Essences can be found as loot during the courses of your adventures, but can also be harvested (from monsters), salvaged (from magical equipment), synthesized (from reagents), or created from the raw power of a spell caster, though the method is long and arduous. ### Buying or Looting Essences [[03-Mechanics/7-Adventuring/Crafting/Mystical Materials#Purchasing Magical Materials Table|Purchasing Magical Materials]] - Updated magic item tables ### Monster Harvesting [[03-Mechanics/7-Adventuring/Crafting/Harvesting|Harvesting]] ### Destroying Magic Items You also may be able to salvage magical essence from unwanted or broken magical items, though such a reclamation process can be difficult, and rarely results in more than a fraction of the essence infused into the original item. An item returns one essence equal to its rarity when harvested. The process takes 2 hours to complete, and doesn’t work if the item is currently attuned to any creature. An essence can only be salvaged from permanent magic items; a permanent magic item is one that **recharges** or doesn’t have a limitation on its charges or uses. A magic item with charges or uses can only be salvaged while it is at full charges or uses. The item becomes nonmagical after the essence is salvaged from it. If it required magic to function or exist, it is destroyed. ### Combining Reagents In addition to harvesting essences from magical monsters fully intact, a more approachable and incremental way is to combine several [[03-Mechanics/7-Adventuring/Crafting/Mystical Materials|reagents]] to get an essence. You have to combine three reagents of the same rarity to gain one essence of that rarity. You can combine reagents in the following ways: | [[Essence Categories#Vital Essence Types by Category\|Essence Category]] | Component Reagents | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | | Alchemical | 1 curative, 1 poisonous, 1 reactive | | Elemental | 3 reactive | | Unique | 2 curative, 2 poisonous, 2 reactive | This process takes 4 hours, and requires [[Alchemist's Supplies]] and a heat source. ### Essences from Spells Another potential source of an Essence is being created by a spellcaster. This process is long and arduous, and typically only suited to downtime. A creature with the spell casting feature can create 1 essence during 1 workweek (5 days, 8 hours a day); this process can’t be completed faster and for the duration they are considered to have spent all of their spell slots. At 1st level or higher, a caster can make a common essence in this way, a caster 5th level or higher can make an uncommon essence this way, a caster at 11th level can make a rare essence in this way, and a caster at 17th level or higher can make a very rare essence this way. Legendary essences require special rituals, more casters, and take far longer; they are exceedingly hard to make. The type of essence produced depends on the source of the spell casting levels as per the table below: | Caster | Essence Type | | -------- | ------------ | | Bard | Arcane | | Cleric | Divine | | Druid | Primal | | Esper | Psionic | | Paladin | Divine | | Ranger | Primal | | Sorcerer | Arcane | | Warlock | Varies* | | Sorcerer | Varies* | | Wizard | Arcane | >[!note] >A half- or tertiary-caster would generate essences at 1/2 or 1/3 their character level, respectively.