2/25/99
Jim's DragonQuest Campaign:
Magic Items
Personally, I find the rules on creating magic items a little hard
to follow in DragonQuest (3rd Edition).
I've put together these rules at least to clarify it for myself,
and maybe this will help you too.
Special-purpose spells and rituals for creating magical items are scattered among
the colleges;
these need no special explanation.
The rest of this discussion pertains to items created by the
College of Shaping Magics and the Ritual of Investment (Rule 32.3).
Types of Magic Item
There are four types of magic items, summarized briefly in this table:
| Item | How to Make It |
|---|
| Charged Item | Shaper's Ritual of Investment (Q-4) |
| Rechargeable Item | Shaper's Preparation Ritual (Q-5 to Q-11),
Shaper's Ritual of Investment (Q-4), and
Shaper's Ritual of Binding Charges (R-5) |
| Permanently Charged Item | Shaper's Preparation Ritual (Q-5 to Q-11),
Shaper's Ritual of Investment (Q-4), and
Shaper's Ritual of Binding Investments (R-6) |
| Permanent Magic Item | Shaper's Preparation Ritual (Q-5 to Q-11),
Shaper's Ritual of Binding (R-7 to R-21) |
Charged Item
Charged items have a limited number of uses.
Any one spell or talent from any College can be invested into the item.
Charged items are by far the quickest magic items to make of all the
types discussed here.
How to Make It
A Shaper must perform a Ritual of Investment (Q-4) for 1-10 hours.
If the Shaper doesn't already know the spell to be invested,
an assistant who knows the spell must be present for the ritual.
The Shaper decides how the item will be activated (a command word,
a certain way of using the item, selected circumstances, etc.).
If the ritual succeeds, the item acquires 1 charge for every 3 Ranks
(or fraction of 3) the Shaper has with Q-4.
The Shaper (and assistant) can repeat this ritual up to two more times
in succession,
although on the third attempt there's a risk of magical damage
(if the third attempt would "overcharge" the item).
If the ritual has double or triple effects, the ritual imparts double
or triple charges;
these bonus charges do not create a risk of overcharging.
If the ritual backfires, the spell to be invested backfires on the Shaper
and the assistant (if there is one);
no further investments can be attempted.
If the ritual simply fails, it can be attempted again immediately
by spending another 1-10 hours.
How to Use It
Anyone who meets the conditions for activating the item can use it.
Each use burns off one charge.
The invested spell or talent goes off according to the normal rules
for that spell or talent, as if the original caster is casting it.
Double or triple effects and backfires are possible.
How to Invest It Again
The magic is gone after the charges are used up.
The item can't be invested again until the charges are used up
and a caster uses Ritual Purification on it.
How to Dispel It
A Namer can undo the investment by performing a Ritual of Dissipation
over the item, combined with the appropriate Counterspell.
Example
An Enchanter (MA 22) who knows the Bolt of Energy Spell at Rank 8
(81% cast chance, range 135 feet, D+3 damage) wants a
wand with this capability.
The Enchanter finds a Shaper (MA 21) who knows the Ritual of Investment
at Rank 10.
The two of them must work together throughout the investment.
The Shaper decides the wand will be activated by pointing it at a target
and saying "Zap!"
They decide to spend 5 hours on each ritual, planning to charge
the wand to full capacity.
Each Ritual of Investment has a success chance of 87%,
leaving no chance of backfire.
The first ritual succeeds normally, bestowing 4 charges on the item.
The second fails. The third succeeds, adding another 4 charges.
They conduct a fourth ritual (for a total effort of 20 hours),
which would bring the total to 12 charges,
except the Shaper can't exceed 10 (the Rank with Q-4).
This gives a 4% chance of trouble.
The roll is 03; the Shaper and the Enchanter each take D+4 damage.
The wand now has 10 charges.
Anyone who uses the wand correctly casts a Bolt of Energy
on a target with an 81% chance of success.
A Namer can undo the investment by using a Ritual of Dissipation with
the Special Knowledge Counterspell of the College of Ensorcelments and Enchantments.
Rechargeable Item
This takes the simple invested item a step farther
by making it rechargeable.
How to Make It
The Shaper must use a Preparation Ritual (Q-5 to Q-11),
which takes months.
The Shaper can then use the Ritual of Investment as described above,
except there's no point in repeating this ritual if it is successful.
If an assistant is required, the assistant must be present for at least
half of the preparation time, and during the investment itself.
Finally, the Shaper can use the Ritual of Binding Charges (R-5).
The Ritual of Binding Charges can be performed up to three times
successfully on a given item.
