Item of Power Feedback: Archmage Staff

[Dastion]

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?

[Ophidimancer]

Hmm .. a few thoughts.

1)  How about you make the Catch the character's True Name?  Maybe the Staff itself has a True Name that satisfies the Catch instead/as well?  That's rare enough that it won't give much of a refund, but hey it makes sense and the item should be worth a few Refresh, eh?

2)  Why not have the Staff grant Sponsored Magic instead of just Refinements?  This gives it to oomph of EvoThaum (Thaumaturgy at the speed of Evocation), but it also automatically changes the Refresh cost depending on whether you're a spellcaster or not, which solves the issue of it differentiating between a wizard and a non-wizard.

3)  I'm not sure Hecate would mind Black magic, so I'm not sure about the whole Laws of Magic clause.  It's a nice touch, but I'm not sure it's appropriate.  Perhaps if it were created by Merlin himself instead of Hecate?

[Dastion]

Circe was the 'darker' one who transformed men, and is probably how she ended up losing the staff in the first place.  I couldn't find anything that referenced Hecate to being innately evil (or moreso than any other Greek God).  She's a goddess associated with Magic and Witchcraft (and a dozen other things like all the greek gods) so it seemed more fitting. But really anything along those lines will do, it's supposed to be a staff which represents magic but not be some sort of dark wizard's relic (those are too cliche).

I didn't want the Staff to cost more than -3, and hell... if a Sword of the Cross costs that much I decided I should actually aim for lower.  Though perhaps just Inhuman Recovery would fit with the catch "someone who has violated a law of magic", that would grant a +1 and keep the overall cost the same.  The intention is just to provide a nice but thematic boost to Wizardly powers.  Sponsored Magic doesn't really fit this, and then you run into the conflict of whether or not to deduct the cost of the item if the player wielding it has Evo/Thaum.

Nice tips though.

[Ophidimancer]

More thoughts ... Hecate is a goddess of magic, yes, and very much the feminine side of magic.  Staves have always had very masculine associations, especially with their phallic shape.  A cauldron would be more appropriate, but unwieldy so perhaps a ring, goblet, girdle, pendant, arm band, or crown would be more appropriate?  Something with a triskelion motif would work nicely, since she's considered the Three Faced Goddess, embodying Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

As for Sponsored Magic, I think you're already reaching for something of the sort by putting restrictions like the Laws of Magic on it, what is that a but a form of Agenda?  And Sponsored Magic doesn't always have to involve entities going by the Places of Power suggestion o page 292.  It could also be an Item of Power.

then you run into the conflict of whether or not to deduct the cost of the item if the player wielding it has Evo/Thaum.

I thought of that as a benefit, since it automatically accomplishes the goal of making cost different to a non-wizard, without having to recreate it as a separate Item of Power.

[Mrmdubois]

I like this item idea a lot.  I also like Ophidimancer's suggestions.

He has a point about the keeping of the Laws being an agenda, and the idea that spells to intentionally break those laws causing backlash is pretty cool thinking on your part Dastion.

[atavistic]

I definitely suggest that you go with a sponsored magic rather then some points of refinement.  Take a look at how Kemmlerian Necromancy is written and build off that, maybe something as simple as: add 2 additional elements or a +1 to your highest specialization and allows the wielder to use their highest thaumaturgy specialty with evocation's etc.  Call it White Council Arch-wizardry and maybe the senior council all has it which could explain some of their extra fancy tricks they pull from time to time, like Indian Joe's shape changing and Merlin's super wards.  And the sponsor agenda is upholding the laws and defending wizards or some such.

Plus as a sponsored magic the cost is variable and gives close to full form magic to someone who doesn't already have any spell casting.  A focused practitioner or a non caster would end up with a limited evocation range and not much real thaumaturgy but would have a legitimate means of cast spells.  Though his cost would be distinctly higher refresh wise. (4 rather then 2 for sponsored magic).

If you make the Catch something like lawless magic (meaning lawbreakers or non mortal magic) and give it a value of +1, then you end up with a total refresh cost of the staff of IOP +2, sponsored magic -2, Catch +1, supernatural recovery -4 for a net value of -3.

If you're looking for an even more magic centric item you might think about supernatural toughness with a catch of 'protects only against magic' that would give you a Catch value of 4 to 6 and you could have both toughness and recovery powers making you a god in a wizard duel and making such a staff a real coveted item amongst those in the know.

[Sanctaphrax]

Looks OK to me. I'll toss it onto the list if you're okay with that.

Two issues, though.

First, how do you construct a pyramid of specializations when some of your Refinements can disappear? Does your pyramid have to be valid either way?

Second, non-Refresh weaknesses should be handled through Aspects.

PS: Atavistic, you should check out the Sponsored Magic list.

[Dastion]

Go ahead and add it to the list if you like.

