster level of an item to any number high enough to cast the stored spell and not higher than their own caster level. For other magic items the caster level is determined by the item itself. In this case the creator's level must be as high as the item's caster level (and prerequisites may effectively put a higher minimum on the Caster's level).

Market Price:

The gold piece value is the price available items generally cost to 'buy' the item ready made and prepared. The market price for an item that can be constructed with an item creation feat is usually equal to the base price plus the price for any components (material or XP). Some items require cast or replicated spells with costly components or with XP costs. For these items the market price equals the base price plus an extra price for the spell component costs. Each XP in the component costs adds 5 gp to the market price. Most of the items presented include their total costs, they do not need working out.

Cost to Create:

This consists of two parts, the base cost and the XP (experience point cost) to create an item. It includes the base cost and cost of components. Items without components have the cost to create the same as the Market price. Generally the base cost in gp is half the market price and the cost in XP is 25% that of the Market price. See Creating Magic Items for more details in the Dungeons Master's Guide.

AC:

AC is Armour Class. Objects are easier to hit than creatures because they usually do not move, but many are tough enough to shrug off some damage from each blow. An objects AC is equal to 10 + its size modifier + its DEX modifier. An inanimate object has not only a DEX of 0 (-5 penalty to AC), but also an additional -2 penalty to its AC. Full-round attacks get automatic hits with melee weapons and a +5 bonus on attack rolls with ranged weapons. An object held by a creature gains that creature's DEX bonus to its AC when being attacked.

Inanimate magical item: AC = 10 + size (see Size Table) - 7 (-5 penalty due to inanimate object plus additional -2). See also Item Table for typical item AC.

Hit Points:

Hit Points are allocated to magic items in case they should be attacked. Like a character's Hit Points they determine how much damage an object can take from an attack before being destroyed (killed). An object's Hit Points depend on what it is made of and how big it is. When an object's Hit Points reach 0 it is ruined. Very large objects have different Hit Points for different regions or parts of it. When an object's Hit points reach half or more, the chance to Break it becomes easier, see Break DC. Check the Item Table for typical item Hit Points.

Hardness:

Each object has hardness, representing how well it resists damage. The amount of damage done is reduced by its hardness. Only damage done in excess of its hardness is deducted from the item's Hit Points. See Item Table for typical item Hardness.

Break DC:

When a character tries to break something with sudden force, rather than damage by attacking it, use STR check to see if they succeed. The Break DC depends upon more the construction of an item than on the material. For instance it is easy to force open an iron door with a weak lock than it could be hacked down. If an item has lost half or more of its Hit Points, the Break DC is reduced by 2. See Item Table for typical item Hardness DC.

Weight:

This explains how heavy the item is, it has nothing to do with size or mass.

Based on an entry in Dungeon Master's Guide and Player's Guide 3.5

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