So, we are working on the wizard lore in our campaign. We have this concept that wizards in training are taught to use an item as the focus for their casting, but with the concept that this will become a hindrance to them until they learn to channel their magic without this focus device.
So, I came up with this idea for an item… is it broken, or does this sound reasonable?
Staff of the Initiate (Will get a cooler name that fits our lore)
This gnarled staff is polished to a sheen, having obviously been held by hundreds of hands over time. At the tip of the staff is embedded a rather large focus crystal.
Ability – When the Initiate focuses his energy through the crystal, the cast spell ability gains a +1 in addition to any other modifiers based on player stats. You must declare use of the focus before rolling.
On 10+, the staff gains 1 hold
On 7-9, the staff gains 2 hold
On 6-, the staff gains 3 hold
Resolving hold. Once the staff reaches 3 hold, it can no longer be used as a focus and all cast spell rolls must be cast with intent to resolve this hold.
In order to resolve hold, you must successfully (10+) make a cast spell roll minus the number of hold you wish to resolve. (so, if it has 3 hold, you can roll -1, -2, or -3, but will only resolve that much hold)
(I see this bouncing at 2-3 hold, only resolving that one point to make the staff usable again)
Does this sound workable to you or is it hopelessly broken?
(cross posted on /r/DungeonWorld)