As to the Pyramid of specialties, I'd say that the staff always goes on top and so if it's benefits are lost then you subtract directly from the top, just as you would if you were to remove points of refinement.  Just always consider the staff's points to be those most recently purchased, no hoarding the points to combine with later purchases of refinement.

Mostly just stay within the 'heart' of the item's intent, which is that it's infusing the wielder with magical power and while that power attunes itself to the Wizard somewhat (allowing for some amount of customization as to where the specializations go) it's as much about enhancing their specialties as it is about lessening their weaknesses.  So if you have a point or two left over and can't put it where you like, you have to put them somewhere, no 'saving' them or leaving them unspent so you can combine them with another point of refinement later.

The reason I didn't make in Sponsored Magic is because, to me, the "Laws of Magic" are a universal law and not really an agenda, while there could be a power source linked with a similar agena (much like Soulfire & the Sword of the Cross) the artifact is simply an item of power with built-in safeguards to help avoid it falling into the wrong hands.  I did consider a similar Seelie version of the staff which gave the regeneration and seelie magic, since it would accomplish much the same, but I think I prefer this idea better for fitting the general theme.

As to aspects, I'm not sure what you mean.  Under the "Imparted Abilities Section" it states that simply possessing the item isn't enough, that there have to be rules and such associated, that's why I added the attunement and law-abiding rules to the weapon, it gives a sense of 'bonding' and strengthens the inherent 'conduit of magic' aspect of the item.

[Sanctaphrax]

Rules are best handled through Aspects, since it's often impossible to put a fair Refresh cost on them.

Besides, making your connection to the Laws into an Aspect makes that connection more important. Which is good.

Would I be correct to assume that if I have a +0/+0/+0/+1 pyramid that counts as a +2/+1/+1/+1 pyramid thanks to the Staff, I can't buy a Refinement to make my pyramid +2/+1/+1/+3?

[Dastion]

Rules are best handled through Aspects, since it's often impossible to put a fair Refresh cost on them.

Besides, making your connection to the Laws into an Aspect makes that connection more important. Which is good.

Would I be correct to assume that if I have a +0/+0/+0/+1 pyramid that counts as a +2/+1/+1/+1 pyramid thanks to the Staff, I can't buy a Refinement to make my pyramid +2/+1/+1/+3?

The staff infuses the caster with magic and enhances their existing capabilities while making up for their weaknesses, as such those points of refinement are always considered your most recent purchases.  So assuming you had the staff at hand as needed you could do your example and not worry about it, the problem arises when you are without the staff and need to know your stats without it.  That's why the staff is always considered your most recent purchases, so that the amounts come straight off the top, reverse from how they were applied and leave you with stats that still fall within the rules.

So if your base Specialities are +0/+0/+1, and the Staff enhances them to +0/+2/+1/+1/+1  (adding the two additional elements, plus 4 more specialities) then you have your stats with and without the staff.  If you purchase a point of refinement and want to upgrade to +0/+2/+1/+1/+3 you can do that, but you're actually upgrading your base specialities first and then the Staff is complimenting them anew as your powers have changed.  So in this example you've probably upgraded your base abilities to +0/+1/+2 or even to +0/+0/+0/+0/+1 (You used the Refinement to gain permanent access to the extra two elements), then reapplied the Staff's specialities ontop of your new stats.

I'd say to just keep track of your specialties with and without the staff, and allow a reassigning of the staff's refinements upon increasing your own innate skills or at a proper Milestone (the two should often coincide)

[Lavecki121]

.

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. 

Dont forget that any pure mortal who has the staff will lose their +2 refresh for having the staff automatically

Also as far as the "Law Abiding" part goes, I would rule this in the same respect as "Divine Purpose" for the SotC. Where as the attack will not work in some way (as you have already described) and may stop working altogether for someone who is trying to use it in this respect

[Dastion]

Also as far as the "Law Abiding" part goes, I would rule this in the same respect as "Divine Purpose" for the SotC. Where as the attack will not work in some way (as you have already described) and may stop working altogether for someone who is trying to use it in this respect

Exactly my intent.  It's meant to be an extra lore aspect to the item along the lines of 'Divine Purpose', which is why I didn't try to give it a refresh cost since the IoP rules state that items of power have to have some sort of methodolu/bargain etc. for their use.

[Sanctaphrax]

Divine Purpose should be handled through Aspects too.

[Tedronai]

I'd suggest IoP Purposes (Divine or otherwise) be interacted with as a sub-category of the Aspect through which the IoP is attached to the character (as all IoPs require such an aspect).

[Lavecki121]

I'd suggest IoP Purposes (Divine or otherwise) be interacted with as a sub-category of the Aspect through which the IoP is attached to the character (as all IoPs require such an aspect).

I agree with you there, but it should still be stated that the aspect can be compelled for this purpose. Its no use telling a PC that they can have this staff and then constantly compell them for a reason that they did not know about.