Magic Item Use

Magic Item Use (MIU) is the skill associated with the use of magical items. Training this skill will increase the character's abilty to activate items as well as the duration of activated magic. Additionally, training in MIU lends success with tasks related to the use of magical items, abilities, and spells (including the runestaff). MIU is one of the cheapest skills available for members of pure professions.

Type	Square			Semi			Pure
Profession	Rogue	Warrior	Monk	Bard	Paladin	Ranger	Cleric	Empath	Savant	Sorcerer	Wizard
Max Ranks Per Level	1	1	-	2	1	1	2	2	-	2	2
Training Point Cost	0/8	0/8	-	0/4	0/6	0/5	0/2	0/2	-	0/2	0/1

Activating Magic Items

The following verbs can be used to activate a magic item. Each item responds to a particular action by releasing the magic within. In general, common sense can be used to determine the appropriate action (food items are eaten, liquids drank, worn items tapped or rubbed, wands & rods waved or raised). Otherwise, consult a loresinger or utilize trial and error methods.

Activator Verb	Skill Required	Activator Skill Modifier	Activator Duration Modifier
Tap	MIU	+50	50%
Rub	MIU	+25	100%
Wave	MIU	0	100%
Raise	MIU	-25	150%
Eat	None	N/A	Base only
Drink	None	N/A	Base only

• Only wave can be used to target others (WAVE AT {target}). All other verbs initiate their effect immediately upon activation.
• Scrolls utilize the Arcane Symbols skill. The INVOKE (verb) is used to access their magic.
• Certain items do not require a skill check, regardless of the activator verb (e.g. small statues & heavy quartz orbs).

Calculating Success

Executing the appropriate verb to activate a magic item will make an attempt at activation. The character's stats, skills and other relevant variables (as seen in the formula below) are factored together. This total is displayed as the "modifiers" value. A d100 roll is then added, and if the total is greater than 100, the activation is successful.

Modifiers = (MIU Skill bonus) + (Activator Skill Modifier) + (Stat Modifier)
             + (Magical Knowledge Bonus) + (INTUITION bonus) + (LOGIC bonus)
             - (Spell Level * 5) - (Armor Penalty) - (Encumberance Penalty)

• The inherent magical hinderance of armor can also potentially cause activations to fail.
• One must possess at least as many ranks of MIU as the level of the spell to be activated in order to succeed.

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Example: 'Morbo' is a wizard with 50 ranks of MIU (150 bonus). Using Magic Item Creation (420), he has placed the Elemental Wave (410) spell into an amulet and selected rub as the activator. Morbo is not encumbered, and has removed his armor for the time being. He has an Aura bonus of +20, a Logic bonus of +10 and an Intuition bonus of +10. He then makes an attempt at activating his amulet.

(150) + (25) + (20) + (60) + (10) + (10) - (50) - (0) - (0) = 225

Morbo was easily able to activate his amulet successfully, regardless of the d100 roll. Then, a friend hands him a rod with Lesser Shroud (120) which he attempts to activate. His Wisdom bonus is -5, and raise is used to activate it.

(150) + (-25) + (-5) + (0) + (10) + (10) - (100) - (0) - (0) = 40

Morbo would have needed a d100 roll of 61 or greater to activate a rod with the spell Lesser Shroud successfully. Unfortunately, the rod actually contained the spell Disintegrate (705), causing his head to melt rather abruptly.

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Stat Modifier

Stat modifiers are determined by which spell circle the spell to be activated is in. For this table, use stat bonus and not the value of the stat itself (round down).

Circle Number	Spell Circle	Modifier Calculation
100s	Minor Spiritual	WISDOM
200s	Major Spiritual	(WISDOM÷2)
300s	Cleric Base	(WISDOM÷2)
400s	Minor Elemental	AURA
500s	Major Elemental	(AURA÷2)
600s	Ranger Base	WISDOM
700s	Sorcerer Base	([WISDOM+AURA]÷4)
900s	Wizard Base	(AURA÷2)
1000s	Bard Base	(LOGIC+INTUITION) †
1100s	Empath Base	(WISDOM÷2) †
1600s	Paladin Base	(LOGIC+INTUITION) †

† Not yet confirmed.

Magical Knowledge Bonus

Whether or not the spell to be activated lies within a character's sphere of magical knowledge can enhance the possibility of success.

Character has direct knowledge of the spell to be activated, regardless of whether or not they can cast it yet	+60
Character can learn spells from the same circle of the spell to be activated, but has not trained that rank yet	+40
Character can learn spells from the same sphere of the spell to be activated, but cannot directly train from the same circle	+20
Character has no influence in the spell's sphere	0

• Warriors and rogues are not magical enough to claim influence in any sphere; they receive bonuses for both minor circles and none for all others.
• Hybridists (bards, empaths, and sorcerers) are considered aligned with multiple spheres, and receive bonuses accordingly.
• When activating magic from a hybrid circle, it is considered "within a known sphere" by characters fluent in either sphere. For example, sorcerer magic is partially elemental, therefore a wizard would receive the full +20 bonus for their affiliation with the elemental sphere.

Armor Penalty

If the character is considered fully trained for the armor they are wearing, there is zero penalty. If they do not possess sufficient Armor Use ranks, there is a penalty. Armor penalties do not apply when using the tap or rub activators.

Encumberance Penalty

For each additional second of RT added to a character's attack due to encumberance, they receive a +5 penalty to the activation. For instance, the RT imparted when swinging a broadsword unencumbered is 5 sec. If encumberance caused the swing to extend to 7 sec, they would receive a +10 penalty to the calculation of activation. Encumberance penalties do not apply when using the tap or rub activators.

Calculating Duration

To calculate the duration of a spell's magical effect when initiated from a magical item, use the following formula. Each rank of the corresponding skill is counted as half a 'phantom' rank of that spell's circle. The overall duration is modified depending upon the activating verb. The more challenging activation verbs offer longer duration modifiers.

Duration = Base Duration + ([MIU Skill Ranks ÷ 2] × Activator Duration Modifier × Per Spell Rank Duration)

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Example: Morbo has 50 ranks of MIU and activates an item with the Spirit Shield spell. The base duration of Spirit Shield is 1200 sec, and an additional duration of 60 sec for each Major Spiritual spell rank known.

• Tap:

1200 + ([50/2] × 0.5 × 60) = 1950 sec

• Rub & Wave:

1200 + ([50/2] × 1 × 60) = 2700 sec

• Raise:

1200 + ([50/2] × 1.5 × 60) = 3450 sec

• Eat & Drink:

1200 sec only

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Related Articles

• Charge Item (517)
• Common Magical Items
• Magic item
• Magic Item Creation (420)

External Links

• Official Magic Item Use Skill