Changes to the ADRPG rules
The following modifications are the result of the GM chewing through the logistical problems of how to manage magic or rare special items – especially weapons and armour.
Individual element costs for owning conjured items are hereby abolished.
The ADPRG confer ability is also abolished.
Player characters may not use or obtain High Compelling or Experimental Advanced Conjuration pending development.
Solstice house rules
Magic or Enhanced/Special Armour is any item that provides a bonus to defence in magical or missile or melee or psychic combat.
Magic or Enhanced/Special Weapon is any item that can used to attack anything with a bonus in magical, missile, melee or physical combat. (Other types of combat may be included)
The GM considers magical weapons to be rather a weaker substitute for stats
What does this mean?
This begs the question what Gerard said to Corwin, paraphrasing it as “You may be really good with a blade (presumably Greyswandir) but come within my reach and I can beat you (with strength). If one evaluates a cost of Greyswandir which is the Cadillac magic item. What are the real benefits…
- Pattern imprint – useful for breaking spells that are not backed up by pattern and logrus tricks outside of Chaos and the Black Zone. But it is not a portable pattern. Could it be walked or mentally walked? What benefit?
- Could have residual spells inside. We know it is good at doing additional damage to demons.
- Really good silver metal blade (Mithril? or another moon based supersilver material?)
- Possibly power gem on the hilt? Never defined in the book but it would be cool. Maybe a rune or sigil?
What about sword construction?
Magical powers and abilities can be attached to any of the four parts (Blade – The length of steel that forms the sword; Guard – The metal piece that keeps an opponent’s sword from sliding down over the hilt and cutting your hand; Hilt – The handle of the sword, a hilt is usually made from leather, wire or wood; Pommel – The end of the sword that the hilt is on) depending on materials.
The sword may contain up to four spells, each in a different component, imbued by any magical means, e.g. divinely powered, alchemy, blood ritual, enchanted, runes, sigils, etc. Naturally one of the sword’s makers should know this spell. There is a limit to four makers to one item as dictated by tradition and mythology. Only one of these may be offensive, and only one may be defensive spell in place. All spells should have a reasonable personal story or at least make sense and not contradict itself.
Base Conjuration is not sufficient to imbue any power, from Broken upwards, into an item.
I recall the pattern imprint is on the Grayswandir blade bringing into contact with enemy blood and having an offensive focus. What if the pattern was elsewhere? Is the blade and metal parts, mithril.
How does the weapon improve combat?
The easiest mechanic that after several years of surveys, play testing magic items at con games and in experimentation items and with much consultation seems to be an additive bonus to the stat for combat purposes.
To keep play balanced, and avoid fast-time production of enough Greyswandirs to arm an entire country, the following limitations are in place.
- A PC must have base conjuration to make magic items, either general items, or items giving a benefit of +10 to any one stat or combination of stats.
- A PC may only make as many single items as s/he has points in Endurance, in any Real Life Calendar Year.
- In addition, the conjurer needs the basic skills required to make the item: for example Smithing is needed to make a sword. Fletching is needed to make a bow.
In addition
- If the conjurer has, or has an assistant with, Advanced Sorcery, they may add one offensive spell that would be equal to the person’s ability to cast the spell at their psyche.
- This would be the case if a future owner was not a spell user in their own right. It would be in the same instant as the melee blow. This would be the case for a directed or elemental sort of spell. (ie waterbolt, fireball, plasma). The attack is against the primary recipient of the blow.
- Spells which require a psyche vs psyche contest may only be activated once per melee (ie a spell to make a person look like a toad by illusion or a spell to create fear and panic)
Case study
If Anon PC has an endurance of 10 and gets conjuration, which he did not previously have, he may then go off in fast track and make 10 items that each may impact stat(s) by +10
Should Anon want to build a really cool sword as a project, first he has to have a basic idea of sword-smithing, and needs to have conjuration. A possible worst-case product of his studies could be:
- It is a combat weapon so he puts +9 in combat but he wants it to keep him from passing out from exhaustion +1 endurance for a total of +10
- Anon considers himself the reincarnation of the Olympian God Apollo and uses the rare Sun Metal. Is Sun Metal harder than Mithril? Probably not but it would probably allow him to put a spell in it so that during day time (even by mirrors) and in daylight there is an automatic spell that clots blood injuries rapidly allowing for a lower risk of bleeding to death or buying time in case a carotid is cut. As a Sun God, he could probably imbue this reasonably in story, with a personal emblem on the hilt to be the recipient for the spell.
- Anon found a lapis with his saliva DNA, created using dubious means. He could make this stone into a power source that would allow it to produce power which could fuel one of his spells, e.g. a lightning spell.
- Sun Metal again with a blood ritual from Anon’s own blood from his sword arm to raise his “combat” stat by +9 with endurance of +1 to his stats. It could also have the side bonus of alerting Anon that if he doesn’t voluntarily sleep really soon, he’s going to collapse.
- This could carry a fourth spell, perhaps a gate spell to one of Anon’s more remote fortresses where there is both a first aid unit and a knock-out crew on permanent stand by.
What about costs?
Instead, the following apply.
A PC may spend one point to claim an item.
By spending on point, the PC becomes able to hold out their hand(s) and summoning that item anywhere where it is reasonably possible to do so in Solstice, as long as their hands are free, and they can use their powers. The summoning can be by spell, Power, Shadow manipulation, or by any other method agreed by the GM (e.g. Corwin using the Pattern to summon Greyswandir, environmental factors such as a Sun God needing daylight).
The following exceptions apply. In these cases, the PC may not summon the item.
- If the PC has meresha or any similar drug which affects access to powers in their system.
- If the PC is being affected by either blue crystal or kregora (either within it, or in contact with their body).
- If the PC’s hand are tied (front or back) and they are not able to reach out effectively. A similar restriction applies to gags if words are needed.
Kregora etc will stop an item from working while in contact or in containment. It will not destroy a magic item. A kregora button on a pocket would totally block the use of the pocket or access to it, but it would not damage the item inside it
There is no more insurance.
Putting a point into an item does not guarantee that it can never be destroyed. If Anon put his brand new sword into a black hole without proper protection, the sword will be obliterated, but will continue to be included in his endurance allocation for the year. He could only make a new one if he has spare builds in this calendar year.
Likewise, if the PC gets bored of the item, he could put it in a public place and it could be stolen/removed.
However, if it is reengineered and/or taken apart for parts, it is no longer included in the allocation.
The dedicated point placed in an item is refunded back to the PC if the item is destroyed or permanently forsaken/seized.
Implementation
All points from items for all PCs, player controlled NPCs and GM NPCs are to be immediately refunded into the player’s bank. They may be reallocated at any time. 1pt per item may be dedicated to the quick summoning.
Runes, blood ritual, runes, sigils, ceremonial sorcery etc. are unaffected by these these amendments. A rune on a stone or a blood ritual Mandor ball
Items of Power
Any higher powered item beyond these rules may still be created through player actions as long as it fits with the PC’s personal story, although rarely by character design though I reserve the right to have major consequences.
All items of any power including weapons and armour obtained by finding, looting, stealing, as booty, as treasure, treaty, gifts, war prize, are not restricted by this. They may be of greater power. This is an encouragement to be proactive and play :). PCs may spend the 1pt to allow them to be summoned into any of these items.
Changes to High Compelling and Advanced Sorcery
If a PC has either of the above, they have two options:
- They may either freeze the use of it pending development (the GM is not responsible if this takes a long time).
- Or they may obtain a refund on the points spent, with the understanding that they will not need a teacher and may learn the new Advanced Conjuration (or whatever name) without a teacher and without delay once it has been defined and approved.