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Campaign Systems / Magic Item Creation / Talismanic Components

Example Components

Source Ultimate Campaign pg. 174
This section lists conventional and commonly known talismanic components. GMs should invent many other strange and mythical components such as “the first scent of the day” or “the sound of a cat’s footfall,” especially for very powerful items. Note that the substances don’t necessarily have identical values per unit; dragon heartblood might be worth 10 gp per drop, mithral crystals worth 10 gp per pound, and the hands of murderers worth 10 gp each.

Adamantine Ore: Used for metal armor, metal weapons, and items that manipulate or create earth or metal.

Arcane Residue: Salvaged from destroyed magic items, often in crystalline or powder form; used for any kind of magic item.

Astral Essence: Scraped from creatures that are located deep within the Astral Plane; used for plane-traveling, teleportation, and time-manipulating items.

Demon Blood: Taken from powerful demons (though weak demons might have minute quantities); used for chaotic, evil, demon-summoning, electricity-resistance, and good- or lawful-repelling items.

Devil Blood: Taken from powerful devils (though weak devils may have minute quantities); used for lawful, evil, devil-summoning, and fire-resistance items.

Dire Animal Brain: Used in animal-influencing and physical enhancement items.

Doppelganger Ichor: Used for disguise and polymorph items.

Dragon Bone: Flawless, smooth bones are suitable for rods, staves, wands, and dragon-controlling items. Dragon bones can also be used for items with abilities or energy types appropriate to the dragon’s breath weapon (copper dragons for slow, red dragons for fire, and so on).

Dragon Heartblood: The freshest blood from the dragon’s heart; used for any kind of magic item.

Elemental Spirit: Taken from the remains of powerful elementals; used for items appropriate to the source’s element or associated energy type.

Ethereal Essence: Dusted from creatures located deep within the Ethereal Plane; used for plane-traveling and dream items.

Giant Squid Ink: Used in scrolls and water items.

Hand of a Murderer: Must be taken shortly after the murderer’s demise; used for death, evil, and undead-creating items, as well as items that specifically involve a preserved hand (such as a hand of glory).

Heart of the Mountain: Mined from places deep underground or the Plane of Earth; used for metal armor, metal weapons, and items that manipulate or create earth or stone.

Holy/Unholy Symbol: Used for items that are appropriate to the religion associated with that symbol, items used to oppose enemies of that religion, or items especially suited for divine spellcasters of that religion (such as a phylactery of faithfulness or a phylactery of positive channeling).

Mithral Crystal: A rare crystallized form of mithral ore; used for defensive, light, and lycanthrope-repelling items.

Naga Brain: Used in metamagic and poison items.

Rare Herbs: A broad category with individual uses depending on the nature of the particular herb. Nox mushrooms are used for shadow items, bloodvine for bleeding and healing items, wolfsbane for lycanthrope-repelling items, and so on.

Stardust: Collected from long-dead stars, meteorites, and strange beasts native to the dark void; used for cold, darkness, light, and shadow items.

Troll Blood: Used in healing and regenerative items.

Unicorn Horn: Used intact for healing and poison-resisting wands and staves, or powdered for evil-repelling, healing, and teleportation items.

Vampire Dust/Ichor: Dust is taken from a destroyed vampire, ichor from an active one; used for blood, life-draining, mind-controlling, and necromantic items.

Virgin’s Blood: Typically acquired in quantities of a pint or more; used in blood, fiend-summoning, and purity items.

Wyvern Poison: Used in corruption and poison items.

Archives of Nethys

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Example Components