Author Topic: Items of Power and Enchanted Item Slots  (Read 2888 times)

Offline Lanodantheon

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Items of Power and Enchanted Item Slots
« on: April 07, 2010, 06:23:26 PM »
With my Early Bird copies of the RPG in hand, I've been making characters. I got one that's confusing to adjudicate. I am starting to love this early-bird release since corner cases like this can be caught before a single book is printed :)

Anyway, the character is a 15th Generation Monster Hunter and Friendly Neighborhood Venatori. His main schtick is that his family has a tradition of acquiring occult artifacts and using them against their former owners that go bump. Aesthetically, I wanted this guy to be kinda like Constantine from the movie, an otherwise Pure Mortal who uses Just a Few Magic Items.

To make the character happen, I'm taking Item of Power and buying stuff with it. I was thinking though of using IoP to buy Enchanted Item Slots. But, I want to keep the theme of him being otherwise a Pure Mortal.  
Harry Dresden isn't the only one who needs a magic hanky with sunlight.

It seems simple enough. Just take Ritual(Crafting) through IoP or just straight slots by equating 1 refresh to 4 slots. But, could I relate certain elements to Resources since he's not making them but rather buying them or taking them out of storage?

The limits of the character would be that he couldn't build new items perse.

It is also important to note that I interpret the "No Supernatural Powers" for the Pure Mortal template as "Anything in the Supernatural Powers section". It is not explicitly stated that way, but The spirit of the rules feels that way.  

  
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Offline SaintAndSinner

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Re: Items of Power and Enchanted Item Slots
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2010, 06:49:06 PM »
It is also important to note that I interpret the "No Supernatural Powers" for the Pure Mortal template as "Anything in the Supernatural Powers section". It is not explicitly stated that way, but The spirit of the rules feels that way.  

That's how I'd interpret it.  I thought that was explained somewhere in there (maybe it was a discussion in an early playtest).  So your character toting a variable number of magical items he knows how to use would not get the Vanilla Mortal +2 Refresh bump.
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Offline LCDarkwood

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Re: Items of Power and Enchanted Item Slots
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2010, 01:02:23 AM »
Hm. So, this reply is coming in two parts: my gut reaction as a prospective Dresden Files RPG gamemaster, and then the rulesy bits to actually address your issue. If you don't want the soapbox, skip to the part below the "***".

As written, I'd have a real problem with this character concept for one main reason: magical items are seldom easily transferred in ownership from one party to another.

Most enchanted items are only usable by the crafting wizard, and most items crafted for others are either crafted specifically for others or simply too valuable to part with. And if they're parted with, mortal money certainly isn't the medium of exchange - the supernatural world works in boons and favors and bartered goods. Often, too, magical artifacts are sponsored by an entity, like the God of Abraham and the Swords of the Cross, who simply may not like the new bearer.

Any compromise I could think of asking for keeps the character from being Pure Mortal in any fashion. He could be a Ritual Crafter who knows how to magically "claim" ownership of "found" goods (meaning, taken from the original owner's dead body). He could be an Emissary of Thoth or something, who could usurp the use of enchanted items via innate ability.

More interestingly, he could "pay" for the use of the items he gets in another way, like via a soulbinding. He finds or commissions an item that he wants. The owner/enchanter of that item can magically "sign it over" to him for a price - a supernaturally related favor of some kind, like a contract killing. He has to enact the favor to be able to use the item, and can keep it when the job is done. (I can easily think of a forest full of potential trouble aspects for such a character.)

But there's no way you get away with "I'm a rich monster hunter who buys magical artifacts" in my game. Just sayin'.

***

Rules-wise, the easiest way to get at the character you want is to just take Items of Power. You say the guy can't make new items, so he's stuck with what he's got - so define what he's got and be done with it.

If you're suggesting he has a collection of enchanted items like wizards do, without actually being a wizard, then I'd just invent a custom power. Because he's not a real wizard or other practitioner, I wouldn't allow the rate that Refinement gets - my eyeball figure is -1 refresh for two enchanted item slots. And then I'd just give him Lore skill, because that's all you really need to determine effect strength anyway, right? And he's a monster hunter, so he'd have it anyway, right?

A third option is a custom power similar to Mimic Power - you "reserve" a number of refresh points to have powers available to you, with the limitation that you must predefine them at a time that is amenable to your group. They represent your bevy of items.

So there you have it.


-Lenny

Offline Lanodantheon

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Re: Items of Power and Enchanted Item Slots
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2010, 04:08:42 AM »
Thanks for the advice dude.

I shall revise him and think about giving him maybe some Channeling. And I shall make sure that evey item in his possession has a story, as IoPs should.
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Offline JosephKell

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Re: Items of Power and Enchanted Item Slots
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2010, 05:54:48 AM »
I think Ritual (Crafting) then trading in your focus slots for enchanted item slots makes total sense.  Although, I could also see an argument for taking full Thaumaturgy.  Since I think things like exorcism/binding (or is it "unbinding") could be important.  Although perhaps exorcism and unbinding might be forms of evocation's counterspell.
If you have to ask, it probably breaks a Law of Magic.  You're just trying to get the Doom of Damocles.