Basically what I am wondering is does an Implement have to have history or some personal tale or...
If I have been jailed and stripped of gear... and now I am wearing the prison beige burlap with a burlap belt... can I make that belt my Implement for Transmutation?
Can I make the "Good Word of Torag" (It's a Dwarven jail) Book they gave me into my Divination focus?
Mostly I just want to know that if necessary I can grab something resembling an item I need and invest it... perhaps because someone who wore it before was BIG BOB the jailhouse wrecker or it was made by Mathilda who stood up to her boss on a labor issue...
Or maybe the investments are based upon items from my family history that are long gone but I can still call on their power even while using lower throw away items.
Am I trying to game the system too much?
Thanks
Implements don't need to be magic items, and nonmagical implements don't take up a magic item slot even if they're worn. Implements that are not magic items are often of some historical value or of personal significance to the occultist, such as the finger bone of a saint, the broken scepter of a long-dead king, the skull of a mentor's familiar, or the glass eye of an uncanny ancestor.
Often=/=Always.
I'd still try and make up a little something like you have to give the item a bit of history, but it isn't strictly required unless your GM enforces something like that.If your GM doesn't buy that, if you are in prison with no other items there is an argument that everything you own becomes of personal significance. The belt can become the symbol of your imprisonment, keeping your clothes in place as you are kept in yours -or something equally cheesy.
Or accept that your GM doesn't want you casting spells in prison and see what unfolds. Pull out the justifications when all else fails. You are probably in danger of gaming the story more than the system.