people using Enchanted Items .. people using protective spells
Wait, does the Sword actually do that? I'd never read it that way, but now that you mention it, it probably does. There's a bit of ambiguity here, IMO...
It says:
"the Knight may spend a fate point to ignore that opponent’s defensive abilities (Toughness based ones, primarily),
as well as any mundane armor the foe has" which does imply that it would.
But then it says "In essence, a Sword of the Cross may take the place of whatever it is that a creature has a weakness to (whatever “the Catch” is on their Toughness powers)" which would imply that it wouldn't ... OTOH, mundane armor doesn't have a Catch either, and it explicitly says it ignores that. So...
It's not a short list.
Good point.
I still think that a weapon-value related adjustment should be included.
This bugs me. It's one thing to get a lower price for future powers like Sponsored Magic if you have Evo or Thaum (or, I guess, a refund if you start with Sponsored, but it's the same thing as a lower price for the power bought later), but (effectively) raising the cost of Strength powers just because you also have a Sword of the Cross doesn't seem quite right.
Either that or explicit incompatibility with certain sources of extra damage.
Sounds better, but how would you word it to allow exceptional ... exceptions like Susan with the Sword in Changes?
I mean, for the Sword of the Cross itself it can be just part of the weapon's Divine Purpose, something like...
"This item exists largely to balance the scales between mortals - for this purpose, 'mortal' includes those with True Faith supernatural powers, and perhaps (at the GM's discretion - such cases should be considered carefully) those with a minimal measure of supernatural power, such as Minor Talents or White Court Virgins. While other beings can wield a Sword under temporary and extreme circumstances - so long as they retain mortal free will - they cannot be Knights of the Cross or otherwise use the sword for a significant period of time."
But if we're treating it as a power that can exist elsewhere, what then? Assuming it's always something that is given 'from outside' (except at uberhigh refresh where it probably is irrelevant) I suppose variations of the above would work.
I also dislike some aspects of this for semi-philosophical reasons, but I can suck that up.
Can you expand on that? What else might be changed?
I think that might be a good idea.
Yeah, the point of the Swords is to strip away
supernatural invulnerability. I don't see any reason for them to beat mundane armor. And (as above) the whole matter of them beating anything but powers with Catches (Toughness/Immunity/Recovery) is kind of weird/vaguely explained anyway. So I'd leave it out.