Item mechanics

Items are things you pick up. They are usually considered a better alternative to running around naked, and come with several characteristics that may be of use to the morally dubious profession of adventurer.
==Magical==
Whether an item is magical or not is relevant to weapons and ammunition, i.e. things you throw at people so they can become rotting corpses.
==Enchantment level==
Enchantment level is another characteristic only relevant to weapons and ammunition.
==Usability==
Not everybody can use every item. Whether you can make use of something usually depends on character class or ability scores, and sometimes on alignment.
==Power level==
Most things in the world change through effects, and not through causes as you would expect. All effects have a power level, so this notion applies to items, but also spells and much more.
==Caster level==
Items often have effects attached to them. Some of these effects are active at all times when the item is equipped – they are often called passive or equipped effects. Any other effect must be applied explicitly, through the use of the item ability they belong to. An item ability is a cohesive list of several effects, and this list possesses certain characteristics like a school of magic. So an item ability is very similar to a spell, and like a spell it can make use of the caster level.
When it comes to item abilities, caster level is most often used to determine the odds that Dispel Magic will be able to remove the ability's dispellable effects. Sometimes it may also affect duration or potency, just like with spells. Unlike spells however, in most cases an item ability will not rely on the level of the character using it, but on a fixed value: level 6 in Baldur's Gate and level 10 in Baldur's Gate II. So a level 12 character trying to dispel effects from potions can expect a 60% chance of success in BGII even when the potion user is level 20.
Some effects within item abilities are casting effects themselves. They will attempt to "sub-cast" something, and are sometimes set up to use a different caster level in that task. In that case, the "sub" caster level tends to either be the real level of the user — it could well be the mage or priest level that is actually picked up, like with the Cloak of Atonement — or a custom but fixed level, for example 20 for the Cloak of the Dark Moon's Protection From Magic Energy.
== Dropping items ==
Items that get dropped on the ground disappear after 24 in-game hours, except for plot-critical objects. Items that are put into storage (chests, barrels etc.) remain there permanently.
==Mod content==
===Caster level===
Installation of The Tweaks Anthology mod and selection of a certain component enables the game mechanics to "Cast Spells from Scrolls (and Other Items) at Character Level". This option was originally part of the EET Tweaks mod and is incorporated as part of the Anthology. Obviously, for some PCs this can be a boon, and for non-casting PCs, a reduction in casting level.
Category:Game mechanics