Item Creation Rituals - several points

[ForbidenMaster]

I still don't get how d2 vorpal equals infinite damage.... Please explain.

Gauntlets of destruction let you reroll all 1s. So if your only options are 1 and max, a vorpal weapon will do infinite damage.

 

[silentounce]

The Gauntlets of Destruction.

Gotcha, well that's easy to fix with a houserule. And since d2 would be a houserule as well I don't see a problem.

 

[balard]

I've got the impression that in the new edition the cost of the item to be enchanted is included in the cost of the enchantment. This way a +3 Cloth and a +3 Plate will cost the same.

Am I mistaken?

 

[ForbidenMaster]

I've got the impression that in the new edition the cost of the item to be enchanted is included in the cost of the enchantment. This way a +3 Cloth and a +3 Plate will cost the same.

Am I mistaken?

You are correct, however you have to have a non magical base item to enchant. So the cost of the enhancement might be the same, but the total cost of items and components is going to be higher for the plate.

 

[the_redbeard]

P
Point the second:
Resizing magic armor - is one use of the ritual enough to change armor from one size category to any other? The book seems to imply that it is. That raises some economic questions about taking small armor of rare materials, enlarging it, and then smelting it down for the metal value. Like most economics in D&D, it's pretty silly, and I guess I can just turn a blind eye to that. I still am tempted to require a component cost for resizing armor, despite the book saying otherwise. Even making Tenser's floating disk costs you 10g in materials, and resizing a suit of armor seems a lot trickier than that.

The magic of the re-sizing ritual creates a larger suit of armor - not more metal

If conservation of mass applies to magic at all, it applies to the whole process - from the beginning suit of armor.

When the industrious player melts down his formerly halfing, now giant sized suit of adamantine plate, only the original raw materials for the halfling sized suit of armor remain.

But I think it means that if I wanted to equip an army of giants, I'd only need enough metal for an army of halflings - and double the number of rituals. Evil Overlords, take note!

I think this is one of those times where "the rules apply to the PCs and not to the NPCs" which I know bugs those of us who are still in our DnD=simulationist game mindset. I'm one of those. I go to meetings. I sit in a circle and say, "Hi, my name is the_redbeard and I'm a simulationist. But with the help of you, my fellow simulationists and my higher power, WoTC, I know I can turn away from my past and enjoy DnD soley as a game and not expect it all to make sense."

 

[SableWyvern]

Not according to math. 1d12 is still better than 2d4 even with exploding dice. 2d6 is better than 2d4. Even a d6 is better than 2d2, on average.

Looking at single dice, the chance of rolling 13+ with exploding dice is as follows:

d12: 8%
d10: 8% (this is the sweet spot for a d10 when competing with a d12 -- at any other value, the d12 has better odds of rolling that value or higher)
d8: 6%
d6: 3%
d4: 2%

Sure, smaller dice have a higher chance of being rerolled, but they need to get those rerolls just to make up ground on what higher dice can get normally.

An exploding d2 has a 50% chance to do more damage than an average (non-exploding) d4 roll, and a 25% chance to do more damage than a maximised d4. That doesn't exactly sound earth-shatteringly powerful to me.

 

[Khaalis]

I'm still trying to get over my old habits of lower-magic games. We never got anything but consumable items at first level in any D&D game that I've ever been in. Permanent magic was stuff you'd start to find a few levels into the game, not right off the bat.

Just jumping in late to throw in a few comments.

Keep in mind that the way the system is set up, you don't technically HAVE to give up on low-magic settings. You simply need to compensate.

The core system only assumes 3 "primary" item slots - armor, weapon, neck.
At 1st to 5th level the system assumes a +1 bonus to Attack, Damage, and Defenses. If you don't want to give out 'permanent' magic items until higher levels, give every PC a +1 bonus to Attack, Damage and Defenses at 1st level and then start giving +1 items at 6th level (basically bumping every "tier" of item up by 1, and not using the +6 items).

To do a NO magic item game, simply give the PC's a +1 bonus at 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st and 26th level.

You can also mix and match. Say I want magic to be rare, and only want the PCs to find a "power up" item at each tier.

* 1st level = PC's get a +1 to ATK, DAM, DEF
* Between 6th and 10th you give out +1 items (or allow them to be crafted)
* 11th level = PC's get a +1 to ATK, DAM, DEF
* Between 16th and 20th you give out +2 items (or allow them to be crafted)
* 21st level = PC's get a +1 to ATK, DAM, DEF
* Between 26th and 29th you give out +3 items (or allow them to be crafted)

In this way, items are still low powered and rare to uncommon but the PC's still have the expected mathematical balance required by the system.

You also don't have to use the rituals as-is for items. You can make them harder if it fits your campaign.

 

[Snotboy]

On the subject of the original object being enchanted, I think it's reasonable for just about anything to be a source. Take this example from *sigh* Warcraft, from the first book of the War of the Ancients trilogy:

The demigod Cenarius, along with his druid apprentice Malfurion, and the orc warrior Broxigar were in a sheltered grove under attack by demonic forces, Cenarius set to provide a weapon so the orc could assist when the grove's defenses fell. He gave a branch to Malfurion, and instructed him to link mentally with Brox, who also held the branch. Brox was to envision his preferred weapon, while Malfurion's power shaped the branch accordingly. The branch molded into the shape of a two-handed axe. Cenarius then blessed the weapon with his power, making it strong, hard, and sharp as an axe normally used by Brox. Thus a weapon with the power to wound a mighty titan was formed.

Fairy tales are full of great wizards making magical objects out of ordinary things. It's not unreasonable to allow for a player to do something truly wonderous himself.

 

[Starfox]

You are correct, however you have to have a non magical base item to enchant. So the cost of the enhancement might be the same, but the total cost of items and components is going to be higher for the plate.

Which is easily fixed by counting the plate as a component in the ritual to enchant itself.

This makes perfect sense; of course, its easier to enchant a well-crafted, sculpted, diamond-encrusted rapier than any old pointy stick?

 

[DracoSuave]

The average amount of damage done by an exploding d2 is 3 by the way.

The formula is (D)(D+1)/(2d-2).