Making Focus Items

[Psykenthrope]

Hey all, new to the forum here.
Something I'm trying to figure out for the DFRPG game I have coming up is whether or not you need Ritual(Enchanting) (or its big brother Thaumaturgy) in order to make focus items.

Example:
I'm playing a sorcerer with Evocation and no forms of Thaumaturgy.  Can I make Evocation focus items for my own use?

[Haru]

Focus items shouldn't be a problem. They're a tool of the trade. In fact, for someone with channeling, I wouldn't even require them to have a focus item made, it could just as well be an heirloom or something with great emotional value to them, that helps them channel their energy.

So no, you don't necessarily need ritual or thaumaturgy to create focus items.

Though this could vary from group to group, it's not really set in stone anywhere. I could well understand a GM who would require you to take a form of thaumaturgy to create focus items. Or maybe a mixture, small focus items with 1 item slot is ok, but anything bigger than that and you need thaumaturgy. It's best to discuss this at the table to see what your group is comfortable with.

[Psykenthrope]

I'm actually the one running the game.
Most of my experience is with crunchier systems, so I'm not always a fan of uncertainty.
I was considering letting the player in question make foci for evocation on his own, but I was also considering having him get help from someone else, probably an npc, in making the foci.

[Sanctaphrax]

I'd definitely let you make focus items.

Giving you slots and no way to use them would be really lame. And if you're getting them anyway, I don't see any need to involve other characters.

[AgentSchneider]

I think that for future focus items the PC should be able to make focus items on their own (perhaps with limitations as to how strong the focus item could be). If the player wanted, you could tie the NPC into their backstory in some way as a person that was important to helping to develop their magic (a la Ebenezer to Harry) and explain that this "mentor" taught them how to make basic focus items. That way it helps to flesh out the character's backstory a little more, gives them a contact to use for information/assistance later on, and then the PC is able to swap out focus items if they want to in the future.

As said before though I think that the person should be allowed to craft their own focus items in the future, maybe just require the PC to have some Aspect tied into how they first learned how to use Evocation.

[Taran]

If you want to balance it a bit/make each power independent of the others, just make the foci be in line with what kind of power they have:

Evocation:
Foci: bonuses with attack/defense/control/Power on any element they own.
Enchanted items: Block/Maneuver/attacks/veils.   With 3 elements

Thaumaturgy:
Foci: complexity/control bonuses
Enchanted items: Blocks/Maneuvers/attacks with no weapon Power/skill replacement items/quick wards/stationary veils

Channeling: same as Evocation but limited to their element

Ritual: same as Thaumaturgy but limited to their specialty

I always found it weird that someone with channeling 'earth' could make a skill replacement item without having ritual or Thaumaturgy.  It's not explicitly forbidden in the rules...but it seems weird to me.

Edit:  I like what AgentSchneider said about Mentors.  I like the idea of tying that to an aspect.  But that wouldn't be a limitation to their enchanted items.  Instead, it would be a reason to boost their current abilities:

Generally speaking, that would be using a FP to boost the Power of an item by 2
-getting an extra use out of an item by spending a FP instead of a mental stress
-if you use my method above, allowing them to have an item/potion in an element they ordinarily can't use (like skill replacement for channellers)

[dragoonbuster]

I always found it weird that someone with channeling 'earth' could make a skill replacement item without having ritual or Thaumaturgy.  It's not explicitly forbidden in the rules...but it seems weird to me.

Based on the writing in the book, the implication of who can Craft what (and, the rule of thumb I go by) is that if you couldn't cast the spell normally, you can't put that spell into an item. Crafting items makes it easier for someone to take time to slowly build the spell and insert it into an item for later, rather than needing to do it all on the fly, but it makes zero sense that you could create a gout of fire from an item if you couldn't do it with your mind alone. Anyone can craft foci or enchanted items, in my opinion, but you're limited to whatever types of magic you could already create.

Extending that House Rule, it means there is no Ritual: Crafting power. In the RagnarokNYC sequel, Babylon, DC, that will be the rule: if you want to craft anything, you must take thaumaturgy. I do allow people with only thaumaturgy to create Weapon Damage style items along the lines of evocation, though. It's pretty clear in the Thaumaturgy section that thaum can do anything evocation can do, it just takes more time.

[Taran]

Yeah, Ritual Crafting always seemed like a useless specialty.

"I can craft!"

"uh, so can everyone"

Which is why I saw Ritual Crafting more as a Thematic specialty than actually a specialty in creating foci/enchanted items.  You can do various Rituals, but they all have to be themed around the creation and application of objects/items etc...  Which is its inherent draw-back.   Just like as it is with Diabolism or necromancy or ectomancy. 

Diabolists can: ward; summon; divine; worldwalk etc...  They just happen to use Demons for all that....which is its inherent drawback.

But I think we've had this conversation before.