I'm looking to create an item of power for an NPC in an upcoming game and I'm trying to make a more wizardly item of power, sort of the arcane answer to the Sword of the Cross (being a potent and rare artifact, not the exact same effects). Here is what I've come up with so far and I'm looking for feedback.
Lore: A powerful staff rumored to have been crafted by the Goddess Hecate and stolen by her daughter Circe in her greed for power. The Archmage Staff is an extremely potent focus item which infuses the owner with magic.
Effects:
Arcane Recovery: The infusion of magic into the Wizard enhances his Wizard's Constitution ability to the levels of Supernatural Recovery. The Catch is mundane electricity, which interferes with the magic infusing the wizard (doesn't quite fit I know, but best I could come up with so far).
-I chose this option because I wanted a bit of 'oomph' to the staff beyond just saying "it gives you refinement slots for cheap", since Wizard's Constitution is a result of the magic the Wizard channels I felt that upgrading that effect would be an interesting spin. I'm really not sure about the catch, I was trying to think of a decent one and it was either this or Cold-Iron, which is already overdone with the Fae. I'm interested in more ideas though.
Arcane Power: The staff grants the wizard enhanced power, granting him 3 Refinement skills worth of bonuses which can only be utilized for the first two options (New Elements or Specialties). Though the staff adapts itself to the wielder and they can choose their specialties (one time only, not changing except perhaps as part of a milestone) but they must use points to gain access to any Evocation element they don't yet have.
-Using the staff to gain different focus items or enchanted items didn't make much sense, so I limited it to new evocations types and specialties (which can apply to Thaumaturgy). I considered allowing focus item slots and making them bound to the Staff, but in the end I decided that Specialties better suited the theme of the Staff since they aren't as easily stacked and tend to be more spread out. The 'Archmage' ideal is someone who is very good at all types of magic after-all. This is also why I required that points first be spent to purchase elements. To simplify this, a new element or a specialty costs 0.5pts, buy new evo elements first, then specialties, to a total of 3.
Attunement: The staff attunes itself to the wielder, consuming two focus slots. These slots can still be used as normal but are bound to the staff.
-I felt the staff needed a bit more 'investment' from the character beyond refresh levels so I added in this, it also fits in nicely with the alternatives listed below.
Law Abiding: The staff will not allow it's owner to intentionally break one of the Laws of Magic. Attempting to do so automatically results in backfire for the full effect of the spell and severs the bond until the end of the next session.
-The staff needed a bit more non-refresh based lore and restrictions attached to it. Being crafted by the Goddess of Magic (I chose Hecate, but you can choose any) I felt that having the rules of magic 'built-in' was a nice touch. However I made it 'intentional' uses only since I didn't want to overly restrict characters freedom. This is sort-of a play on the Sword of the Cross restriction, never mind a nasty surprise for a villain who gets his hands on it.
Now for the point break-down:
When wielded by a Wizard:
Item of Power: +2
Supernatural Recovery: -4
Catch: Mundane Electricity +3
3x Refinement -3
Refresh Total: -2
Which brings up the question of, what if a non-Wizard grabs the staff? On the one hand, I think I prefer that mortals can't use the staff. However, it also might be interesting try to apply it's effects to a mortal, so I created the alternate version for non-Wizards which follows the same rules and even has the same refresh level. I actually sort of like it because while it's powerful, it's not quite as potent as it would be in the hands of a true-wizard. And, of course, it's still limited by that player's Discipline and Conviction.
When Wielded by a Mortal (or someone without Evocation):
Item of Power: +2
Evocation -3 (two free focus item slots are automatically attuned to the staff)
Refinement -1 (Grants access to the two other elements without any specialization bonuses)
Wizard's Constitution -0
Refresh Total: -2
Any suggestions or feedback?