Jayzhee
Paint Manipulator
What should I work on today?...
Posts: 106
|
Post by Jayzhee on Mar 21, 2015 23:17:56 GMT
For my next campaign, I plan on introducing magical weapons, armor, shields, and medallions with sockets that would house chips that are made of connected squares. The chips would have the magical abilities and could be switched out and combined. I "borrowed" the idea from the Kid Icarus game for the Nintendo DS. It will serve as a kind of constant puzzle, as the chips will be oddly shaped and socket space will be limited.
Has anyone else tried anything like this?
|
|
leolad72
Paint Manipulator
I am a DM; it isn't in my job description to "kid around"
Posts: 147
|
Post by leolad72 on Mar 21, 2015 23:24:24 GMT
Final Fantasy VII Materia system! Killer idea!
|
|
|
Post by belatucadras on Mar 22, 2015 3:25:04 GMT
I use a similar idea in my game. I borrowed the idea of power stones from GURPS Fantasy. The power stones store magical energy used to power magic items and can also be used by mages to power spells. Specially made items have sockets that the stones fit into. The items can perform differently depending on the stones socketed.
|
|
Jayzhee
Paint Manipulator
What should I work on today?...
Posts: 106
|
Post by Jayzhee on Mar 22, 2015 13:27:40 GMT
belatucadras, I loved the way GURPS did magic. I've often thought about how I could use GURPS magic in D&D/Pathfinder. Alas, the task would be too much for me.
leolad72, that's another thing I was borrowing from.
Mine would look kind of like Tetris blocks. The sockets would be different shapes, too. I plan on making props that the players can manipulate and keep with their character sheets. It'd be a constant puzzle, and it would make it easier to give my players magic items.
I've always thought it weird that the one guy on the continent that uses a katana would just happen to find a series of katanas, each one better that the last!
|
|
|
Post by curufin on Mar 22, 2015 14:07:37 GMT
D&D 3.5 Magic Item Compendium has 'augment crystals' for weapons and armor. They are crystals that can be attached to weapon and armor of masterwork quality or better. They basically add magic abilities to the item it is attached to. The crystals come in 3 power levels (least, lesser, and greater). You could adapt these for your own game.
|
|
Jayzhee
Paint Manipulator
What should I work on today?...
Posts: 106
|
Post by Jayzhee on Mar 22, 2015 14:21:37 GMT
Thanks, curufin! I'll check that out! It should help with prices, too!
I'll have to have higher prices for smaller chips and for bigger sockets. I got this idea about a year ago, and it has turned into a major plot point for my next campaign.
|
|
|
Post by wilmanric on Mar 22, 2015 16:46:31 GMT
Waaaaay back in the day, my DM, Jim D, gave my monk a gem that could be added to things to give them a +1. I really like this idea.
|
|
|
Post by Alexis on Mar 23, 2015 5:04:34 GMT
D&D 3.5 Magic Item Compendium has 'augment crystals' for weapons and armor. They are crystals that can be attached to weapon and armor of masterwork quality or better. They basically add magic abilities to the item it is attached to. The crystals come in 3 power levels (least, lesser, and greater). You could adapt these for your own game. that sounds very cool. Thanks for the tip. I might try to adapt this for my group's D&D 4e game.
|
|
|
Post by DnDPaladin on Mar 23, 2015 6:07:08 GMT
yeah i might do just that for my 5e group too. i mean i was wondering how to add magic item in a world where magic items were rare.
this solves the problem in its entirety.
|
|
|
Post by voduchyld on Mar 23, 2015 17:55:59 GMT
Dragon Age Tabletop RPG have runes that you can embed in your arms and armors to give them magical properties.
|
|
Jayzhee
Paint Manipulator
What should I work on today?...
Posts: 106
|
Post by Jayzhee on Mar 28, 2015 23:11:54 GMT
Okay, So here's my prototype for the chips and sockets. The socket is cut from a foamy sheet and glued to a big note card. The chips are just foamy. I colored them with marker, but the real ones would be cut from different colors. I didn't want to ruin several sheets if this didn't work.
|
|
leolad72
Paint Manipulator
I am a DM; it isn't in my job description to "kid around"
Posts: 147
|
Post by leolad72 on Mar 28, 2015 23:49:07 GMT
So then each independent color would represent a specific element? And then "block count" Will the size of the block determine the buff amount given to each piece of armor or weapon?So Red= Fire and it is comprised of say 2 individual blocks so it gives +X of Fire Dmg/ Resistnce?
|
|
Jayzhee
Paint Manipulator
What should I work on today?...
Posts: 106
|
Post by Jayzhee on Mar 29, 2015 2:20:11 GMT
I haven't completely decided all the specifics, but I'm using Pathfinder. I think a 2-block chip will be a +1 enhancement, 3-block for +2, etc. There will be a chance to get smaller- and larger-than-average chips. Smaller would be better, because you could fit more in your weapon.
The colors are just to differentiate if you have two of the same shape. I probably will color-code them, because that makes a lot of sense. Thanks leolad72!
|
|
|
Post by Alexis on Mar 29, 2015 5:36:53 GMT
The first thing that came to my mind was tetris ;-) I really love your idea and what you did with it. It's very cool how you get to combine pieces. I also like that you found a very simple way to limit the possibilities slighlty to avoid stuff getting too powerful. I think this is going to be a lot of fun for your players! Great work!
|
|
|
Post by DnDPaladin on Apr 4, 2015 6:00:56 GMT
i am wondering one thing as i was too trying to piece this together....
wouldn't a sword with say 5, 1 slot be stronger then a sword with say 1, 2 slot and 1, 3 slot ?
i thought i could say, make flaming swords be 1 slot = 1d4, then 2 slots be 1d6 and so one. the bigger the better. but then i calculated that say 4 1d4 was still better then say 2 1d6. so i'm definitely interested in knowing more about your system. like what is what ?
|
|
|
Post by DnDPaladin on Apr 15, 2015 7:46:02 GMT
Bump where you at with this, so i can steal copy this ?
|
|
Jayzhee
Paint Manipulator
What should I work on today?...
Posts: 106
|
Post by Jayzhee on Apr 15, 2015 7:57:29 GMT
I'm using Pathfinder, so I'm just going by enhancement bonuses. Bonuses of the same type don't stack. They wouldn't be able to have a flaming flaming flaming broadsword... Just one flaming!
The only exception I'm toying around with is regular bonuses to hit and damage. I may let them stack, but only if those chips are adjacent to one another.
|
|
|
Post by lordbryon on Jun 3, 2015 20:45:58 GMT
Reminds me of the lightsaber upgrades in the Knights of the Old Republic video games. I think this could be fun.
|
|
|
Post by DnDPaladin on Jun 4, 2015 6:03:59 GMT
i think i found a way to make it worth.
the formula is...
(num of pieces) + (1 if the whole thing is full) = result so basically... there are 4 pieces going in. so 2 pieces = +2 bonus and if those 2 pieces fills the stuff entirely, they get +3 of course the pieces have different values and they do stack. the bonus point for the full box is given to the highest number of one item.
that way, the smaller the pieces, the more bonuses you can get.
as for what can go in there... fire cold lightning touch damage AC all these could get in. but each pieces is worth 1 point reguardless of its size. of course if you add say HP pieces, they should have more then 1 point. they could be say 5hp per point.
the system seems to work out. in theory. enabling all the way to +5 bonus
|
|