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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hong" data-source="post: 813967" data-attributes="member: 537">Would you really like to know what I think?You're thinking of spell completion items, aka scrolls. A spell completion item is one that's mostly finished, and the user just adds the final touches. A spell _trigger_ item does not require any V or S components. All that's required is knowledge of spellcasting.You are thinking too hard about fantasy. Stop thinking.I see the command word as being the catalyst for a process that, once started, continues without further need for intervention from the user. Saying the word doesn't take any time in itself, but the entire process still takes a significant amount of time to complete. This is why 1) you don't need to concentrate to activate these items; 2) the activating takes a standard action.To these, I'd add: the process draws on the inner spirit/soul/ki/any other mystical reservoir of energy you care to name, in a way that's attuned to a particular user and has limits on how much energy can be drawn at once. This prevents 3) random people from activating your items by saying the command word; and 4) abuse by having multiple items each with the same command word, which could all be triggered at the same time.</blockquote>