
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Chapter 5: Treasure Trove

Investing Magic Items

Source GM Core pg. 219 2.0
Certain magic items convey their magical benefits only when worn and invested using the Invest an Item activity, tying them to the PC's inner potential. These items have the invested trait. Many invested items have constant abilities that function all the time or that always trigger when someone uses the item—but only when they're invested. If a PC doesn't have an item invested, these abilities won't work. If an invested item can be activated, they must have invested the item to activate it.

A PC can benefit from no more than 10 invested magic items each day. Because this limit is fairly high, and because it matters only for worn items, you probably won't need to worry about reaching the limit until the player characters reach higher levels, when they've acquired many useful magic items to wear.

A PC can still gain the mundane benefits of an item if they don't invest it. A suit of +1 resilient armor still gives its item bonus to AC when not invested, but it doesn't give its magical bonus to saving throws, and winged sandals still protect feet even though they need to be activated to use them to fly. Entirely non-magical items don't need to be invested.

Item Categories

Items are grouped into the following categories, shown here with the page number where those items appear and a brief description of the category.
  • Armor & Armaments includes rules for etching runes to enhance weapons and armor (page 224), armor runes (page 226), specific suits of armor (page 228), shields and the reinforcing rune (page 232), weapon runes (page 236), and specific weapons (page 240).
  • Alchemy items are powered by the reactions of alchemical reagents. Almost all alchemical items are consumable items that are used up when you activate them. This category includes bombs (page 244), elixirs (page 246), poisons (page 248), and alchemical tools (page 251).
  • Materials includes the statistics for standard items and structures along with rules for precious materials that can be used to make items with unique properties and other advantages (page 252).
  • Momentary Magic has a plethora of magical consumables, including ammunition (page 255), oils applied to the surface of objects and people (page 257), potions to drink (page 259), scrolls used to cast more spells (page 262), talismans affixed to items (page 263), and wondrous consumables of all sorts (page 268).
  • Trappings of Power are permanent and powerful. They include apex items that can increase an attribute modifier (page 270), companion items for pets (page 272), held items (page 273), magical staves for spellcasters (page 278), wands that can repeatedly cast more spells (page 282), and a vast collection of worn items (page 284).
  • Gems & Art Objects (page 298) make for an interesting variety of treasures.
  • Artifacts (page 300) are extraordinarily powerful magic items ideal to build adventures and plots around.
  • Intelligent Items (page 304) provides options for conscious items.
  • Cursed Items (page 306), used sparingly, can add danger and fun to items.
  • Relics (page 308) let you build a special item that unlocks new powers over time through the story of a campaign.