Brand fix

hcobb · 11-25-2019, 11:21 AM

Note that Branded bolts are cast on the wooden shaft which will snap whenever it hits anything (ending the enchantment) and not the metal head which embeds in the target.

Here's my fix to balance the listed cost with a level of effort needed to justify that cost:

https://www.hcobb.com/tft/house_rules.html#mict

TippetsTX · 11-25-2019, 06:45 PM

I've got a simpler fix... the 'brand' enchantment cannot be cast on an arrow or crossbow bolt.

hcobb · 11-25-2019, 08:06 PM

Just having an eternal torch from a 4 point spell makes the Light enchantment rather silly.

Skarg · 11-25-2019, 09:47 PM

Seems to me the obvious solution to the arrow/bolt idea is to read it as I assume it was intended, so that it can be cast on an arrow but not a bolt, and on an arrow it gives you a reliable fire arrow that doesn't do any extra magic damage - it's just good for sending a burning arrow somewhere you want a burning arrow that won't go out as easily as an arrow with something burning on it may.

Having Brands burn forever does seem a bit silly to me. i'd think it would burn out after some amount of time.

It does have some apples/oranges trade-offs with light enchantments, which can be on anything, can be willed on and off, can be in any color, and don't require anything to be burning.

Seems to me that if I wanted people to know about Brands at all, I'd have them not do extra missile damage, and burn out their object after some period of time - say between 1 and 24 hours depending on how big a piece of wood it was.

Then for people who do want permanent torches for eerie lair lighting, maybe offer some sort of permanent cheapish enchantment for that. I might be tempted to just make it a special effects version of the Light enchantment, unless I wanted industrial lighting to be more easily available.

I kind of like people to have to use torches, lanterns, oil, candles, and/or florescent moss, though, so I'm not really in a hurry to add easier permanent magic lights that might make those things obsolete.

Helborn · 11-25-2019, 10:55 PM

The first sentence: ITL 156 This magical torch requires as raw material a stick of well-aged wood about 2 feet long.

Note the "well-aged" and the "about 2 feet long.

That means brands cannot be made from wood just picked in a forest and would be longer than most Crossbow quarrels which are under 2 feet except for specialized quarrels. While a length of 22" (sometimes found historically) is possible, the most common of 20" or shorter cannot be considered "about 2 feet"

I would rule no crossbow bolts and no common arrows either as most arrows are waay over 2 feet. A 24" draw (which is roughly, the length of the arrow) is used mostly for people 5' tall or shorter. So, yes, a halfling or dwarf can fire an arrow that is a brand, but most humans cannot.

larsdangly · 11-26-2019, 09:28 AM

The easiest munchkin-proof ruling is that they don't do any special extra damage when used as a flaming arrow. Nowhere in the rules does it say that a mundane flaming arrow does extra damage, so there is no evidence-based case that a burning object that lacks the 'official' Flaming Weapon enchantment gets a significant damage bonus. At best, it should do 1d-2, like a torch.

11-25-2019, 11:21 AM	#1
hcobb Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pacheco, California	Brand fix Note that Branded bolts are cast on the wooden shaft which will snap whenever it hits anything (ending the enchantment) and not the metal head which embeds in the target. Here's my fix to balance the listed cost with a level of effort needed to justify that cost: https://www.hcobb.com/tft/house_rules.html#mict __________________ -HJC

11-25-2019, 06:45 PM	#2
TippetsTX Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: North Texas	Re: Brand fix I've got a simpler fix... the 'brand' enchantment cannot be cast on an arrow or crossbow bolt. __________________ “No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style.” -Vladimir Taltos

11-25-2019, 08:06 PM	#3
hcobb Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pacheco, California	Re: Brand fix Just having an eternal torch from a 4 point spell makes the Light enchantment rather silly. __________________ -HJC

11-25-2019, 09:47 PM	#4
Skarg Join Date: May 2015	Re: Brand fix Seems to me the obvious solution to the arrow/bolt idea is to read it as I assume it was intended, so that it can be cast on an arrow but not a bolt, and on an arrow it gives you a reliable fire arrow that doesn't do any extra magic damage - it's just good for sending a burning arrow somewhere you want a burning arrow that won't go out as easily as an arrow with something burning on it may. Having Brands burn forever does seem a bit silly to me. i'd think it would burn out after some amount of time. It does have some apples/oranges trade-offs with light enchantments, which can be on anything, can be willed on and off, can be in any color, and don't require anything to be burning. Seems to me that if I wanted people to know about Brands at all, I'd have them not do extra missile damage, and burn out their object after some period of time - say between 1 and 24 hours depending on how big a piece of wood it was. Then for people who do want permanent torches for eerie lair lighting, maybe offer some sort of permanent cheapish enchantment for that. I might be tempted to just make it a special effects version of the Light enchantment, unless I wanted industrial lighting to be more easily available. I kind of like people to have to use torches, lanterns, oil, candles, and/or florescent moss, though, so I'm not really in a hurry to add easier permanent magic lights that might make those things obsolete.

11-25-2019, 10:55 PM	#5
Helborn Join Date: Aug 2005	Re: Brand fix The first sentence: ITL 156 This magical torch requires as raw material a stick of well-aged wood about 2 feet long. Note the "well-aged" and the "about 2 feet long. That means brands cannot be made from wood just picked in a forest and would be longer than most Crossbow quarrels which are under 2 feet except for specialized quarrels. While a length of 22" (sometimes found historically) is possible, the most common of 20" or shorter cannot be considered "about 2 feet" I would rule no crossbow bolts and no common arrows either as most arrows are waay over 2 feet. A 24" draw (which is roughly, the length of the arrow) is used mostly for people 5' tall or shorter. So, yes, a halfling or dwarf can fire an arrow that is a brand, but most humans cannot. __________________ Helborn

11-26-2019, 09:28 AM	#6
larsdangly Join Date: Dec 2017	Re: Brand fix The easiest munchkin-proof ruling is that they don't do any special extra damage when used as a flaming arrow. Nowhere in the rules does it say that a mundane flaming arrow does extra damage, so there is no evidence-based case that a burning object that lacks the 'official' Flaming Weapon enchantment gets a significant damage bonus. At best, it should do 1d-2, like a torch.