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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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

Curses | Tempting Curses | Diseases | Item Curses

Item Curses

Source GM Core pg. 307 2.0
Item curses alter their base item, much like a property rune. A curse can be applied to the specific types of magic items listed in its Usage entry. Curses typically can't be removed or transferred from the item, though at your discretion, either might be possible after the curse is broken. If the PCs manage to break the curse, the newly uncursed item could be quite valuable.

Click here for the full rules on Item Curses.

RavenousCurse 1

Rare Cursed Magical 
Source GM Core pg. 307 2.0
Usage curses a ring, staff, or wand
A ravenous curse draws power from the wielder's body. Whenever you activate the item, you become incredibly hungry and immediately begin to starve. You require 10 times as much food as normal for the next day.

StainingCurse 1

Rare Cursed Magical 
Source GM Core pg. 307 2.0
Usage curses gear or a weapon
This property is associated with a specific color, which is defined at the time of the curse's creation. Whenever you use the affected equipment while taking a manipulate action with another object, the second object is permanently stained the associated color. For instance, if you used a set of yellow staining lockpicks to open a door, the lock would permanently become yellow. This color change does not otherwise unnaturally persist and can be changed via any normal mundane or magical means.

DrearyCurse 3

Legacy Content

Rare Conjuration Cursed Magical 
Source Gamemastery Guide pg. 93
Usage curses armor
When you invest this armor, a personal-sized cloud appears over your head and begins to rain on you, and the armor fuses to you. This extinguishes uncovered flames and soaks other objects you are carrying or holding, potentially ruining them. Cold conditions are one step worse under the cloud, and at the GM’s discretion it might cause other problems, such as interfering with sleep.

RaucousCurse 3

Rare Cursed Magical 
Source GM Core pg. 307 2.0
Usage curses gear or a weapon
While more annoying than deadly, a raucous curse is the bane of subtlety. Whenever you use the affected item, you must loudly yell what you are attempting to do with it, ruining any attempts at stealth. Failure to announce your action or speak at an appropriate volume automatically causes the attempted action to become a critical failure.

BackbitingCurse 4

Legacy Content

Rare Cursed Evocation Magical 
Source Gamemastery Guide pg. 92
Usage curses a weapon
A weapon with the backbiting curse warps space in response to catastrophic mishaps. Whenever you critically fail at a Strike with this weapon, the weapon curls around (or its projectile swerves through the air) to strike you in the back as though you hit yourself, automatically dealing maximum damage to you.

DegeneratingCurse 5

Rare Acid Cursed Magical 
Source GM Core pg. 307 2.0
Usage curses a weapon
Failure makes the weapon crumble. Whenever you critically fail an attack roll with the weapon, the degenerating curse deals 1d10 acid damage to the weapon, ignoring its Hardness and resistances.

OverdramaticCurse 5

Legacy Content

Rare Cursed Evocation Magical 
Source Gamemastery Guide pg. 93
Usage curses a weapon
The weapon flashes excessive light with each attack. On a critical hit with the weapon, you are blinded until the end of your turn and take the effects of a faerie fire spell until the start of your next turn.

BloodbiterCurse 6

Rare Cursed Magical 
Source GM Core pg. 307 2.0
Usage curses a piercing or slashing weapon
A bloodbiter weapon is awakened by violence and fueled by blood. When you make a successful attack with the weapon, it inflicts a wound that deals 1d6 persistent bleed damage (in addition to its normal damage), but it also deals 1d6 persistent bleed damage to you. The curse remains dormant until the weapon hits a creature, at which point black thorns protrude from the weapon and dig into your body; the weapon fuses to you and you can't use the hand that holds the weapon for any other purpose. If the weapon is two-handed, it attaches itself to only a single hand (GM's choice).

ArsonousCurse 7

Rare Cursed Fire Magical 
Source GM Core pg. 307 2.0
Usage curses a ring, staff, or wand
An arsonous curse creates flaws in the mystic pathways that channel magic through an item, allowing excess power to escape as sparks. Whenever you activate the magic item, a random ally within 30 feet takes 1d10 persistent fire damage. If no ally is in range, you take the damage instead. At the GM's discretion, this curse might ignite an unattended object or the surrounding environment instead.

Arrow AttractingCurse 8

Legacy Content

Rare Abjuration Cursed Magical 
Source Gamemastery Guide pg. 92
Usage curses armor or shield
An item affected by an arrow attracting curse protects you normally, but it draws ranged attacks like a magnet. Whenever a creature within 120 feet misses with a ranged attack, it must immediately reroll the attack against your AC, affecting you depending on the result of the new attack roll. The arrow attraction curse activates only if you could have been a legitimate target. Creatures that intentionally attempt to miss a ranged attack do not activate an arrow attraction curse. Once the curse has activated for the first time, the item fuses to you.

DependentCurse 9

Legacy Content

Rare Cursed Magical Transmutation 
Source Gamemastery Guide pg. 93
Usage curses gear used for skills or a weapon
The dependent curse makes an item function properly only under certain circumstances. Whenever you use the item to perform a skill check or use the weapon in combat, your degree of success is one worse than the result you rolled unless those specific conditions are met. The most common types of dependent curses are nocturnal or diurnal—functioning normally only at night or only during the day, respectively—but more restrictive curses do exist, such as a curse that restricts the item’s use to underground or a curse that allows the item to function effectively only during autumn.

Erratic TransposingCurse 11

Legacy Content

Rare Conjuration Cursed Magical 
Source Gamemastery Guide pg. 93
Usage curses a weapon
This curse bursts with uncontrolled teleportation magic when activated, unreliably transporting creatures across the battlefield. On a critical hit with the affected weapon, you and an ally within 60 feet (chosen randomly) teleport to switch places with one another. If either of the affected creatures is unable to entirely fit within its new space, the creature is placed in the nearest available squares instead.

GrandstandingCurse 11

Rare Cursed Magical 
Source GM Core pg. 307 2.0
Usage curses a weapon
Weapons with the grandstanding curse inspire overconfidence in their wielders, demanding style over pragmatism. Whenever you reduce a foe to 0 Hit Points, you lose all remaining actions on your turn, as you are compelled to flourish, gloat, pose, or otherwise waste your time in response.

WitheringCurse 13

Legacy Content

Rare Cursed Magical Necromancy 
Source Gamemastery Guide pg. 93
Usage curses a ring, staff, or wand
A withering curse shrivels vulnerable flesh. Whenever you activate the item, one of your fingers turns black and falls off. You take a –1 status penalty to Thievery checks and Dexterity-based attack rolls with a hand missing two or three fingers; if you lose more than four fingers on one hand, you can’t use that hand to hold objects or use manipulate actions. These fingers can be replaced by magic but are otherwise gone forever. The GM has the final say on how creatures with unusual appendages or numbers of fingers are affected by this curse.