Exotic items all share one thing in common: they are not your ordinary, everyday pieces of equipment. Some are peculiarly programmed devices, some are objects cursed with Darkness, and some are objects imbued with the Traveler’s Light. Whatever the case of their creation, the result is something that can grant benefits a character may be unable to attain otherwise, or they can enhance a character’s abilities in astounding ways.
| Name | Category | Type | Grade | Rarity | Attunement |
|---|
Perks and Properties
Every exotic item comes with one or more perks, which are each described in the exotic item’s listing later in this chapter. Exotic items cannot be modified to have any other perks or properties than those they describe. Exotic items cannot be upgraded and cannot have their perks or properties changed.
Rarity Isn’t Grade
Exotic equipment is categorized in two ways: by its rarity and by its grade.
Grade
The grade of an exotic is a measurement of the strength or power of the exotic item, and correlates to the intended level of the character using it. The grades are, in ascending order: Mundane (1st–4h level), Fine (5th–10th level), Superior (11th–16th level), and Exquisite (17th level or higher). As players ascend in level, they should be finding higher grades of equipment.
Rarity
The rarity of an exotic item is a rough indicator of how many copies of the exotic item exist in canon Destiny lore. This has no bearing on the gameplay of the item, but can be useful information to keep in mind when building your campaign and deciding which exotic items are readily available, and which are not.
The exotic item rarities are, in order, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare, and Legendary. Common items exist in large quantities and are usually fairly easy to come across. Uncommon items are a bit more limited in quantity and availability, and rare items almost always require special circumstances to acquire. Very rare items may take months to track down or obtain, and legendary items are one-of-a-kind pieces of myth.
Attunement
While there are some items that have no requirements to use them, other items, particularly weapons and exotic items, require a creature to link themselves with the item in some way, typically on a paracausal level, before the item’s properties can be used. This is called attunement, and it will be indicated in the item’s stats if required.
Prerequisites
Some items can be attuned to by anyone, while others items have a prerequisite for who or what can attune to it. Prerequisites can include being a member of a certain race, having a certain background or class, and other requirements. A creature must meet all prerequisites of an item in order to attune to it.
A creature gains no benefit from an item that requires attunement if they are not attuned to the item. A pulse rifle that requires attunement will not function at all for a creature that is unattuned to it; an armor piece will provide nothing to the unattuned, even if they wear it; artifacts and devices that require attunement are as useful as knickknacks if the character holding them is not attuned to them.
Making a Connection
Attuning to an item requires a creature to spend 10 minutes focused on only that item while being in physical contact with it. This focus can take the form of target practice, meditation, cleaning and polishing the item, or some other appropriate activity determined by your Architect. If the creature’s focus is interrupted, the attunement attempt fails. Otherwise, the creature gains an intuitive understanding of how to use any properties of the item.
An item that requires attunement can only be attuned to one creature at a time, and a creature can be attuned to no more than four items at a time: 1 weapon, 1 piece of armor, 1 artifact, and 1 device. Any attempt to attune to a fifth item fails, and any attempt to attune to multiple items of the same category fails; the creature must end its attunement to another item first.
A creature’s attunement to an item ends if the creature no longer satisfies the prerequisites for attunement, if the item has been more than 100 feet away for at least 24 hours, if the creature dies (for Risen, if they die their second death), or if another creature attunes to the item. A creature can also voluntarily end attunement by spending a short rest focused on the item, unless the item specifies otherwise.
If a creature is attuned to an item, a Ghost cannot store the item in its memory; any attempt to compile the item will fail.
Wearing And Wielding Exotic Items
Using an exotic item properly might mean wearing or wielding it. An exotic item meant to be worn must be donned in the intended fashion: boots go on the feet, gauntlets on the hands, helmets on the head, and so on. Artifacts and devices must be carried on your person. You don’t gain the benefits of the exotic item if it isn’t being used or worn in the intended manner.
In most cases, an exotic item that’s meant to be worn can fit a creature regardless of size or build. Many exotic garments are made to be easily adjustable, or they adjust themselves to the wearer. Rare exceptions exist. If the story suggests a good reason for an item to fit only creatures of a certain size or shape, you can rule that it doesn’t adjust. For example, Human-made armor might fit Humans only.
Whenever a creature tries to wear an item, use your discretion as to whether the item functions as intended. A ring placed on a claw might work, but a creature that has no legs can’t wear boots.
Multiple Items of the Same Kind
Use common sense to determine whether more than one of a given kind of exotic item can be worn. A character can’t normally wear more than one pair of footwear, one pair of gloves or gauntlets, one pair of pants, one set of armor, one helmet, and one cloak, bond, or mark.
Paired Items
Items that come in pairs—such as boots, pants, gauntlets, and gloves—impart their benefits only if both items of the pair are worn. For example, a character wearing one boot of the Dunemarchers on one foot and one boot of the Mk-44 Stand Asides on the other foot gains no benefit from either.
Activating An Item
Activating some exotic items requires a user to do something special, such as eating the item or learning a device’s console commands. The description of each item details how an item is activated. Certain items use the following rules for their activation.
If an item requires an action to activate, that action isn’t a function of the Use an Item action.
Consumables
Some items are used up when they are activated. This could mean eating or drinking the item, or it could be a one-time use device. Once used, a consumable item loses its special properties and/or uses.
Charges
Some exotic items have charges that must be expended to activate their properties. The number of charges an item has remaining is revealed when a creature attunes to it. Additionally, when an item regains charges, the creature attuned to it learns how many charges it regained.