Sticky Signature Gear

[CoyoteGestalt]

Signature Gear stays with the character unless they give it away. If it's stolen, they will have a chance to retrieve it, or it will find its way back, or they'll get a replacement. If they give it away or sell it, though, it's gone.

How can I write up Signature Gear that the PC can't get rid of even if they want to? Obviously this has both advantages (even harder to lose, or a dishonest PC could run a con pretending to sell the item) and disadvantages (especially if the equipment comes with Enemies). An example would be the titular blade in Lawrence Watt-Evans The Misenchanted Sword.

In the case of the character I'm currently dealing with: She stole an enchanted grimoire, and it mystically bonded with her. Even if she sells it, gives it away, or buries it, it will find its way back to her sooner or later. It's useful Signature Gear - it's a grimoire for learning magic spells and researching the occult, and it's also a nice big nigh-indestructible artifact to hide behind/swat spiders with/etc. However, the original owners want it back, and can track it! She's tried giving it back to them, just to get them to stop hunting her, and it didn't work; it came back to her anyway. Also, of course, always having a magical grimoire with you is a little awkward if you spend a lot of time in places where such things are illegal. (It's an Infinite Worlds game, so lengthy periods hiding out in inconvenient places like Puritan Massachusetts are a distinct possibility.)

So, the original owners are an Enemy, and the book is Signature Gear, but what else is it? The best thing I've come up with is calling it a Dependent, which seems a little awkward. (A Dependent is someone you have to protect, after all, which isn't really the case here, and I don't really want to have to stat the book up as an NPC.)

The exact mechanism by which it comes back to her if abandoned I have not worked out in detail, and it's not really relevant story-wise; can work that out to fit campaign needs or the limitations of other advantages and such. I just can't figure out how to stat the inability to get rid of something from the perspective of the PC.

(Apologies if I'm overlooking something obvious; I'm in bed with the flu.)

[Faolyn]

I'd maybe figure out the cost as standard-issue Sig Gear, and then the cost as Divine Curse. Whether it ends up as a positive or negative point total would depend on the Curse, which should (IMO) be roughly the cost of the original owners as Enemies, maybe a little bit more.

[Sunrunners_Fire]

I'd call it a zero-cost feature on Signature Gear.

"Sticky, +0%", "This modifier changes the terms of Signature Gear in that you can't sell, give away or lose the item, not even if you want to. It always comes back."

Selling it isn't going to be useful (and thereby won't be an infinite wealth generator), as the people who are willing to buy a magic grimoire are going to be rather cranky when it leaves them and come looking for the character ... and are quite likely able to do something about their upset even to a world jumper.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Sunrunners_Fire

I'd call it a zero-cost feature on Signature Gear.

If it was, characters in settings where the stuff can't be easily used to locate them will be queuing up for that - which tends to indicate it's too cheap.

[Sunrunners_Fire]

Originally Posted by johndallman

If it was, characters in settings where the stuff can't be easily used to locate them will be queuing up for that - which tends to indicate it's too cheap.

You consider an item that cannot be permanently lost, stolen, destroyed, sold or given away to be worth more character points than an item that cannot be permanently lost, stolen or destroyed but can be permanently sold or given away?

[johndallman]

It comes back of its own accord. You're buying immunity to the sub-plots of recovering it.

[Sunrunners_Fire]

Originally Posted by johndallman

It comes back of its own accord. You're buying immunity to the sub-plots of recovering it.

Yep.

You are also losing the ability to sell it, give it away or trade it for something else.

Signature Gear 1 (Extended Plot Immunity, +50%; Cannot Gift, Sell or Trade Away, -50%) [1]
1 * (1 + 0.50 - 0.50) = 1

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Sunrunners_Fire

Yep.

You are also losing the ability to sell it, give it away or trade it for something else.

And gaining vulnerability to sub plots around not being able to store your sword in an area where a sword is inappropriate, an informal Distinguishing Feature as "The guy always carrying that sword", and so forth. Substitute for "sword" as necessary of course.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by CoyoteGestalt

Signature Gear stays with the character unless they give it away. If it's stolen, they will have a chance to retrieve it, or it will find its way back, or they'll get a replacement. If they give it away or sell it, though, it's gone.

How can I write up Signature Gear that the PC can't get rid of even if they want to? Obviously this has both advantages (even harder to lose, or a dishonest PC could run a con pretending to sell the item) and disadvantages (especially if the equipment comes with Enemies). An example would be the titular blade in Lawrence Watt-Evans The Misenchanted Sword.

In the case of the character I'm currently dealing with: She stole an enchanted grimoire, and it mystically bonded with her. Even if she sells it, gives it away, or buries it, it will find its way back to her sooner or later.

So it has Warp, only to find its way home.

[CoyoteGestalt]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

So it has Warp, only to find its way home.

Or Mind Control, only to make people take it home and forget they did so. Or any number of other things; the player in theory shouldn't even know what it is the book is doing, just that it's always there.

(I confess, I'm trying to avoid having to write up a character sheet for the book.)