Creating Magientist Artefacts

[zcthu3]

So, my SoE campaign has just kicked off (we did character creation last night) and, unexpectedly, one of my players has decided to play a Magientist.

Knowing them, they will probably want to make an artefact at some stage. I understand from another thread, that the French community has come up with some thoughts on this issue. I was wondering if anyone would care to share the general gist with us over here in the English forums?

Alternatively, happy to canvas everyone's thoughts?

[Clovis]

I don't believe there's a strict guideline as far as creating Artifacts is concerned. It's more or less at the GL's discretion, according to what the Player wants to do. Just keep in mind that the various characteristics described on p.267 should each be defined and paid attention to in order to design an Artifact that will make sense.

However, do keep in mind that if using an Artifact is far from being within anyone's reach, creating one should be even harder. In my opinion, someone who would want to even begin to design a new Artifact should have at least 8 in the Artifact Use and Artifact Repair Disciplines... heck, it might even warrant the creation of a new Discipline (Artifact Creation)! After all, Magience is still a tentative science in some aspects, and it's not like you can just stick a cartridge of Vegetal Flux to a steel pipe and call it a Fluxblower or what have you.

Moreover, designing and building a whole new Artifact is bound to be very expensive: the materials (not only Flux, but also mechanical parts, some of them very minute or exotic) will certainly cost at least a handful of frost Daols, which means that only the richest Magientists (or ones with solid backing) can afford to go for such a daunting endeavor.

Do take these things into consideration when adjudicating whether a Character should be able to create their own Artifacts. Make sure to talk with your Player about it, see where they want to go, and how what they want to do might conceivably be achievable.

And if you need an opinion or more advice, don't be afraid to ask!

[zcthu3]

I agree it shouldn't be easy, and have already warned the player of this. Personally I think an Artifact Creation discipline is along the right lines; probably required at level 6 (rather than 8) with a difficulty based on the level of effect they were trying to achieve.

I understood from another thread that some of the French-speaking members of the Forum had come up with some sort of unofficial guide based on the Ogham/Miracle tables on how to set difficulties for those creating items.

I would also be interested in seeing people's thoughts on flux costs - or how that could be worked into the difficulty, i.e. a base difficulty is set by the type of effect (this could be taken from the Ogham/Miracle tables almost directly) and then modified by the Flux cost - something very expensive in flux is easier, something that uses minimal flux is much harder. The question is, how to set the 'default' flux cost, and then how is that modified?

[Clovis]

I agree it shouldn't be easy, and have already warned the player of this. Personally I think an Artifact Creation discipline is along the right lines; probably required at level 6 (rather than 8) with a difficulty based on the level of effect they were trying to achieve.

Of course, if you include an "Artifact Creation" Discipline, it's enough in itself. From there, it's all a matter of how complex the thing you want to create is.

I understood from another thread that some of the French-speaking members of the Forum had come up with some sort of unofficial guide based on the Ogham/Miracle tables on how to set difficulties for those creating items.

Hmm, which one is it? It does sound familiar, but a quick browsing didn't yield results. If you give me a link to this thread, I might help you.

I would also be interested in seeing people's thoughts on flux costs - or how that could be worked into the difficulty, i.e. a base difficulty is set by the type of effect (this could be taken from the Ogham/Miracle tables almost directly) and then modified by the Flux cost - something very expensive in flux is easier, something that uses minimal flux is much harder. The question is, how to set the 'default' flux cost, and then how is that modified?

That's a big question! It all depends on the effect the inventor is trying to achieve, and how talented they are: they won't be able to do much tinkering if they only have the basic skills needed to create the Artifact. Moreover, a prototype will probably be very greedy in Flux.

I'd say you should judge that on a case-by-case basis.

[zcthu3]

Unfortunately I'm not sure which thread - I saw it mentioned in passing in another thread and didn't note which one

[Clovis]

Oh... don't you remember anything about the title?

[zcthu3]

No unfortunately. I'll try and find the thread it was mentioned in tonight when I get home from work.

[greengamer19]

After all, Magience is still a tentative science in some aspects, and it's not like you can just stick a cartridge of Vegetal Flux to a steel pipe and call it a Fluxblower or what have you.

That sounds kind of cool though. And it could even be built into the feel of the game with some tweaking - a young and ambitious student who tries something risky (and stupid) and something happens because of it. It could be an NPC who does it and the players get blamed for what comes after or the players could try it at great risk to themselves in exchange for a quick boomstick.

[Clovis]

It sure could! It could be the basis for a very gripping and fast-paced story, where the involved characters (the PCs or an NPC) are rushing to get more Flux (or parts to complete their invention) at great cost, getting into debt, getting in contact with unsavory circles, or resorting to dirty expedients.