New FX Item: Snapdragon Boxes

[Zubkavich]

I've uploaded a new Arcane FX Item that I created for the d20 Modern campaign I'm running called Under The Eclipse.

Snapdragon Box FX Item (127 kb pdf)

Here's the picture of it:

Comments are appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Hm... nice. Not so useful as we have internet and all that, but useful nontheless (especially if you play in a pre-internet era).

Is there a greater version that lets you transport items?

 

[Dismas]

Hm... nice. Not so useful as we have internet and all that, but useful nontheless (especially if you play in a pre-internet era).

Is there a greater version that lets you transport items?

But there are some places in the world where you can not get the internet, or anyother form of reliable communication. It could be quite useful in a spying situation where 'normal' methods of communication are monitored.

 

[Zubkavich]

Hm... nice. Not so useful as we have internet and all that, but useful nontheless (especially if you play in a pre-internet era).

Is there a greater version that lets you transport items?

In the campaign that the item came from, the Snapdragon Boxes are seperated by an entire dimension and are still sending messages back and forth. Something that e-mail couldn't really do. The character who has the Snapdragon Box has never met the person on the other end, and is receiving advice and information from this unknown benefactor from another world.

It's not meant to replace e-mail, but is a neat and mystical way to contact someone, no matter where they are.

A greater version would be easy. Just change the paragraph with the "no other items transport" to:

"In addition, other tiny items left within will also be transported to the other Snapdragon Box. The boxes function as miniature teleportation portals, switching their contents magically several times a day."

In that case, I'd also up the Purchase DC by 2.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

In the campaign that the item came from, the Snapdragon Boxes are seperated by an entire dimension and are still sending messages back and forth. Something that e-mail couldn't really do.

You just have the wrong email-provider, it seems

(Like the one who went down into the south to have a nice warm holiday, and mailed his wife home. Or intended, but he got the address wrong by a single letter and sent it to a widow whose husband has died a day before. She collapsed at the message: "Hi Dear!
Have just arrived. Can't wait till you arrive tomorrow with the luggage. It sure is hot down here.
Your Love" )

The character who has the Snapdragon Box has never met the person on the other end, and is receiving advice and information from this unknown benefactor from another world.

Hm... that reminds me of Daedalus, the mysterious AI informant from Deus Ex. Especially the time when he sent something like "@§$(§$)=&)(/---INSERT WRONG INFORMATION HERE---The Streets are Safe"

It's not meant to replace e-mail, but is a neat and mystical way to contact someone, no matter where they are.

If it can replace cell phones, I buy it. Hate them buggers.

A greater version would be easy. Just change the paragraph with the "no other items transport" to:

"In addition, other tiny items left within will also be transported to the other Snapdragon Box. The boxes function as miniature teleportation portals, switching their contents magically several times a day."

In that case, I'd also up the Purchase DC by 2.

That would work, it only has to be defined what several times a day means and what would happen to life creatures.

 

[Zubkavich]

That would work, it only has to be defined what several times a day means and what would happen to life creatures.

Well, I assume that if it switches approximately once every 4 hours, that would be 6 times per day. There's no command word or anything like that though, so you'd have to wait rather than have an instant teleportation.

I'd guess that tiny live creatures would be teleported, the same as anything else in that case. If it was small enough to fit inside with the lid closed, it could go for a ride

 

[jaerdaph]

I thought of a good reason why you'd want to use the snapdragon box in a modern world full of computers, the Internet, and cell phones. Phone calls can be intercepted and phones tapped, e-mails can be intercepted, and computers can be hacked to access files. If you stick a message in the snapdragon box, or a floppy, CD-ROM or Zip disk, you wouldn't have to worry about that.

So Jim, what was the inspiration for the snapdragon box?

 

[Zubkavich]

So Jim, what was the inspiration for the snapdragon box?

I thought of originally making it an old mail box, the kind they'd have on a farm or something. I needed some way for letters to be delivered magically as part of the campaign and didn't want it to be typical. Something smaller, more portable. The jewlery box eventually came up as a good alternative box and the scent of flowers was just a brainstorm: a way for the character to know that a message had been delivered without smacking them over the head with it. I find that playing off of non-visual senses (in this case smell) can be a unique way to grab players with something different.