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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next The Mizzium Transreliquat - Fixing the Mizzium Apparatus



Liwet
2020-04-11, 11:56 AM
So, I made an item. I've made settings and flavour changes before, but this is the first time I've ever dipped into real homebrew for D&D. So I'd really like some feedback.

This post is divided into three parts in handy spoilers so you can get to the bit you need easier. The first bit explains why I think there's an issue with the original Mizzium Apparatus item, and why I think it's worth fixing. The second bit is the item description, in case you want to skip straight to that. The third bit is a point by point explanation of what the item does (in case I am bad at explaining things) and how I think it fixes the problems from part 1.


In my opinion the Mizzium Apparatus is a great idea in theory, and there some incredibly good bits of design there. The check to use it means you can make character building choices around it, getting your Arcana as high as possible. An item your character is built around feels special, which is exactly how magic items are supposed to feel in 5e. It makes characters with limited spells (and wizards who don't bother to change what they have prepared) a lot more interesting to play by giving them more choices, rather than having to do the same thing repeatedly. And of course it occasionally makes you zap your teammates with lightning, which is always fun.

But it has Issues. Big, capital I Issues.

The first one is the power. Full casters don't exactly need much help in 5e, and it's kind of a pity that what should be a fun and interesting item can also so thoroughly eclipse the other characters. Yes, 15 spells at level 20 can be a bit limiting for a sorcerer, but versitility is power, and 'all of them' might be a bit far the other way.

And then there's the thing with multiclass characters. 'I took a level of cleric, and now I can cast Miracle' is not something any sane GM is going to be OK with.

Then there's the randomness. It's a fun thing to have (if we didn't enjoy randomness, we wouldn't be playing a game with dice), and I like that it's a drawback on something you actually have reason to activate. It's not a curse, so you have only yourself to blame, and it's not a completely useless lolrandom item you never bother actually using.

But honestly, it could be randomer. And it's a bit annoying that it only goes up so high, so no accidentally casting Tsunami in the middle of a village.

The fact that it's Arcana isn't great either. That biases it towards wizards, and wizards are actively made much less interesting by giving them every spell. It circumvents the spell collecting minigame they normally get. Humans like collecting things. But I understand why it's arcana - wizards are also the only class that has a reason to use it, but it isn't absolutely overwhelming on. You can't just switch the skill without making everything explode.

So. Overly long explanation out the way, here's what I came up with.

Mizzium Transreliquat

Uncommon Wondrous Item

Requires attunement by a spellcaster.

The Mizzium Transreliquat is a semi-sentient magical computer designed to aid in spellcasting. It does have an unfortunate tendancy to rebel against its creators, however.

A spellcaster attuned to the Mizzium Transreliquat may store spells in it. This follows all the normal rules for a wizard writing a spell into their spellbook, except that the user may store any spell they would be able to cast.

While casting a spell, the user of the Transreliquat may make a [persuasion] check with DC equal to 10 + twice the spells level. On a success, they choose a spell stored in the Mizzium Transreliquat of the same level. This spell must be on the spell list of the class with which they were casting the original spell, and the chosen target of the original spell must be a valid target of the chosen spell. The chosen spell overwrites the spell they chose to cast - it replaces it on their lists of spells known and prepared, and they cast it instead at the same target they chose for the original spell.

On a failure, a random spell is chosen, out of the spells stored in the transreliquat that could have been chosen on a success. This spell replaces the spell that was originally cast, as above.

A spell which the attuned character learned from the transreliquat since their last long rest cannot be overwritten in this manner.

1. The transreliquat can 'store' spells the same way a wizard copies spells into a spellbook. Same cost and time requirements, et cetera.

1.25 Now everyone has the collection minigame, not just wizards! Which feels appropriate for an item based on Magic: the Gathering.

1.5. The memory can be limited, if desired for balance.

2. The transreliquat can be activated while casting a spell to overwrite that spell with one from its memory. The user now knows the new spell and has it prepared. They neither know the old one nor have prepared, though hopefully it is still in the Transreliquat.

2.5 A spell can only be overwritten by one of the same level, and only by one on the spell list of the class with which they were casting the original spell.

2.75 A spell can also only be overwritten by another spell that could theoretically target whatever was targeted by the original spell. If you are casting fireball on a square 40ft away, you can't overwrite it with a spell with a range of 'self'. You can overwrite a 'self" spell with fireball.

3. A spell can be replaced this way once per day.

4. The transreliquat requires a check to work, with DC equal to 10 + twice the level of the spell being overwritten. If the user fails this check, the transreliquat calls the wrong spell. Their spell is overwritten by a random spell of the same level they could have called.

4.5 Different transreliquats have different skills to roll to make them work. One might be a conduit to capricious spirits that must be persuaded to help, while another might be a magical computer that needs Arcana to operate. Some might even be usable with more than one skill!

5. The randomness will naturally increase as more spells are stored in it - meaning that the more powerful it gets as an item, the more you have to lose when everything goes wrong.

6. It's named after an old MtG card that changed into other cards. Which felt like it fit the effect, and caused me nostalgia. Names are hard, OK?