Topic: Alchemy for my next campaign

[Marrethiel]

I'm playing a RM2 Magus in our current game and for the next which I will run I'm thinking of making magic items more intimate or personal.
The idea is that it is the gods (and potenitally a higher powre then them) grant the ability to craft magic items, it isn't a trade or craft.
There is a light hearted novel series where the main character gets taken off the Roll of Turnip Farmers and put on to the Roll of Heroes. Of course he has no idea why assasins start coming to his home and small hamlet and the highly improbable ways he gets out of trouble.
So the mechanic behid this idea is that the maximum MM difficulty you can perform depends on your Fate, ie turnip farmers can never succeed in an absurd MM. The other thing is that once you are a Hero you are automatically making magic items when ever you are adventuring, this to the character appears as if its stuff just gets better. The player puts the days of alchemy time into what ever item they want. So one person might keep an item in every slot the same power level, another might put all her effort into The One Ring and other might want a really powerful bow.

[RandalThor]

You should look into Earthdawn (if you haven't already) because in that game there are no real mass produced magic-items (other than small charms and stuff) and no generic +1 swords or anything like that. Each magic item has a name and a history. While some are purposefully made, they tend to go on and become more than they were originally as the deeds of their wielder(s) help to empower them more. Also, you may find a magic sword that basically acts as a regular sword until you "unlock" (learn, really) its first piece of information. (And subsequently attach a "thread" to it, which is a game mechanic that can be altered or dropped easily.) Then, as you go and you learn more about the sword, it gets better and better, and often has some special abilities that pertain to its original design/use. That way, the character doesn't have to drop the +1 sword when they find a +2, they just learn about it and gain experience that they use to increase the weapon itself. This helps with the money thing - no selling magic for big bucks when they rather keep it - and gives the GM a way to motivate the PCs - who wants to just give up on the item they spent the last 5-10 years game time using and learning and have gotten it all the way to a +40 Broadsword with an additional unbalancing crit of 1-less severity and the ability to detect undead in a 500-foot radius, only to start over with a new weapon/item?

[Marrethiel]

Awesome, yeah that could work too.
I have the rulebook some where for an old edition.

Cheers

[Cory Magel]

True magical items are somewhat rare in my setting.  I'll use materials and craftsmanship for a lot of the bonuses items would have and magic items require the higher end materials to create in the first place, so a +25 sword might be getting +20 of its bonuses from materials and/or craftsmanship, while the 'magic' part is a mere +5.

[Colin-ICE]

I recently (long story) got talking to a psychic who, having seen a prolonged period of turmoil in my future suggested I buy some black tourmaline to help 'defend' me against other peoples negativity and 'bad vibes'. It just so happened that they were selling it in the store he was working in.

That aside, it got me thinking about the 'powers' of real life gems/rocks/stones and what (if any) affect the black tourmaline would have on me if I were a PC. If I made a black tourmaline shield would I be able to protect myself against negative psychic attacks?

[egdcltd]

I would work on the assumption that a magic item enchanted to protect against psychic attacks would be easier to enchant/work more efficiently if black tourmaline was used in it, or as a base. With similar things for other stones.

[yammahoper]

I recently (long story) got talking to a psychic who, having seen a prolonged period of turmoil in my future suggested I buy some black tourmaline to help 'defend' me against other peoples negativity and 'bad vibes'. It just so happened that they were selling it in the store he was working in.

That aside, it got me thinking about the 'powers' of real life gems/rocks/stones and what (if any) affect the black tourmaline would have on me if I were a PC. If I made a black tourmaline shield would I be able to protect myself against negative psychic attacks?

SW Master Atlas has a small list of natural gems, crystals, etc that protect against evil ess, mind attacks, absolution, undead, et al.

[Cory Magel]

That aside, it got me thinking about the 'powers' of real life gems/rocks/stones and what (if any) affect the black tourmaline would have on me if I were a PC. If I made a black tourmaline shield would I be able to protect myself against negative psychic attacks?

Nah! It's a scam the NPC is trying to pull on you PC.

[Marrethiel]

...If I made a black tourmaline shield would I be able to protect myself against negative psychic attacks?

There is a (in RM2) Alchemical Inertia table that kinda works with this. It (I can't remember the details off hand and I'm at work) makes some items easier to enchant and gives a rationalisation on why you would use Mithril as a base for a +25 magic sword.

I could expand this idea to specific effects, so that stone for RR bonus', mithril might be required for holy spells etc. Maybe the players then have a "bank" of alchemy weeks (kinda like a second pool of exp) that when they find the correct ingredients they can enchant it.

I do like the spontanious magic item creation from Earthdawn, it seems similar in a way to Artifacts in the Warehouse 13 TV show.

Things to ponder

[markc]

There are also tables for gem's and their properties in RMSS Treasure Comp ad I think in either the Ment Comp or the Ess Comp.


 As for people trying to sell you stuff, I try and keep my simple rules for belief and religion in the front of my brain. IE does it hurt you in any way? Does it hurt others in any way? And I hope what every the philosophy is it makes you a better person.   
  So if that stone makes him a better person and does not harm anyone else, fine by me and who am I to judge.
MDC

[Marrethiel]

There are also tables for gem's and their properties in RMSS Treasure Comp ad I think in either the Ment Comp or the Ess Comp.

