Unique items

Named items with fixed powers. Every one of them is a specific object rather than a roll - finding it twice gives you the same item both times.

How a unique drops

The unique roll happens before any Oracool quality roll, so a unique is never displaced by a rare or a primal.
Its minimum level below is a character-level requirement carried by the item itself, separate from the item level of the drop that produced it.
Items from a unique monster get a 15% chance at the unique table - the reason champions and bosses are worth seeking out.
A unique can be forged at any base tier, so the same named item is stronger when it turns up deeper.

Reading the powers

Each power is an engine effect and its value. The common ones:

Power	Means	Power	Means
`DAMP`	+% damage	`TOHIT`	+% to hit
`ACP`	+% armour class	`LIFE` / `MANA`	+ hit points / mana
`STR` `MAG` `DEX` `VIT`	+ that attribute	`ALLRES`	+ all resistances
`FIRERES` `LIGHTRES` `MAGICRES`	+ that resistance	`FASTATTACK`	faster attack speed
`FIREDAM` `LIGHTDAM`	adds elemental damage	`SPLLVLADD`	+ to all spell levels
`THORNS`	damages attackers	`LIGHT_CURSE`	reduces light radius

All uniques

Some uniques carry a curse alongside their gift - a lower light radius, worse armour, a stat penalty. That is the vanilla design and it is preserved: the strongest items ask for something back.