Help:Writing an article about an item

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On PathfinderWiki, the term "item" can refer to objects of particular significance in the Pathfinder campaign setting, such as magic items and artifacts, technological items, alchemical items, and certain mundane items.

Summary

Write articles about items with canon significance. Not all mundane items need their own articles; see Scope of the project.
Check {{Magic item}}, {{Technological item}}, and {{Alchemical item}} for blank infobox templates and documentation, and fill in as much as you can.
Do not use these templates for vehicles, which have different properties and article structures. See Help:Writing an article about a vehicle.
See Help:Categorizing magic items for more information on appropriately categorizing items.

Infobox

If possible, begin the article by using a relevant infobox template, such as {{Magic item}}, {{Alchemical item}}, or {{Technological item}}. (Mundane items do not require an infobox.) These infoboxes are designed to contain structured high-level details as presented in relevant published statblocks in both Pathfinder First Edition and Second Edition, such as levels, traits, slots, usage, and aura.

For consistency, add an appropriate infobox template even if a magical, technological, or alchemical item does not have a statblock. Paizo might publish one for it in the future, at which point you can add any mechanically relevant details.

For intelligent magic items, add both the item infobox and a {{Person}} infobox. Capture any class, alignment, or character details in {{Person}}.

Vehicles are a special type of item that have a different format and use different conventions for infoboxes. See Help:Writing an article about a vehicle for details.

To add the template, search for it in the Visual Editor's Insert > Template template tool. If you are editing the article by source, visit that template's page and copy the text from the usage box, then paste the code at the beginning of your article and fill in the empty fields. The template automatically displays only the fields you fill in, so you can omit or leave any of the fields blank and the wiki will not display them.

Remember to include a source and page number to cite the infobox's details. For infoboxes that include details for both Pathfinder First and Second Editions, use both the 1e-source and 1e-page parameters along with the 2e-source and 2e-page parameters. Newer sources are preferred, and if they introduce discrepancies, describe them briefly in the footnote parameter or on the article's Meta page.
If the item is on Archives of Nethys (AoN) for First or Second Edition, add the aon1e or aon2e parameters. Provide the part of the item's AoN page address following aonprd.com/.

For example, for the wayfinder listing on https://aonprd.com/MagicWondrousDisplay.aspx?FinalName=Wayfinder, the aon1e value should be MagicWondrousDisplay.aspx?FinalName=Wayfinder.

For an example of a completed item infobox, see the template for a wayfinder on this page. Alchemical and technological items have different parameters; see {{Alchemical item}} and {{Technological item}} for details. Also, refer to the policy on citing sources to provide references for the statements in your article.

Artwork

Artwork for an item that has been uploaded with permission to PathfinderWiki should be categorized accordingly. For example, Category:Images of wayfinders contains images of wayfinders. For details on how to add artwork to an article, see Help:Uploading files.

Sections

There are no hard-and-fast rules on what sections should and should not exist within an article, although there is some logic to the convention that has built up with the creation of many articles about items. Articles about a major artifact might have more sections than a relatively minor item.

You might consider using, but are not forced to use, the following sections in your article:

History: Describe the history and origins of an item, especially for unique items. Describe its conception, prominent wielders, or prominent uses of the item.
Usage: Describe an item's abilities and usage from an in-universe point of view. This section can also include details about an item's users, for instance if the item is affiliated with an organization or deity.
Construction: For non-unique items, describe the item's requirements and methods of construction from an in-universe point of view if known.
Destruction: If destroying the item requires special procedures, tools, or other prerequisites, describe them here from an in-universe point of view.

Avoid adding edition-specific details that are entirely reliant on an item's game mechanics, since changes to the mechanics can cause irreconcilable conflicts that are also irrelevant to the item's canon usage or purpose. See Project:No crunch for the related policy against using game mechanics in article text.

Intelligent magic items are also people, and therefore articles about them should also include sections as described in Help:Writing an article about a person.

Categorization

There is no set list of possible item types, but logic should dictate the general category to which an article should belong. For example, categorize a magic item in Category:Magic items and categorize mundane items in Category:Mundane items.

Although the following list is not exhaustive, articles about items should generally be categorized according to:

Type

Items often have a mechanically defined type, such as wondrous item, talisman, artifact, poison, or alchemical reagent. Categorize these types appropriately for all relevant editions or revisions of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game in which the item is depicted.

Significant associations of items might also have an informal, non-mechanical type, such as Category:Crowns or Category:Musical instruments. It might be appropriate to create new categories of such types if there are several articles that could be grouped in such a manner.

Magic items

Magic items have their own categorization practices, documented in Help:Categorizing magic items.

For intelligent magic items, also categorize them as you would a person in addition to their item categories. See Help:Writing an article about a person.

Armor and weapons

Armor and weapons have additional categories related to their usage and properties. See:

Armor and weapon types can also have their own categories, such as Category:Dwarven waraxes or Category:Breastplates. Category:Ammunition also has its own category.

Culture and religion

Some items are strongly associated with a specific in-universe culture or religion. For examples, see Category:Items by deity or Category:Weapons by people.

Caster levels, challenge ratings (1E), and levels (2E)

In Pathfinder First Edition, magic items often have a caster level (CL) and hazardous alchemical items such as poisons have a challenge rating (CR). Items often have a defined level in Second Edition. Categorize them appropriately; for instance, a CL 3 magic item belongs in the Category:CL 3 magic items category, a CR 4 poison belongs in Category:CR 4 hazards, and a level 5 item belongs in the Category:Level 5 items category.

Traits (2E)

In Pathfinder Second Edition, items often have traits included as color-coded boxes near the top of their statblocks. In addition to listing them in the infobox, add categories for each trait. For example, an item with the

Poison

trait should be categorized as Category:Poison items. Rarity is important; include Category:Common items for common items even if it no Common trait is listed.

Trait categories might seem redundant with type categories, but both are relevant. Including a subject in both a type and trait category ensures that the article remains discoverable as a canon subject regardless of its mechanics.

Unsure about categories?

If you have written an article and are unsure about which categories to apply, or simply want your categories double checked, then please feel free to add this text at the bottom of your article in this format:

[[Category:Please check categories]]

This flags to others that the article's categories need checking or adding. We hope that, soon thereafter, another wiki member will be along to help.

Variants

Items often have many variants, such as those of differing levels of power or with different abilities. You can refer to such variants in the same article with judicious details and a focus on their relative differences from the baseline form, and always from an in-universe perspective without mechanics.

Redirect differently named variants to their baseline item's article, and categorize such variants on their redirects. If all variants share the same name and differ only in quality or rarity, include all relevant categories on the baseline item's article.

Details about variants can be included in the infobox or separate infoboxes, but be wary of including too many details in a single infobox or too many infoboxes in a short article. Remember that you can always add an external link to Archives of Nethys or describe differences on the article's Meta page if the differences are primarily mechanical in nature and irrelevant to an in-universe point of view.

Unique variants

A specific, named, or otherwise unique version of a type of item can also warrant having its own article, as can variant types that have significant canon information specific to them. For examples, see Rowan Rifle (a unique star gun) and the Orb of Dragonkin (a variant of the orbs of dragonkind).