Focus Implements for Crafting?

[ashern]

Hey guys, trying to wrap my head around the item creation rules.  Got most everything down, but I was wondering, if you take thaumaturgy, can you make focus items to make your crafted items better?  (I'd assume this would be an outgrowth on the magical workshop, but I'm missing either a page number, or some comprehension)

Thanks!

[luminos]

yes.  You can have focus items that increase crafting strength and frequency.

[CMEast]

Look at YS278, you'll see the rules for creating focus items there and you can use the element 'Crafting' for your focus item. Then see YS280, you can spend focus item slots to increase the frequency of use for an item, the power of the item, or to increase the limit for the slots you can put in to an item (normally restricted to lore).

[ashern]

Thanks guys, that's what I thought, but I wasn't completely sure.  That's handy, and in a longer duration game could possibly let you swap around with some item bonuses, creating more powerful ones, or replacing those with larger use items.

Also, I'm looking at the rules and trying to figure out, what's the highest armor you could get in a magical duster like harry has?  If I'm reading it right, to get a duster with armor 2, you'd need an eight shift block effect, halved for armor, halved again for always on.  This is possible for a very focused crafting character, but anything higher seems virtually impossible.

Submerged character:
Lore+5, Thaumaturgy (Crafting Power +1) = 6

If you bought refinement 4 times, three with focus items, and one with crafting bonuses, that would give you
Lore +5, Crafting Power +2, Crafting Focus (power) +5, with a couple of item slots left over.  That seems like a ridiculously large investment though, so I'm not really worried.

[CMEast]

Aha, I think you might have the old PDF still. As far as I'm aware it's no longer possible to create an item that is always on.

The example for Harry's Duster is:

Harry’s Duster
Susan Rodriguez gave Harry his leather duster. He stitched arcane patterns into the tough mate-rial, weaving defensive spells into the coat.
Spell provided: At the time he crafts this (after his first few casefiles), Harry’s Lore is effec-tively Great (+4). He puts two slots into it, the extra one for frequency. An effect strength of 4 becomes Armor:2, with 3 uses/session.
Variations: Or maybe it’s a Great (+4) spirit (force) block vs. physical attacks 3 times a session. Later, Harry might spend another slot to add 1 to the effect strength—then immediately reduce it to make the coat loan-able to his friends when they’re in a pinch.

So you could, with Superb (+5) Lore and and a crafting focus to add +1, create a defensive item that provides a 6 shift block with one enchanted item slot. With a second you could add 2 further uses or increase it's strength by 1 again. I'd advise keeping the shifts in even numbers so that you can use it as armour or a block depending on the circumstances.

[ashern]

Gah, I get the books in hardback tonight, and have been trying to limp by on my old PDFs until then.  Blarg.  Still though... a six shift block usable a decent chunk of times per session is handy to have.  No defensive stress for you!

[CMEast]

Indeed! Now create another item for damage in the same way and you can activate it for a Weapon:6 attack, 3 times per session, aimed with your choice of skill (as long as it makes sense) and causing no mental stress. Items are pretty powerful!

[ashern]

Cool, thanks for the heads up.  As I understand it it can still only be used for a single type of effect, right? (aka fire attack, spirit block, air maneuver)... so a lot less flexible than evocation.  Gotcha, just read the aiming rules and stuff, looks good to go.

Man, with a double dose of refinement you can really have a lot of enchanted items to play with.  For a dedicated crafter that could be a fun arsenal!

[theDwarf]

Cool, thanks for the heads up.  As I understand it it can still only be used for a single type of effect, right? (aka fire attack, spirit block, air maneuver)... so a lot less flexible than evocation. 

I have yet to find where Thaumaturgy is limited by elements like Evocation is ... anyone got a page number /reference on that?

[CMEast]

Thaumaturgy isn't limited to an element, during the ritual you will use ingredients that can create any element you want so you can make a  wand that shoots out blasts of air, a spirit ring or a flaming sword; whatever you want.

It is limited in that your enchanted item can only create one effect over and over unless you invest further slots in another ability (for instance the spirit ring may have two slots dedicated to multiple telekinetic strikes and a third slot for a one-time shield). However you could in theory create an item that fires a mix of two elements, for instance jets of boiling water or create a gravel-filled whirlwind. That could be useful for satisfying additional catches... but not so good if they are immune to one of the elements.

[Deadmanwalking]

He's talking about Enchanted Items, not Thaumaturgy. And yes, those are limited to a single Attack, Block, etc. effect that works in a specific manner, though it actually doesn't need to be elemental in nature.

[ashern]

Thanks DMW and everybody, you answered exactly what I was looking for.  Can't wait to get the book in an hour... it will be Mine!  Muwahahaha... *ahem*