Magic Weapons: Innate Attack vs Signature Gear

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by talam

The way I saw Signature gear is that it isn't just stuff that you just happened to buy, there's usually a story behind how you got it ranging from "You inherited from [insert being name here]" to "You killed [insert being name here] and took it", all circumstances where the character didn't really pay for it. And, even if they did simply pay for, if it's signature gear, they've obviously used it a lot, to the point where the cost they paid is covered by crazy stuff they did before.

The classic example is Indiana Jones' hat and whip. Sig gear is generally has to be something that you can buy, stuff that's commonly available, IMO. Even if you didn't actually buy it.

Originally Posted by talam

However, I can kinda see where you're getting at. If I'm going for a more magic item abundant setting, it really does make sense to drop the cost of enchantment by tweaking enchantment rules. Since I'm kind of going for an Eberron level of magic abundance, I'd probably do something like increase available assistants for Q&D enchantment and maybe allowing 2-3 energy points per day for S&S. Large abundance of small things like magic street lamps, while magic swords are more common but still sorta novel.

What kind of modifiers would you suggest?

Depends on the flavor of your setting. Assuming something vaguely western, astrological modifiers, modifiers for sympathy, correspondence, and names. Aspected mana, powerful locations, sacrifices, etc. Check Thaumatology pg 82, "Mandatory and Significant Modifiers" if you have it.

So long as you only allow it for ceremonial castings, it means that large groups of mages can cast very very powerful ritual spells if given enough prep time, while still retaining a somewhat normal level of quick casting.