Re: A look at defense values (maxes?)

[Wright Frazier <khelek@ns1.cioe.com>]

*nod* I think just about everyone has been saying this about
magical items eversince 'bind' went away.  I personally liked
the days of 'bind', from my memory, magic items then were quite
rarely found, and more often made.  And then they still weren't
the super mega items that were made.  Those were the ones found.
I think the most powerful item I ever heard of that was made was
LSD's boot's.  They were ranks 1-6 in Movements, effect, and he
spent down his entire Bind group to make'em.  This isn't a
mega item, but it is damn handy.  It prolly cost him 20-30K xp
to make these, but it was worth it, and plausable.  I'm sure
other fairly big items were made, but those boots just stick out
in my mind, also remember that LSD was a very high rating mage.

The most recent item of significance that I've seen made was by
Jevan, and that was his sword of elemental mastery.  That cost
him 90+ rates to make a regen item(I don't believe it was effect).
Its a fairly handy item in my view, but still, that was one hell
of a soak to take to make an item.

Right now, without taking into account of the dues ex machina, I can
only think of 1 way that items like +2 weapons, or +2 armoor are made,
and that is on their death beds, or near that time, the elves
that have lived for 3-400 years to save up the xp, get themselves
transmorgriphied into an earlier version of themselves with a whole
pile of xp.  Then they make said item.  +1 weapons would need
old dwarves.  This is assuming that NPC's get study, and get
say 1 rate per year, or 1/2 rate per year.  Then the spending of
50 rates for that +1 sword, or 100 rates for the +1 because
almost plausable.  However, about the only really viable explaination
on where these items come from are the gods themselves making them,
or if someone has/had a way to bleed down a matrix gem for xp, and
funnel that xp into making items.

Anyways, I do think a different magical item creation system should be
in order, but may be not necessarily one that allows easily creatable
items.  I would just like to see one that makes it difficult to do, and
more ritualistic.  Not you just sit down with a hunk of teresium, cast
2+ spells, and a minute later you have an item.  I like the notion that
you have to adventure for the proper materials for it.  I know at
one point Brian henning was running a many many month quest for Craig
Brown(or was it some other GM running it..can't remember) who was
hunting for the pieces he needed to make a +1 Battle axe.  It was
different parts of a poem or something like that, that when assembled
would allow him to enchant this axe.  Craig's character spent piles
of money on researching clues to the locations of it, and then
many adventures(like 6-7) getting each.  Granted this is an extreme
case, but it was a cool way for a non-mage to make a magical item.

As I said, I'd like to see adventures/quests where players have before
hand, like a couple of weeks, spent money AND time researching
the needed materials and spells to make an item.  Then they actually
go and get the stuff, and then perform the proper rituals for it.
To me, there should be significance to finding an Item in an ideal
setting, not just "Ho hum..its another ring of shimmer."  But ya
should know that a mage went through some serious time and effort
to make this thing, and it not just appearing from the machine cause
ya know there is no way it could have been made.

Also, the no god of magic thing.  *nod* I agree, always bugged me too.
Same as no actual god of war/killing exists.  Just some hypocrit
out for justice.

Hmmm..this is much longer than I intended.  Sorry for that.  And I
agree that this is pointless less Dan agrees.

Wright