In a world without proper alchemy, then maybe minerals would also present with magical properties, just like herbs.
You can brew Athelas to cure disease and wear Green Jasper to give your self a +5 RR (+1 RR/level? ) vs disease.

Then if the Hero is wearing the Jasper gem and a zombie attack happens, the gem could take on a magic property to protect further against undead diseases or curses; maybe even Con drain.

[Cory Magel]

Here's a basic guideline for materials I've pulled from various books...

METALS/ENCHANTED GLASSES AND THEIR BONUSES
Low Steel      +5   Low quality but pure steel.
Rularon      +5   Inhibits Mentalism (Soft dull silver metal)
Xenium      +5   Bluish-silver metal that exhibits anti-gravity properties.
Medium Steel      +10   Above average pure steel.
Ithloss         +10   Strong, light and flexible metal. Extremely rare and magical.
Arinyark      +10   Bluish-green metal that absorbs and retains raw Essence radiation’s.
High Steel      +15   High quality pure steel.
Eog         +15   Extremely hard metal. Can limit the power of Dark Magic
Keron         +15   Black, very keen edged metal. Looks wet or oiled, does not corrode.
Illinar         +20   Very rare, enchanted glass that will not melt. True Ice.
Lean         +20   Extremely hard volcanic glass, keen-edged indestructible weapons.
Mithril         +25   Highest quality metal available in sufficient quantities. True Silver.

WOODS AND THEIR BONUSES
Oak Wood      +5   Wood from the hardiest of common oak trees.
Thunderwood      +10   Wood taken from a tree struck by lightning.
Elven Wood      +15   Wood from the oldest tree of the deepest elven forests.
Dyr Wood      +20   ‘Magical’ wood taken from the dead bodies of Ents and similar
creatures.

OTHER MATERIALS AND THEIR BONUSES
Giant Spider Silk   +20   ‘Magical’ silk sometimes used to improve armor & for bowstrings.
Wyvern Hide      +20   Softer parts of hide are used for leather armor and heavier plates are
Lesser Drake Hide   +25      used for higher types of armor and shields.
Greater Drake Hide   +30   

[markc]

Moderator Note:
 Just to be clear on my statement above, some may view using various gems as religious in nature and I wanted to protect their beliefs as well as the beliefs of others who do not believe that gems have any beneficial properties.
 I hope that I walked that fine line without offending anyone and I apologize for not including the Moderator Note: heading before my statement.


Thanks
Mark C

[Cory Magel]

I think the only people you could have offended saying something like "...fine by me and who am I to judge." would be the people looking to be offended somehow.  While there may be a good number of people like that in the world I don't think we have many (if any) of them around here.

[Marrethiel]

Here's a basic guideline for materials I've pulled from various books...

Thanks!

[yammahoper]

Here's a basic guideline for materials I've pulled from various books...

METALS/ENCHANTED GLASSES AND THEIR BONUSES
Low Steel      +5   Low quality but pure steel.
Rularon      +5   Inhibits Mentalism (Soft dull silver metal)
Xenium      +5   Bluish-silver metal that exhibits anti-gravity properties.
Medium Steel      +10   Above average pure steel.
Ithloss         +10   Strong, light and flexible metal. Extremely rare and magical.
Arinyark      +10   Bluish-green metal that absorbs and retains raw Essence radiation’s.
High Steel      +15   High quality pure steel.
Eog         +15   Extremely hard metal. Can limit the power of Dark Magic
Keron         +15   Black, very keen edged metal. Looks wet or oiled, does not corrode.
Illinar         +20   Very rare, enchanted glass that will not melt. True Ice.
Lean         +20   Extremely hard volcanic glass, keen-edged indestructible weapons.
Mithril         +25   Highest quality metal available in sufficient quantities. True Silver.

WOODS AND THEIR BONUSES
Oak Wood      +5   Wood from the hardiest of common oak trees.
Thunderwood      +10   Wood taken from a tree struck by lightning.
Elven Wood      +15   Wood from the oldest tree of the deepest elven forests.
Dyr Wood      +20   ‘Magical’ wood taken from the dead bodies of Ents and similar
creatures.

OTHER MATERIALS AND THEIR BONUSES
Giant Spider Silk   +20   ‘Magical’ silk sometimes used to improve armor & for bowstrings.
Wyvern Hide      +20   Softer parts of hide are used for leather armor and heavier plates are
Lesser Drake Hide   +25      used for higher types of armor and shields.
Greater Drake Hide   +30   

Hm.  I think Eog is +30. 
 

[netbat]

Hands of the Healer had some ideas for magical like effects of gems used for healing by dwarves. Might be worth checking out if you have or can get it.

[Cory Magel]

I've seen multiple totals for Eog, although I may have tweaked those numbers for my own world...

They were all pulled from RM, MERP and SW though if I remember correctly.

[Marrethiel]

Hands of the Healer had some ideas for magical like effects of gems used for healing by dwarves. Might be worth checking out if you have or can get it.

Thanks, I will see if I can find it.