Recharging Enchanted Items?

[Mrmdubois]

Would it really be game breaking to allow a caster to set up a thaumaturgic ritual in order to recharge an enchanted item? 

I realize that it's not exactly canon by the series or the rule books, but if it was a feature built into the item I'm not really sure why it couldn't be done.  Probably safer if it -is- a feature since I imagine that would increase the cost of the item to create, perhaps taking up another item slot.  But with the possible setbacks of failing a ritual, and the time consumed by performing a ritual that might balance things out just fine.

What do you guys think?

Mostly I see this not really being an issue anyway, except for perhaps something like a generator, set it, let it start to burn through shifts of duration as it works and when it gets low or runs out then run a refueling ritual.  The practicality of it is mostly for creating a possibly cheaper way of achieving longer duration effects.  Could make that whole wizard problem with technology somewhat easier to bear though if they could create magical analogues, which I think they should.

[KOFFEYKID]

I think it's superfluous and doesn't really add anything to the system. You can already spend mental stress to power enchanted items if you are out of uses, that is good enough. Being able to spend mental stress (in a ritual, off camera) is just a way to get around that.

Also, enchanted items are already powerful enough. They can be vastly powerful than evocation if you create your character correctly, there isn't a need to make this even more evident.

[UmbraLux]

What do you guys think?

If they have downtime for a ritual, it sounds like a good point to go ahead and have a mid-session refresh.  Can narrate it as stemming from the ritual if you want. 

[Mrmdubois]

Yeah, but are there any examples of enchanted items that can keep up a sustained effort?  They got rid of the always on option.

Or would you say that a magical water heater works when it turns on, lasts the whole shower, and that's its use?

What about a train? Travelling from Berlin to Moscow on a regular timetable back and forth?  Does spending a single mental refresh or having a mid-session refresh do enough to justify fueling that?

I understand enchanted items are already awesome, but as thy currently stand they seem best suited to wizards who want to bash people's faces in.

[GryMor]

Enchanted items, with one exception (blocks) are just stored spells. They have the same duration as they would have as cast spells. There is nothing stopping you from spending some of the power on duration.

[Mrmdubois]

Enchanted items, with one exception (blocks) are just stored spells. They have the same duration as they would have as cast spells. There is nothing stopping you from spending some of the power on duration.

I guess this actually does answer for how to generate a enough power for a train for instance.  Not sure about purposeful fluctuations in power while maintaining the "on" state though.

[Sanctaphrax]

Not all enchanted items are Enchanted Items.

A magical train, for instance, is probably the result of a ritual.

And there isn't anything stopping you from making an Item Of Power that's narratively an Enchanted Item.

Does that help?

[Mrmdubois]

Right, a magical train could be the result of a magical ritual, but a ritual isn't really reusable.  Although I suppose there's really nothing stopping you from re-using ritual components that still means you have to go through the effort of reconstructing the entire spell rather than just the duration effect.

IoP works.  I was kind of under the impression that characters can't actually build items of power, but if you remove that (imagined on my part) restriction then problem solved.

[JDK002]

The magical train example seems way beyond the scope of enchanted items.  Keep in mind the size of the spells "container" is relative to the spells power.  For a magic train you would probably need a literal and physical train to store the spell in.

As for the original question.  I probably wouldn't allow in game recharging in my game.  It just seems like an attempt to let already very powerful and varied magic users get around one of the few limitations they have.