properties

properties.txt is the composition layer between item-mod codes (the prop1, mod1code, Code, mod 1 columns scattered across the other item tables) and the engine's stat dictionary in itemstatcost. When a unique item ships prop1 = "ac", the engine looks up ac here, sees it composes the armorclass stat via function 1 (random between min and max), and applies the resulting value to the item. Every modifier on every spawned item — every +1 to Skills, every Faster Cast Rate, every Adds 5–10 Fire Damage — passes through one row in this file.

285 rows × 38 columns. Each row is one property code, and codes are unique (no duplicates). A property can compose up to 7 stats through its func1/stat1/set1/val1 … func7/stat7/set7/val7 slot blocks, though in practice the deeper slots are rarely used: 285 rows fill slot 1, 15 fill slot 2, 10 slot 3, 6 slot 4, 2 each in slots 5–6, and 1 in slot 7.

How a property resolves

When an item-generation routine looks up a property code, it iterates the row's slot blocks 1 through 7 in order. For each filled slot:

1. Read funcN — the function ID, a small integer enum (0–25 in shipped data, plus 36) that selects how the slot's values are interpreted.
2. Read statN — the stat key from itemstatcost that this slot writes to (some functions don't need a stat; locbones marks those slots blank).
3. Read setN — a boolean controlling whether the slot sets the stat value (replacing any current value) or adds to it. 1 = set, 0/blank = add.
4. Read valN — an integer parameter consumed by certain functions (most commonly for stat-ID offset arithmetic).

The function ID is the load-bearing piece. Function 1 (the default for "random value between min and max") covers 123 of the 285 properties; everything else uses a more specialized function — chance-to-cast skill encoding, day-night time scaling, per-character-level scaling, charged skills, etc. The full function reference is below.

When a property uses multiple slots, the slots compose: res-all writes to all four resistance stats by chaining four slots (the second–fourth reusing the first's rolled value via function 3). dmg-elem writes seven stats (fire min/max, lightning min/max, cold min/max/duration) by chaining all seven slots. Multi-slot properties are how the engine bundles "one displayed line" into multiple underlying stats.

Columns

Identity

Stat-composition slots (slot blocks 1 through 7)

Each slot block is four columns. Slot 1 is required (every property fills it); slots 2–7 are optional and used only when the property needs to write to multiple stats.

UI

Annotation (asterisk-prefixed — reference only)

Function ID reference

Every property's slot specifies a function ID. The function controls how the slot's min, max, param, val values are interpreted and written into the stat.

Worked example: dmg-elem chains all 7 slots to write 7 stats

The mixed-element damage mod (Adds #-# Fire/Lightning/Cold Damage) is the only shipped property that fills every slot. Reading its row left to right:

One property roll with one min/max pair writes to seven stats, and the seventh stat reads the parameter value instead of the rolled min/max. That's why dmg-elem items show three element damage ranges that are identical (same min, same max) with a cold-damage duration on top — the underlying mechanic is one rolled pair fanned out.

For a simpler chain pattern, res-all does the same thing for resistances using function 3 (consecutive-reuse) instead of repeated min/max reads:

One rolled value, applied identically to all four resistance stats — that's why +25 All Resistances literally means +25 Fire / +25 Lightning / +25 Cold / +25 Poison rather than four independent rolls.

Cross-references

• uniqueitems, setitems — prop1–prop12 columns name property codes from this file.
• sets — PCode2a–PCode5a and FCode1–FCode8 columns name property codes (partial-set and full-set bonuses).
• runes — runeword stat columns (T1Code1–T1Code7) name property codes.
• magicprefix, magicsuffix — mod1code/mod2code/mod3code columns name property codes.
• cubemain — mod 1–mod 5 columns on recipe outputs name property codes.
• automagic — auto-mod codes for class-restricted base items name property codes.
• itemstatcost — every statN slot in this file resolves to a stat row here.
• skills — referenced indirectly through stat parameter values that carry skill IDs for the skill-mod functions (9, 11, 19, 22).