The number of charges invested in the item equals the Shaper's
Rank with the Ritual of Binding Charges.
Since the ritual can be performed up to three times successfully,
the item can acquire charges equal to three times the Shaper's Rank.
How to Use It
The invested spell operates at the Rank of the Shaper with Q-4
or the Rank of the invested talent or spell, whichever is lower.
In all other respects, a rechargeable invested item functions like the
non-rechargeable invested item described above.
How to Recharge It
Any spell caster (with the right knowledge) can recharge the item.
The caster must know an Investment Ritual
(either Q-4 from Shaping Magics or 32.3 from any other College).
The caster must also know the invested spell at a Rank at least
as high as the invested spell, although
if a Shaper is recharging the item, the Shaper can use an assistant
who knows the spell at an appropriate Rank.
[The rules for Q-4 allow an assistant, but the rules for 32.3
say the caster must know the spell.]
If the caster knows the spell at the same Rank as the invested
spell, no outside assistance is required.
If the caster knows the spell at a higher Rank,
a Shaper who knows Q-4 at the same Rank or higher must be present
to help the caster recharge the item.
How to Dispel It
[Note: This is my own interpretation.
The DragonQuest rules are ambiguous on whether items other than
"regular" invested items can be dispelled.]
Because of the Preparation Ritual,
a rechargeable item can't be dispelled.
Example
The same Enchanter approaches the same Shaper,
who knows the Ritual of Preparing Staves and Wands (Q-10) at Rank 11,
and the Ritual of Binding Charges at Rank 4.
The Shaping Index of the Bolt of Energy Spell is 200,
which means the Shaper needs 2 months to prepare the wand;
the Enchanter must be present for at least one month during preparation.
The wand will cost 200 times the normal cost of a wand.
The Shaper has a 99% chance of succeeding with the Preparation Ritual,
checking each week for 2 months.
One of the rolls fails, but the result (from the Shaping Accidents Table)
is only a minor imperfection with no effect on the wand.
Next, the Shaper uses the Ritual of Investment to bestow the wand with
the Bolt of Energy Spell.
This succeeds.
The Enchanter must be present for the investment.
Because the Shaper knows Q-4 at Rank 10 and the Enchanter knows
Bolt of Energy at Rank 8, the spell is invested at Rank 8.
If the Shaper's Rank with Q-4 had been lower than 8, the spell would
have been invested at the lower Rank.
Finally, the Shaper performs the Ritual of Binding Charges multiple times
to achieve the maximum number of charges.
The Shaper has a 47% success chance with this ritual.
The first ritual fails, but the next three succeed, giving the wand
a total of 12 charges.
The item can be recharged by an Enchanter who knows the Bolt of Energy
Spell at Rank 8 or better.
If the Enchanter knows the spell at a Rank higher than 8,
a Shaper who knows Q-4 at Rank 8 or better must assist.
Permanently Charged Item
These invested items never need recharging.
How to Make It
The method is the same as for rechargeable items, except the Shaper
uses the Ritual of Binding Investments (R-6) instead of the
Ritual of Binding Charges (R-5).
How to Use It
The item functions like any other charged item,
except it never runs out of charges.
How to Dispel It
[Note: This is my own interpretation.
The DragonQuest rules are ambiguous on whether items other than
"regular" invested items can be dispelled.]
Because of the Preparation Ritual,
a permanently charged item can't be dispelled.
Example
I'll follow the previous example.
This time, the Shaper knows the Ritual of Binding Investments at Rank 9.
The Shaper and Enchanter spend 2 months preparing the wand.
Then the Shaper performs a Ritual of Investment, then
a Ritual of Binding Investments (32% success chance).
Permanent Magic Item
Unlike all the items described above,
a permanent magic item can hold more than just spells and talents,
and it can hold multiple powers:
spells, talents, skills (including weapon skills),
characteristic increases, or contained creatures.
However, only spells or talents that affect the wielder can be enchanted
into the item.
How to Make It
The Shaper performs one of the Preparation Rituals (Q-5 to Q-11)
then as many Binding Rituals (R-7 to R-21) as necessary.
Items with many powers will require months or years to complete,
large expenditures, and perhaps a permanent loss of Endurance.
If the Shaper doesn't already have all the necessary skills and
abilities to be bestowed on the item, assistants are required.
Assistants must be present for at least half of the preparation time.
How to Use It
This is discussed in the DragonQuest rules.
How to Dispel It
Permanent magic items can't be dispelled by a Ritual of Dissipation.
Example
A detailed example appears in DragonQuest.
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