Echanted defense and offense weapons

[ryanshowseason2]

Sorry, but that's less good than a normal Wizard.  Here's why:

Superb Discipline, Superb Conviction, Great Lore. 
Evocation comes with one free specialization slot, throw it into Spirit (+1 control)
Two focus item slots into the Rod of Nuking: +1 offensive spirit control/+1 offensive spirit power.
A Wizard can blow two points of refresh on refinement. 
Use one to increase spirit control to +2 while adding spirit power +1
Use the other to increase the Rod of Nuking to +2/+2.

You can now attack at Legendary+1 (+9) and your basic, one mental stress attack adds 8 shifts to damage.  Each subsequent attack can be ramped up by 1 level (you're going to fill in box 2 anyway, why not do a 2 stress attack?)  You can also perform zone attacks.  You can also use Spirit for defensive purposes at Epic, with 6 shifts to devote to power. 

Yes, this does take up your top 3 skills, but still, I'd be more afraid of this character as a GM than the guy with the Rod of Panzerfaust, or whatever you'd call the 10 shift blaster.

Fact still remains that your char has to control that power somehow and will have a fun time at doing so, the dice might not always go your way and you'll have to spend fate points etc to get by once in a while. By my example I have a guaranteed weapon 10 axe all the time and I can afford to put weapons at 5 since I don't care about conviction or discipline. I will want to raise my mental stress bar up. Also I don't think you get all those bonuses for offense AND defense, thats been split up for focus items as I just read.

[DFJunkie]

Fact still remains that your char has to control that power somehow

So don't.  Attacking at Superb (+5) with +10 damage is not unlike attacking at Legendary (+9) with +6 damage.  A -4 result is the only way that this character would need to spend FP to control the power.  Also, his chances of hitting are, I think (someone else would have to do the math) at least an order of magnitude greater. 

My point isn't so much that this character concept or that character concept is numerically better, just that a 10 shift enchanted item is hardly game breaking, and if it's coming from a full blown wizard it's not really a fantastic trade from stacked specializations and focus items.

Also, if you're going to specialize in items and dump your conviction (bad idea, you need the mental stress) and discipline (who cares), you should take Ritual (Artificing) and spend the other 7 refresh (assuming a 10 refresh game) on Refinements.  That way you end up with 30 enchanted item slots.  "Wait, why does that guy have a bazooka covered in mystical runes?  And why is it glowing!?"

[tymire]

Don't forget the fact spells are much more verstile than magic items.  You have no control over what an item does after it's crafted.

"Wait, why does that guy have a bazooka covered in mystical runes?  And why is it glowing!?"

Bah don't you know anything he is going to a rave...

[bitterpill]

The Difference is a full on artificer can attack with +10 70 times a session as compared to a wizard who can attack 8 times with a severe concequence.

[DFJunkie]

The Difference is a full on artificer can attack with +10 70 times a session

I'm assuming you mean "scene" rather than "session."

No one is arguing that artificers can't do one thing very well, over and over.  My point is that wizards can do that one thing as well, if not better, and in addition they can do many other things and they can usually do so often enough per scene to get the job done.  An artificer with a Weapon:10 whatever isn't terrifying.

Also, if we're assuming that you're using 20+ magic item slots for frequency of use on a single item bear in mind that the item will scale up in size.  If you're talking about a single 30 enchanted item slot item that is 5 size "levels" above the 9-12 category of basketball or staff.  The size categories go from ring to fist to basketball.  Let's be generous, and assume that the item simply doubles in size from one category to the next.  A regulation basketball is 29.5 inches in circumference.  Double that five times, and you get 944 inches, or 78.67 feet in circumference, or 36.73 feet in diameter.  So yes, your artificer can do Weapon:10 damage many, many times per day, provided no one minds him driving around in his enchanted tank.  

edit: Actually, an M1A2 is only 27 x 12 x 8, so a volume of 2592 cubic feet to the 11695 volume of our magical blaster.  Maybe Tankebago?  Nope, they're smaller than the tank...

This is moving into HMS Blasting Rod territory.

[zenten]

I want a blasting zeppelin.

[DFJunkie]

Hell, screw multiple uses per session, throw in a couple slots worth of divination, a couple for multiple zones, a few more for range, and suddenly your starting PC has a Electro Beam worthy of Lex Luthor.

[bitterpill]

I was talking about haveing twelve seperate enchanted items each of which can be used 6 times a session (I mean a session for artificers and a scene for wizards). Twelve different uses of magic is not as open as a wizard but still offers a variety of choice especially when you consider some of these uses can be thamaturgy rather than evocation which keeps your options open. Also what makes them even grimmer is the fact that because all of thier extra power is acheived by focus items rather than extra slots they can be the size of a ring.

[DFJunkie]

Ah.  Okay, fair enough.  Though that would still be 12 items the size of a basketball or staff.  Bit much to tote around, though not absurd.

[ryanshowseason2]

Ah.  Okay, fair enough.  Though that would still be 12 items the size of a basketball or staff.  Bit much to tote around, though not absurd.

Golf bag anyone? I like this idea a set of enchanted clubs each with different damage ratios AOEs damage types etc. Time to make a new npc.

[DFJunkie]

Oh yeah, the magical gadgeteer is a completely playable concept.  Hell, if your GM is particularly generous and allows you to combine potions and enchanted items, and further allows latitude with the definition of "potion," you can do all kinds of cool shit, especially with the "hey, look, I just happen to have a <fill in needed item here>" usage of FP.

[bitterpill]

Oh yeah, the magical gadgeteer is a completely playable concept.  Hell, if your GM is particularly generous and allows you to combine potions and enchanted items, and further allows latitude with the definition of "potion," you can do all kinds of cool shit, especially with the "hey, look, I just happen to have a <fill in needed item here>" usage of FP.

Here are examples of potion no gm should allow; Potion of Sonic Burps (temporary +10 weapon rating breath weapon) and the don't forget the crimson eye rub of death perception (3 aspect which can be used to kill someone) and obviously the most broken potion ever the potion of shonen hero (automatically roll +10 for stupid heroics).  

[DFJunkie]

Here are examples of a potion no gm should allow, Potion of Sonic Burps (temporary +10 weapon rating breath weapon)

Meh.  Even with a Lore of Superb that'll be five enchanted item slots to get one use out of it. 

If the PC wanted to "just happen" to have the Holy Handgrenade of Antioch that'd be fine.  If Harry's Sunshine Hankie counts as a potion, so does that.

The PC would get a free tag if he remembered to count correctly. 

[bitterpill]

Lore 5 and a +5 focus item in Potion Strength would do it, you could also have another focus item with +5 potion frequency which you used in creating the potion to break the game.

[DFJunkie]

Ah, good point good point.

But then your GM would play the "Don't Be a Dick" card.