07-15-2019, 05:58 PM | #11 | |
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Near Milwaukee, WI
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Re: Handing out Magic Items
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I don't recall whether it was user error or a deliberate house rule, but we played that an enchanted spell gave the wearer the ability to cast it (or cast it without making a roll for wizards) but it cost ST to use. Probably user error. |
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07-15-2019, 08:06 PM | #12 | |
Join Date: Mar 2019
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Re: Handing out Magic Items
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Give them an arrow with Brand on it and you might get a "Cool, we'll save that for when we come across a troll or something." But if you give them a flaming sword they will get really excited. I want to get some of the excitement without completely unbalancing the game. Speaking of which, how does everyone feel about the Maintain Illusion item. That seems pretty neat without being completely unbalanced. It would basically just save a wizard 2 or 3 ST and one turn of casting. It's good, but doesn't seem game breaking good. |
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07-15-2019, 09:58 PM | #13 | |
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Near Milwaukee, WI
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Re: Handing out Magic Items
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Then, you get into the "mundane" permanent magical items. The stuff your lower-end nobles could pay for fairly easily. Heck, a Police Sergeant, at $125 a week, could put 10% aside, and pay for a +1 weapon enchantment in less than two years. Your higher-end and multiple-enchantment items would, of course, fall into the domain of the mid to upper nobility, but still within the realm of something a wealthy, powerful noble could have made. And if it's useful, they will have it made (Detect Enemies, Reverse Missiles, Spell Shield, Amulet of protection from Disease, Avert - $29,000 cash if enchanted separately. Small price to pay to protect you and your heirs for generations!) |
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07-16-2019, 12:40 AM | #14 | |
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: London Uk, but originally from Scotland
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Re: Handing out Magic Items
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07-16-2019, 04:52 AM | #15 | |
Join Date: Nov 2017
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Re: Handing out Magic Items
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Certainly the Death Test 2 items cost strength to use (though interestingly not to cast the spell at the start). |
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07-16-2019, 04:55 AM | #16 | |
Join Date: Nov 2017
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Re: Handing out Magic Items
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07-16-2019, 11:24 AM | #17 | |
Join Date: May 2015
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Re: Handing out Magic Items
Naturally there are different tastes and interests and GMs can decide what enchantments are available and how exactly they work in their campaigns.
Yes, as a rule, magic items let you cast the listed spell. Except many of them have specific descriptions which say they do something else (e.g. Freeze, Drop Weapon) and/or have various exceptions and different ST costs. However it is not (as Tywyll just suggested) that all items let you also cast the spell. A Freeze item as described only Freezes the wearer indefinitely - it doesn't let some one use it to cast Freeze. To enchant a Lesser or Greater magic item, one of the requirements is: Quote:
There are rules for inventing new magic items, which say the GM should decide how a researched new enchantment works, which implies to me that there could/would be variations in how they work spread around Cidri (which of course is true in practice from the different ways people play, intentionally or not). There are also quite a few places in the books where Steve points out that GMs may want to leave out and/or limit player access to magic items, particularly certain types, as it can unbalance and/or derail a campaign. Of course, GMs can also allow all sorts of magic and see what happens. It can be quite fun and interesting to do so, as long as it's not a campaign where you were interested in the lives and non-magic abilities of characters who may become very impotent and vulnerable to the people with lots of magic items. I allowed and included a liberal amount of magic in my first TFT campaign, and I eventually grew to regret that. Even the players with the powerful magic started leaving their more powerful items in storage. We eventually invented some rules to limit overuse of magic items. I think the main problems are that magic items can become like added super-powers, or just increased abilities that the players always constantly use, which may stack up and overshadow the characters' natural abilities, making the combat game more about who has what magic items more than it is about characters and their own abilities. I think the most unbalancing items tend to be the ones that have no reason not to use all the time (self-powered, or no ST cost), and that stack with other things to make fighters that are better and better. Blur and Stone Flesh are extremely powerful (especially if they have no ST cost) and have a low listed cost. I prefer items that have limits and reasons not to use them (ST cost, chance of mishap, side-effects, and/or drawing unwanted attention), and/or that do something that may take some thought or creativity to figure out how to use well (not just a +1 to something, but it does something the players then get to figure out how to use to good effect), and/or that do something else that may be inconvenient. Last edited by Skarg; 07-16-2019 at 11:30 AM. |
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07-19-2019, 09:32 AM | #18 |
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Arizona
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Re: Handing out Magic Items
In my Goranth game, once the players had been exploring ands returned to civilization I made 'fine' weapons available to them and it made a difference for them in combat.
You don't always need magic to improve combat odds. And remember, if the enemy is using the magic during the encounter it will increase the difficulty factor for that encounter. That Blur or Avert will draw out the combat substantially, which might be a good thing as it requires the 'heroes' to rethink their tactics.
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So you've got the tiger by the tail. Now what? |
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