Author Topic: Arhosan Crafting [Item, System]  (Read 2690 times)

Offline Stratovarius

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Arhosan Crafting [Item, System]
« on: July 17, 2014, 08:54:49 PM »
Edit: A finished version can be seen here.

This is more a thread for collecting my ideas as I start work on the crafting system to replace the WotC one in Arhosa.

Various requirements/desires:
Must be fairly fast to craft, so that it can be accomplished in normal campaign time, rather than requiring months of downtime.
Does not cost XP.
Must not require spells to craft, especially since there are so many different systems with their own magic items lying around.
Must not severely impede the build of a character.
Because Arhosa is a low magic world, magic items should be expensive.

The result of all of this is that there shouldn't be any feat cost for the system, and at most 1 or 2 skills required (probably some variant of Craft). Which would end up with it looking something like Spellsong, with certain levels of bonus gated by X skillpoints invested into the system...
« Last Edit: July 05, 2017, 02:19:24 PM by Stratovarius »

Offline skydragonknight

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Re: Arhosan Crafting [Item, System]
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2014, 09:54:56 PM »
All of this can be renamed, but here's what I'm thinking:

Two skills:
Craft Offensive Item
Craft Defensive Item

For every two ranks, you earn an Enchantment Seed of the appropriate type. You can create an item with a number of seeds invested = skill rank/2 (maxing at 10 at skill rank 20). Or maybe (skill rank -2)/2 and maxing at skill rank 22.

Each seed has Tiers (typically 5), which is basically the effect based on the number of times it's applied. So a Protection Seed being applied once on an item might give a Tier 1 benefit of +1 deflection to AC, but the Tier 5 benefit from five applications might be +5 deflection to AC and making any armor bonus you have apply to incorporeal touch attacks (as Ghost Ward armor property). The sum is (at least a little) better than its parts.

I think it should be fairly flexible like that, with the main prohibitive part being it's cost. Also, if Tier 5 benefits are particular potent, they might have minimum skill rank requirements before you can apply them. So just because you have 10 ranks might not mean you can make a +5 deflection item - it might specify that you need 15 ranks. But you can probably still make something with 10 ranks that gives +3 deflection and +2 resistance to saving throws - for a significant chunk of WBL.

Hmm.

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Arhosan Crafting [Item, System]
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2014, 02:56:32 PM »
Hmm.

I'd probably go with something simpler for the moment. Just combine all of Craft into a single skill, and have it be something like this:

Code: [Select]
Level Skill Enhancement
1 4
2 5
3 6
4 7 +1
5 8
6 9 +2
7 10
8 11 +3
9 12
10 13 +4
11 14
12 15 +5
13 16
14 17 +6
15 18
16 19 +7
17 20
18 21 +8
19 22
20 23

Ignore spell and feat requirements, and adjust the cost so that it's 5gp for what would have been every XP required.

I could go into a seed based crafting system, but that would be the basis for a whole nother set of classes if I went down that route, and for the moment I'd rather avoid it.

Offline VennDygrem

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Re: Arhosan Crafting [Item, System]
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2014, 09:10:14 PM »
I could go into a seed based crafting system, but that would be the basis for a whole nother set of classes if I went down that route, and for the moment I'd rather avoid it.

We're all waiting eagerly for the Arhosan Artificer, now. :P

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Arhosan Crafting [Item, System]
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2014, 09:13:42 PM »
Don't tempt me. I've been bouncing ideas around for a Construct/Steampunk/Mechanoid magic system for a while. It just wouldn't fit in Arhosa, so I've not bothered with it. I've already got that Illusion/Clone magic system to deal with, and that's after the Necro/Rune/Flesh/Astral combo gets done.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Arhosan Crafting [Item, System]
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2014, 12:40:15 PM »
I have some third party sources to look at if you start making a steampunk system.   :smirk

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Arhosan Crafting [Item, System]
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2014, 12:48:44 PM »
I have some third party sources to look at if you start making a steampunk system.   :smirk

Not just yet :P