Magic Item Activation and Duration

Activation

The following commands activate a magic item: TAP, RUB, WAVE, RAISE, EAT, DRINK and INVOKE

The TAP, RUB, WAVE and RAISE commands all require the Magic Item Use (MIU) skill in order to activate the magic item. TAP requires the fewest ranks, RUB is next, followed by WAVE, and finally RAISE.

The EAT and DRINK commands do not require Magic Item Use in order to activate a magic item.

The INVOKE command requires the Arcane Symbols skill in order to activate scrolls.

Duration

To calculate the duration of the spell effect based on the above activation commands, the spell’s duration formula and the character’s Magic Item Use or Arcane Symbols ranks are required. Spell duration formulas can be found on the spells pages.

MIU duration formula

base duration + (MIU ranks * (half normal duration for spell ranks known))

When using the TAP command to activate a magic item, MIU ranks are halved.

When using the RUB & WAVE commands, use the normal MIU ranks.

When using the RAISE command, MIU ranks are 133% normal.

Example:

The spell Thurfel's Ward (503) spell duration formula is 1200 seconds + 60 seconds for every Major Elemental spell known. Your character has 50 MIU ranks. The spell duration for the activation commands would be:

Verb	Formula	Duration
TAP	1200 + (25 * 30)	1950 seconds
RUB or WAVE	1200 + (50 * 30)	2700 seconds
RAISE	1200 + (66 * 30)	3180 seconds

When using the DRINK & EAT commands to activate a magic item, only the base spell duration is calculated. In the case of the Thurfel's Ward spell, it would be 1200 seconds.

Arcane Symbols (INVOKE) duration formula

Base duration + (Arcane Symbols ranks * (half normal duration for spell ranks known))

Example:

Using the same spell example above and substituting the 50 MIU ranks for 50 Arcane symbols ranks, the spell duration when invoking a scroll with the spell Thurfel's Ward would be:

Verb	Formula	Duration
INVOKE	1200 + (50 * 30)	2700 seconds