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to activate). The incendiary is consumed in a brilliant coloredflash or haze of strangely coiling smoke, completing thespell.Macrame: A spell is held in a small, complex weave ofprecisely tied knots. The user pulls apart the knotted squareby choosing the right strands while speaking the spell’sactivation words.When a scroll is found in the course of a campaign, decipheringits magical text is usually the first step to using it,but since variant scroll forms that don’t have spells stored inwritten form can’t be deciphered with read magic, they mustbe identified with a successful Spellcraft check (DC 20 +spell level).NEW TYPES OF ITEMSThe basic types of magic items described in the DungeonMaster’s Guide—armor, weapons, potions, scrolls, rods,rings, staffs, wands, and wondrous items—are not necessarilythe only types of magic item possible. In Faerûn, theworld of the FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign setting, magictattoos, magic runes, and contingent spells are commonmagic items, each crafted in the same manner as a standardmagic item and requiring its own unique item creation feat(Tattoo Magic, Inscribe Rune, and Craft Contingent Spell).Rune magic is described in the FORGOTTEN REALMS CampaignSetting, magic tattoos are described in Races of Faerûn, andcontingent spells appear in the Unapproachable East sourcebook(and are included in Complete Arcane for use in anyD&D campaign).When is a variant form of an item different enough fromthe basic form to warrant an item creation feat and item typeof its own? In simplest terms, whenever one of the essentialgame rules about making or using the item is changed. Allthree of the item types mentioned above are fairly similarto potions (each is a one-use magic item that can be used byanyone, regardless of magical training or aptitude), but eachdevice alters one of the essential characteristics of potions.For example, it takes only 10 minutes to inscribe a magicrune, and runes can be made into simple magic traps. Atattoo takes 1 hour to scribe, and doesn’t provoke attacks ofopportunity when activated. Contingent spells can be setto take effect automatically, with no additional action onthe bearer’s part. All of these differences change the items’characteristics enough that they cannot be reproduced bythe Brew Potion feat, and so new item creation feats arewarranted for them.CONTINGENT SPELLSA contingent spell is a single-use, one-spell magical effectinstilled within a specific willing creature. It doesn’t takeup space on the body or have a physical form, and it remainsinactive until triggered (similar to the effect created by acontingency spell). Once triggered, a contingent spell takesimmediate effect upon the bearer (or is centered in thebearer’s square if the spell affects an area). A character musthave the Craft Contingent Spell feat (see page 77) to createcontingent spells.Triggers for contingent spells are usually events thathappen to the bearer of the spell, and can include death,contracting disease, exposure to a breath weapon or to energydamage, falling, exposure to poison, exposure to a dangerousenvironment (trapped by fire, plunged underwater, and soforth), succumbing to sleep or fear effects, gaining negativelevels, or being rendered helpless, deafened, or blinded.The market price of a contingent spell is spell level × casterlevel × 100 gp. A contingent spell must be prepared in thepresence of the person to bear it, and the bearer is subject tothe same restrictions as the creator (unable to cast any otherspells while the contingent spell is being prepared, must bepresent for 8 hours each day, and so on). Once assigned to abearer, a contingent spell cannot be transferred to anothercreature, although it can be destroyed (see below). A contingentspell is tied to the bearer’s body, alive or dead, and storiescirculate among adventurers of contingent spells remainingquiet for hundreds of years on a slain bearer’s remains, only tosuddenly activate when the proper trigger condition arises.If the bearer of a contingent spell is the target of dispelmagic, the contingent spell might be permanently dispelled(but not triggered), as if it were an active spell in effect onthe target creature. In an antimagic field, contingent spells aretemporarily suppressed as all other magic items are.At any one time, a creature can bear a number of contingentspells equal to its Hit Dice. Attempts to apply additionalcontingent spells beyond this limit simply fail.SPELLBOOKSAlthough most folks think of them as thick, heavy tomes ofparchment or vellum pages bound with ornate covers andheavy locks, a wizard’s spellbooks can take almost any form. Aspellbook can be made from belts of linked metal plates thatserve as pages, scribed on thin sheets of ivory, or disguisedby magic to look like a shield, gaming board, lute, or almostany other mundane item of equivalent size.Whatever their appearance, spellbooks are generally classifiedin two groups—arcanabula and grimoires. Arcanabula,or workbooks, are a wizard’s everyday working tomes. Theytend to contain spells jumbled in any order, interspersed withannotations and notes of magical lore, and are often stainedand battered from travel and use in the field.Grimoires, sometimes called greatbooks, are formal,ordered collections of spells. Greatbooks tend to be locked,guarded, and hidden, either in a secure cache or in a wizard’sabode. Most are composed with gilded ornamentation or inks,and they might even have plates of polished ivory or platinumwithin them, engraved or stamped with arcane writings. Theyare usually large and often of unusual proportions (such asvery tall for their width), and many have metal-bound corners(ornate protective caps) and chased or relief-carved covers.CHAPTER 5MAGIC ITEMS139