Cloak of Human Guise duration


Rules Questions


Hello, my question seems simple but I cannot find the answer..

Does the effect of the cloak of human guise is continuous or does it have a duration of 10 minutes (as disguise self is 10minutes/level, CL 1) but without any limitation per day ?

So, do I have to just wear it, say the command word or whatever, and my half human is disguised until I say the safe word or I remove the hood or whatever, or do I have to tell my GM that I'll reactivate it every 9 minutes ?

This question applies to all magic items that have a continuous effect similar to a spell with a duration in the spell, but no X/day for the item.

Thanks !


It says it alters the wearer's appearance, and has no mention of a command word. I'd say it starts as soon as you put it on, stops when you take it off.

The Exchange Owner - D20 Hobbies

Ask your GM

I'd say it's continuous and doesn't need activation but is is priced via the command word method do any GM saying you need to activate every 9 minutes wouldn't immediately be wrong.


Back in November 2016 we had a similar discussion in ths forum about the Hat of Disguise: Hat of Disguise Question. The Hat of Disguise was a continuous item in 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Third Edition D&D shortened the wording to say it acted like the Disguise Self spell. This converted it to a command-word item with indeterminate duration. Pathfinder kept the same wording and added in an FAQ that the default duration was the same as the spell at the lowest caster level. Therefore, anyone wearing a Hat of Disguise had to recite the command word every 10 minutes to maintain the disguise. Awkward.

The Cloak of Human Guise says nothing directly about its duration, which would default to the annoying 10-minute duration. Fortunatly, the first sentence, "This plain cloak only has any effect when worn by a member of a half-human race, such as a half-orc or half-elf," could be interpreted as meaning it is activated by being worn, a continuous magic item. Go with that.

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