Item usability

Items in the game can have various requirements for usage. This is listed in the item or spell description. Restrictions based on abilities are listed in a section titled Requirements above the weight. This includes for example the requirement that Maces need 10 strength to be wielded. A character can change these abilities fairly easy using potions or spells.
Class and alignment restrictions are listed in a section titled Not usable by. Class and alignment are for all intents and purposes immutable and therefore listed separately. This article describes that latter list. When the list of exclusion is considerably larger than the list of inclusion, this wiki may prefer to list Only usable by.
== Class restrictions ==
This list consists of classes and/or class kits that are not allowed to use the item and a number of rules apply, which follow from the class and kit rules.
=== Dual class ===
Restrictions apply to the active class, if the secondary class is disabled (due to the active class not being higher in level). If the secondary class is enabled it is treated as the respective multi-class.
=== Multi-class ===
If all classes the multi-class consists of are mentioned, the multi-class is not listed but implied:
: Not usable by:
: 
: Mage
: Thief
Also implies the Mage / Thief.
If one of the classes is mentioned, but not the others, the restriction does not apply to the multi-class. The above restriction does not exclude the Fighter / Mage nor the Fighter / Thief, Fighter / Mage / Cleric or Fighter / Mage / Thief.
This follows from the class rules. The above applies to a mace:
* Neither mage nor thief or any kits applicable to them may use a mace
* Fighter combinations with mage and thief relax the weapon restriction and make more weapons available to them
Continuing the example for a mace, the list also includes:
: Not usable by:
: 
: Druid
: Fighter / Druid
The Fighter / Druid has to be explicitly mentioned here, as the priest classes including Druid restrict the weapon options for it's fighter component. Cleric also restricts the options for a fighter, but since the cleric can use maces its multi-classes are not excluded.
When a class is mentioned, it includes all class kits, so Mage includes all Specialist Mages.
=== Mage & Sorcerer ===
When an item restriction mentions a mage, it also applies to the Sorcerer, while it's technically not a class kit of the mage. This wiki may list both as a convenience, but when it's omitted it's not a bug or oversight – the game simply does not have a way to target the sorcerer for exclusion and its item restrictions are identical.
== Spell restrictions ==
Restrictions on spells are mentioned on their scrolls and include non-casters and classes using a different spellbook. For wizard spells it also includes the Specialist Mage of the opposite school(s).
These restrictions are no longer visible from the spellbook descriptions.
== Alignment restrictions ==
Alignment restrictions are less common, but can exclude specific alignments. The game will list all alignments that cannot use the item, while this wiki may use a descriptive term. Armed with knowledge about the alignment axes it should not be hard to determine the alignments that apply.
== Also see ==
* Template: Usable by - A template for adding (un)usability information to infoboxes.
Category:Game mechanics