Charms
Charms were an item type added to Diablo 2 in the Expansion pack, Lord of Destruction. They are small items that add passive bonuses when held in a character's inventory. They can not be equipped or deactivated, they are always working once they are identified and held in the inventory.
Charms are not set to return in Diablo 3, though the D3 Team has talked about other, stat boosting item systems that might work in something of a similar fashion; i.e. granted by other items that are not equipped. (The only one known at this point is the Talisman.)
Official Charms Comments
Diablo 3 community manager Bashiok commented on charms in a forum post in April 2010. [1]
- Charms are cool. Randomized item drops that give passive bonuses while held? That’s a cool way for someone to actively change their character beyond just skills and armor/weapons. Making it an inventory space decision; however, isn’t very cool. You were trading inventory space for character power, which is sort of an interesting trade but also one that is directly and immediately punishing. It’s not like giving up ... say ... health to do more damage. You aren’t deciding that your play style can overcome your decisions on how to balance your character. Everyone needs inventory space regardless of how they want to play, so it becomes a mandate that if you want to do X, you better get ready to throw down a lot of town portals. Fun? Eh.
- We don’t have charms at the moment, but it’s a mechanic we like the idea of as long as it doesn’t become an inventory space vs. power decision. They’re one of those things that certainly could come back but that we haven’t fully explored yet.