Upgrading EQ

[GWJ]

Can I buy aby sword and enhance it with one of spells from Adventurers, or I must sell the old one ane buy new one?

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by GWJ

Can I buy aby sword and enhance it with one of spells from Adventurers, or I must sell the old one ane buy new one?

AFAIK, the rules don't specifically say either way. I allow added enchantments at my table. It seems more fun for PCs to be able to have items of sentimental value (whether Signature Gear or not) that they can improve over time.

All magic, though, is at GM discretion. If they go to a big town with lots of cash, they can expect most basic, first tier enchantments to be available, but smaller towns (e.g. the village near the dungeon) might not have any enchanters available. Rarer spells or higher tier enhancements might require more complexity (only Yazor the Spirit Master is capable of creating Ghost Weapons; alas, he never returned from a quest into the City of Specters).

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by GWJ

Can I buy aby sword and enhance it with one of spells from Adventurers, or I must sell the old one ane buy new one?

Why would you have to sell your old equipment just because you're getting new equipment?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by GWJ

Can I buy aby sword and enhance it with one of spells from Adventurers, or I must sell the old one ane buy new one?

Well, you don't have to sell the old one (you can keep it on the wall), but the implication of

Originally Posted by Adventurers p117

In play, the GM decides what Ye Olde Magick Shoppe has on each visit to town (“Could I interest you in an orichalcum greatsword of smiting?”).

is that you buy an entire new weapon (at cost of weapon plus enchantment).

Going beyond DFRPG, GURPS Magic would let you upgrade the weapon, but it would take months and you wouldn't be able to use it during that period.

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by Anthony

The implication of

is that you buy an entire new weapon (at cost of weapon plus enchantment).

This does fit nicely into the standard video game model where you're always combing the shops (and battlefields) for weapon upgrades, dumping or selling old ones willy nilly. (Or lugging around a few different weapons with different types of benefits.) Though in Torchlight you could add enchanted jewels and other enchantments to your existing gear, which was a fun mechanic.

Many of my players have always gotten more attached to their own gear, so I didn't want to discourage them from building story elements into their possessions. I suppose I am making Signature Gear and Weapon Bond more powerful, however, since PCs don't have to continually re-purchase those perks every time they upgrade their weapon.

Originally Posted by Anthony

Going beyond DFRPG, GURPS Magic would let you upgrade the weapon, but it would take months and you wouldn't be able to use it during that period.

I haven't looked into how long enchantments would take according to the standard GURPS rules. Thus far, in my DFRPG games, many basic enchantments take a week. More advanced ones may take a few weeks. I don't have any mechanics behind this... it's whatever feels right to the story. (As often as not, players suggest the limitations... "I imagine the next level of Puissance might require a trip to the big city, right? ")

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Why would you have to sell your old equipment just because you're getting new equipment?

The intent is to replace the old weapon. Recovering some of its value to put towards the new one.

[GWJ]

Is there any rule how much is "work cost"? To just add this value?

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by GWJ

Is there any rule how much is "work cost"? To just add this value?

If I understand your question correctly, you want to know how much the enchantment costs by itself. This is, in fact, the base price listed in the rules for enchanted weapons (Adventurers, p. 118 and Exploits, p. 78-79). In other words, if you already have a broadsword, you just pay $5,000 to add the Accuracy enchantment to it.

As mentioned upthread, this depends on how the GM is managing magic in the world. In some games you might be unable to add an enchantment to a weapon, so you could only buy an accurate broadsword by spending $5,600 if it were available in the shop.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by GWJ

Is there any rule how much is "work cost"? To just add this value?

The prices are based on GURPS Magic, using either quick and dirty (price under $100) or slow and sure (price greater than that). Anything Q&D can be finished in one day, assuming an enchanter is available. Slow and sure is priced at $20 per point of energy (mage-day), so a +1 puissance enchantment takes 250 mage-days, though the GM can introduce other sources of energy that would allow doing it quick and dirty.

[GWJ]

I definitely want to give an option to upgrade items (if not, Weapon Bond and Signature Gear are next to point waste), just not to make it equally (or more) profitble than replacing the old ones by new ones.