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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Inventions {A replacement for Enchantments} - needs modification ideas.



Knuffeldraak
2016-09-29, 06:17 PM
Greetings, adventurer! I am Malrok, the prodigial inventor of Simjak, city of brass. In this class, I am going to bring you through the ins and outs of what we call; Invention.

When you travel around the world for a certain time, beings will notice your pressence. And at some point, that rusty old sword of yours won't do anymore. So, you need something better. Something that, not only is better, but also truly yours.

What do you need?
When you start with Invention, you will need four things:
1 - The first thing you need, is a manner of charge. In Simjak, we use the world's energy, the Ęther to charge our inventions. This requires an object that allows us to gather this energy. In Simjak, we use a home-made Ęther Condenser for it, a device that during the course of a day {long rest} gathers 1d4 Ęther charges. It has its own storage capacity of 10.
2 - The second thing we need is something to store our energy. This can be done in various ways, but let's start with something very convenient and comfortable... How about an Ęther belt? It contains 5 tubes each holding one charge.
3 - The third thing we need is a piece of augmented armour. You know, armour or other adornments that, not only look the part, but are also capable of having a modification. By default, you can make Armour, Weapons and Shields augmentable, but you could also consider specializing boots, gloves, headgear or other trivial objects.
4 - The fourth, and last thing, is of course the modifications. How to apply it? Literally just plug-and-play! A modification comes in pre-built or self-made, and uses Ęther charges to activate. There are various mods out there, some even yet to discover. There are strong ones, but also those that entice a little gamble. Some will make you wiser, but others might fool you.

Modifications 101
Modifications are special abilities that apply to you. Each modification requires energy to activate. The stronger a modification is, the more energy it requires. There are three types of modifications; Instant, Lingering, or Passive.
- Instant modifications are modifications that only last once its effect resolves. Some Instants can only be paired with a certain action, like a spell or attack, and so will fail might the action itself fail.
- Lingering modifications are modifications which's effect keep lingering on the player for as long the modification is active. It can be (de-)activated at any time, as a bonus action, where the full duration of a Lingering modification is 1 hour.
- Passive modifications are modifications similair to Lingering modifications, but can be only (de-)activated during a long rest {Or a short-rest, for deactivation only}. They are not bound to a time limit, but instead will keep consuming an upkeep cost every long rest for as long you wish to retain the effect. Upkeep cannot be paid in advance, and only be paid during a long rest.

Each item, logically, has a limit on modification slots. You can't just put a hundred modifications on all the same object. That would cause the modifications to cause an ętherial distortion around you, effectively killing you without you even notice it! Here is a list of augmented items;
- Light armour {AC 11+dex}, 1 slot
- Medium armour {AC 13+dexMax2}, 2 slots
- Heavy armour {AC 16}, 3 slots
- Shields {AC2}, Bucklers {AC1 + Parry}, Wristguards {AC1}, 1 slot.
- Headgear, 1 slot
- Gloves, 2 slots
- Boots, 2 slots
- One-handed weapons, 1 slot
- Two-handed weapons, 2 slots
- Other, 1 slot

Energy
In order to activate a Modification, you need to have energy, Ęther charges, to let it work. There are three methods of energy payment;
- One-off. These costs are paid only once per activation.
- Pump. Pump costs are costs that let a modification work better the more energy you've put into it.
- Upkeep. Exclusive to Passive modifications, these modifications require a certain upkeep cost to retain its effect.

Energy can be obtained from Energy collectors, as explained in point 1 above. Note that you can only draw energy from it. You cannot store excess energy back into it, nor can you transfer any energy from your storage to another's. You can share, however, the same Energy collector with other people, and you can choose how many charges you wish to keep. A player can only draw energy from an Energy Collector outside combat.

Obtaining Modifications
This subject is completely to the DM's discretion. A DM can choose that the Modifications can be made, found, and/or bought.

If a DM decides to let his players craft modifications, they could work in the following 'recipe':
- A gizmo. The crucial part to actually craft a modification. You could charge someone 5g-10g for this, and is consumed upon use.
- Random materials. These decide what modifications will be crafted. The better components will yield stronger materials.*
- Energy. Used to finish the production of a Modification.
- Reinforcer. Logically, tier 3 and tier 4 modifications can be rather strong. But with strength, comes a great risk. Therefore, for tier 3+ modifications, you need to add a reinforcer to your modification. A reinforcer can cost around 100g-150g.

*In this case, I recommend DM's to have some unique "rewards" from monsters, like an unusual ore or monster component. Let them figure it out for themselves why they got it. ;)


Modifications list:
This is the part I need help with. After explaining what invention/modifications is all about, I hope to have given you enough information about what I wish to create. I would love to create three types of modifications: Gimicky, Risk v.s. Return, or extra strength/abilities. I have a very few right now, so I wish some advice on what to add.

Tier 1:
Gimicky:
- Loot! {instant}. Causes a valueable item to appear for anyone to see. However, when you try to pick it up, it will disappear.

Risk v.s Return:
- Ęther sneak {lingering}. One-off, exchanges 10 speed for +5 Stealth.

Strength/Actions:
- Hasty Conditions {lingering}. Pump cost, gives more speed + initiative.
- Scorching Hands {instant}. Pump cost, gives an action to roll Xd4 dice fire damage.
- Hard-headed {lingering}. One-off, gives resistance against stunning/knocking attacks and spells.


Tier 2:
Gimicky:

Risk v.s Return:
- Pyromantic harmony {instant}. One-off. The next fire spell is rolled with double the damage dice. The highest half of all dice goes to the target{s}, the lowest half goes to you.

Strength/Actions:
- Benevolent blessing {instant}. One-off. The next healing spell or action that targets a person other than you, will cause you to heal an additional 25% {rounded up} of the healed HP to yourself.

Tier 3:
Gimicky:

Risk v.s Return:
- Sudden Roar {instant}. One-off. At the next direct melee attack against you, you can make an opposed Intimidation roll v.s. Wisdom roll. Upon success, you succesfully startle the target and automaticly fails his attack. Upon failure, the target's attack will have advantage instead.

Strength/Actions:


Tier 4:
Gimicky:

Risk v.s Return:
- Splinter Twin {Lingering}. Huge cost, creates a copy of yourself. HP, Spellslots and limited action alterations are redirected to the owner {a copy won't grant you an extra set of spells/actions.}

Strength/Actions: