Wayfinder

Wayfinder

(Magic item)

Uncommon

Evocation

Invested

Magical

Aura (1E)

Faint evocation

Caster Level (1E)

5

Item Level (2E)

2

Type

Wondrous item

Slot (1E)

None

Usage (2E)

Worn

Affiliation

Pathfinder Society

Images of wayfinders

Source: The Inner Sea World Guide, pg(s). 299 (1E)
Core Rulebook (Second Edition), pg(s). 617 (2E)

For another meaning of "Wayfinder", please see Wayfinder (magazine).

A wayfinder is a magic item used almost exclusively by members of the Pathfinder Society, so much so that the small device is a calling card of sorts for the explorers and chroniclers known as Pathfinders.

Functionality

The device functions primarily as a magnetic compass, and can also emit light on command. It contains at least one slot that fits an aeon stone (or ioun stone as they are sometimes called), and magical wires that channel and amplify the stone's power. Such invested or augmented ioun stones conflict with each other, preventing someone from holding multiple invested wayfinders, though some wayfinders have multiple independent aeon stone slots.

When a wayfinder includes an aeon stone in this manner, it also reveals new behaviors that vary between wayfinders and aeon stones. For instance, Eando Kline's wayfinder, when fitted in this manner, stopped pointing north, directing the Pathfinder instead across Varisia and the Hold of Belkzen toward an unknown location.

Design

A hummingbird wayfinder incorporates Arcadian elements into its design.

Wayfinders were originally designed by and for members of the Pathfinder Society who reverse-engineered them from Azlanti aeon stones. While most experienced magical crafters can build a new wayfinder, many date back decades or even centuries and are handed down across generations. Their appearance and design has become standardized over the centuries of the Pathfinder Society's existence, and most modern wayfinders are virtual duplicates of each other. Older models of wayfinders that vary greatly in their look and design, known as archaic wayfinders can still be found in the hands of collectors, or at the bottom of forgotten pit traps.

Manufacture

Most modern wayfinders are manufactured in the Society's Oppara Lodge, by the lodge steward and arcane crafter Muesello.

Variants

Particularly rare among wayfinders are those crafted outside of the standard-issue specifications. An ebon wayfinder, for example, allows its wielder to see in the dark and spread magical darkness.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.