Help me come up with Sufficiently Advanced Magitech

[CousinX]

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

I like the soul jar-powered items because it gives the PCs a clear moral choice - they can use their power if they are willing to do something utterly evil, consigning the very soul of a sapient being to oblivion for a short-term boost of power. There is no addiction, no hidden corruption, only the question of whether they will listen to their conscience or not.

How about an item that brings the moral choice home ... perhaps they find one before seeing the device used, so have no idea what it does at first: it looks vaguely like a large, Ed Wood-stylized hand mixer, with a grip on top, a sharp protrusion from the bottom, and a rounded attachment on the front.

Later, they see one of the "Intergang" thugs use it -- connect a soul jar power-sphere to the rounded attachment, plunge the sharp bit into a helpless victim, and it recharges the soul sphere....

[Jürgen Hubert]

Originally Posted by CousinX

How about an item that brings the moral choice home ... perhaps they find one before seeing the device used, so have no idea what it does at first: it looks vaguely like a large, Ed Wood-stylized hand mixer, with a grip on top, a sharp protrusion from the bottom, and a rounded attachment on the front.

They have three extremely powerful mages in the party - one with Magical Aptitude 20, and another one with lots of Modular Ability spell slots - so if they want to figure out the details of these magic items (and I assume that they will), they will be able to do so in short order.

At this power level, games should be less about investigation (which quickly gets boring about the non-mage characters) and more about power and consequences.

[CousinX]

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

They have three extremely powerful mages in the party - one with Magical Aptitude 20, and another one with lots of Modular Ability spell slots - so if they want to figure out the details of these magic items (and I assume that they will), they will be able to do so in short order.

Well, they can only identify it if it's based on magic that they know and understand ... if you declare that it's not based on any spell that they've ever heard of, they get only "vague descriptions" from spells like Identify Spell and Analyze Magic.

And it doesn't have to be a plot-point that they don't figure it out -- in fact, it could be a plot-point that they do, thus giving them the option to use it or not. The device itself is partly set-dressing, to help establish how eeevil the Bad Guys are, and partly an answer to the question, "how do they recharge their soul-spheres in the field?"

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

At this power level, games should be less about investigation (which quickly gets boring about the non-mage characters) and more about power and consequences.

YMMV, but I find that investigation is one thing that everyone can be involved in and challenged by at high power-levels -- depending on the details of the investigation, of course. Just as for finding combat situations that challenge the whole party and give everyone something to do, the GM has to design the investigation to challenge and engage everyone, taking into account PC abilities, etc. That's the thrust of the Monster Hunters line -- they've got some ultra-versatile 400-point supernaturals like the Psi and Witch, as well as serious combat heavies like the Commando and Warrior, and the Techie is a full-on Quick Gadgeteer with all the options, but there's still a large emphasis on investigation.