Any thoughts on this item from the learned patrons of the Tavern?
Elemental Rapier
The blade and tang of this sword have been altered by exposure to the raw elemental forces that power the world. The sword acts as a conduit between the physical and elemental planes, and has the capacity to channel energy between them. Those who master the control of elemental magic are said to be able to shape the power that flows through objects such as this. It’s hard to say what’s more dangerous though: an elemental conduit in the hands of a master or the raw uncontrolled power that flows through the conduit in the hands of the ignorant.
When the sword is in contact with a source of magical elemental energy, roll +Wis:
On a 10+, hold 3 Charge, and the elemental energy source is muted, blunted, or somehow otherwise reduced.
On a 7-9, as above, but hold only 1 Charge, and the GM will explain how a portion of the channeled energy escapes your control.
The wielder of the sword can, at any time, spend 1 Charge to unleash a stream of elemental energy (of the type of his choosing).
========Notes===========
– I’ve left the part about unleashing the energy very vague on purpose. I intend to let the wielder experiment with different ways of using it, perhaps leading them to some kind of further learning, advanced moves, or even compendium classes.
– mechanically I’m thinking this is somewhat like the druid moves, where you get the “usage” part for free (no rolling to unleash thge energy) because the risky part is actually charging the thing. I imagine that the charging is:
A) sort of rare in that magical elemental energy sources aren’t common, and
B) pretty dangerous and prone to very bad consequences on a 6-.
what do you think?
I like it. My only big critique would be that the flavor text suggests that it should somehow function differently in the hands of those who are experienced with elemental magic, e.g. druids as you mention, and that’s not reflected in the mechanics.
I suppose such characters would have more ready sources to charge from, but perhaps there could be more?
James Etheridge thanks, I didn’t want to extend it specifically for experts because I have none in my game (yet), but I was thinking it might warrant writing some new moves once someone has practiced with it a bit.
Ah, that makes sense then. Sure, new traits are revealed/made up as the needs of the table evolve.
Rapier of Elemental Absorption would be a better name, IMHO.
Plus one for the name change suggested by Eric Lochstampfor. Also, if there might be higher level moves added later, why not make this a Compendium Class?
Christopher Stone-Bush actually my original notes mention the compendium class option. I see the sword itself having just this basic capability. Any further mastery of it is really a matter of character growth and development.
I think the choice to have it unleash energy without a roll is a good choice. After all, if you do it in a risky situation, it’s probably another move made possible by the charged rapier, isn’t it? Maybe you’re hacking’n’slashing or volleying or just plain defying danger. Requiring a separate roll to unleash the charge would make for a weird double roll. The presence of volatile elemental energy adds nice options for miss and 7-9 results anyway!
Jonatan Kilhamn yes exactly. Now if you want to take it into a field and create a wall of stone using earth energy, that probably starts with a defy danger of some sort (danger being a totally different, possibly unhealthy result), but if you do it successfully a few times might open up the compendium class option that gives a new advanced move. I need to look into the channeler from grim world for ideas here I think.