The Royal Artificery Society - OOC II: electric boogaloo

[WindStruck]

Yeah that's a crazy scene going on.

Reminds me of Starship Troopers or something. Maybe the grey creatures are native to a plane of reality they are traveling through to cross distances??

[DeTess]

@mrabdiel, can you roll me a sense motive?

[MrAbdiel]

@mrabdiel, can you roll me a sense motive?

I can theoretically do anything! :)

SenseMotive - (1d20-1)[13]

Not bad! Not good - but not bad.

[DeTess]

Alright. With Ulrik you could clearly tell that he was a very open, honest, 'what you see is what you get' kind of person. You have a lot more trouble reading his sister though. She seems more calculating and keeps her cards closer to her chest, but you can't tell any more than that.

[Prehysterical]

@prehysterical, just FYI, that's my special effects budget for this month gone.

Oh dear...

Bolten: PANIC

[DeTess]

@prehysterical, Bolten remembers seeing an illustration resembling these creatures in a bestiary on extraplanar creatures. Bolten can recall these are called Sorrowsworn and are native to the shadowfell. He can't remember anything else right now (but given that Bolten knows what they're called, looking them up would be easy once Bolten has acces to a library)

[DeTess]

So, because it came up.

Long, long ago, there was a period known as 'the time of legends'. little is known about this period, as it was characterized by cataclysmic monsters rampaging the lands and wars fought between people with powers far, far greater than what is currently available the humanity (used as an inclusive term to cover all humanoids). Some historians doubt that the legends from this time period are even grounded in truth. Nonetheless, there is knowledge from this time about the supposed existence of all kinds of extremely powerful spells.

In other words, if you want your character to know about a high level spell, your character could have head about it in one of the stories from the time of legends. No information besides the spell's effects and rough level of difficulty would be known, but if you want your character to use it as inspiration, go ahead.

@windstruck, if you want to adjust your post given this bit of background you can, but it would make sense for a person steeped in bardic traditions to be far more familiar with the time of legends than a researcher.

[MrAbdiel]

I must admit, I may have misunderstood the limitations on magic in the setting (or previously understood but later forgot!)

I thought the level cap was mostly to represent the level of play that seemed most fun, and that accessing weirder/higher level/more powerful stuff was just rare or unreasonably expensive.

If spells higher than like… 3rd level just don’t really exist in the world outside of hushed whisper myth, that may transform some of my character goals. For example, the whole “teleport to the frozen north to get a tree for this art project” thing was based on the notion that the Archduchess probably had some teleport capable wizards in her rolladex; and perhaps a scroll or Gate or two. Presumably, magic items that expect spell components above what a 6th level caster might manage are also mythic..?

[WindStruck]

Well no you weren't entirely wrong. It seems very much possible to cast these higher level spells, but it basically takes whole rituals that involve many casters and/or complex magical setups. Like in Bolten's scene...

But my point is, a high level spell that might just sit on a scroll and be cast by a singular caster in one standard action wouldn't exist. And even if that effect did exist... an offensive spell like Freezing Sphere wouldn't be practical at all, and it most likely would go by different nomenclature.

But amyway! With Aiden not only being a bard but a former celestial, I think he would have foggy memories of those times of legends. Honestly it makes sense I think....

I won't change my post and still have Shandara look at him strangely though. Hm. Maybe I'll roll history.

(1D20+8)[15]

[DeTess]

I must admit, I may have misunderstood the limitations on magic in the setting (or previously understood but later forgot!)

I thought the level cap was mostly to represent the level of play that seemed most fun, and that accessing weirder/higher level/more powerful stuff was just rare or unreasonably expensive.

If spells higher than like… 3rd level just don’t really exist in the world outside of hushed whisper myth, that may transform some of my character goals. For example, the whole “teleport to the frozen north to get a tree for this art project” thing was based on the notion that the Archduchess probably had some teleport capable wizards in her rolladex; and perhaps a scroll or Gate or two. Presumably, magic items that expect spell components above what a 6th level caster might manage are also mythic..?

Yeah, teleportation is not quite that easy (yet, there is a well funded research group in the artificery society trying to crack it), but if it was impossible to get a tree on roughly the schedule you imagined I would have said so.

Generally in-world there are some casters that after decades long study might manage a 4th level spell on their own, and items casting up to 4th is not unheard of. Beyond that things become very expensive and rare (either new creations that took years or decades to put together, or artifacts from ancient times). The most common among these would be the ocassional artifact capable of bestowing the miracle of regeneration once in a while, as temples and religions safeguarded those through the millenia.

[MrAbdiel]

Yeah, teleportation is not quite that easy (yet, there is a well funded research group in the artificery society trying to crack it), but if it was impossible to get a tree on roughly the schedule you imagined I would have said so.

Generally in-world there are some casters that after decades long study might manage a 4th level spell on their own, and items casting up to 4th is not unheard of. Beyond that things become very expensive and rare (either new creations that took years or decades to put together, or artifacts from ancient times). The most common among these would be the ocassional artifact capable of bestowing the miracle of regeneration once in a while, as temples and religions safeguarded those through the millenia.

Hmm... Fair enough. I suppose Aiden's dream of making a Banjo of Building will be more of a capstone quest thing than a downtime project, since it requires the fabricate spell.

[DeTess]

Hmm... Fair enough. I suppose Aiden's dream of making a Banjo of Building will be more of a capstone quest thing than a downtime project, since it requires the fabricate spell.

It's definitely doable, but more involved than just grabbing a blueprint and getting to crafting, as someone will have to rediscover the exact magic sequence for fabricate first.

[MrAbdiel]

It's definitely doable, but more involved than just grabbing a blueprint and getting to crafting, as someone will have to rediscover the exact magic sequence for fabricate first.

Hahaha, if Aiden helps the rediscovery of the Fabricate spell he'll get lynched by the other artisans for being a scab. You can't just have a magic spell that turns materials into items. What are we going to do?! Learn to code?!

[DeTess]

Hahaha, if Aiden helps the rediscovery of the Fabricate spell he'll get lynched by the other artisans for being a scab. You can't just have a magic spell that turns materials into items. What are we going to do?! Learn to code?!

It would be a very expensive spell to cast though (as it would need a staff or wand of some sort as no one has enough power to cast it themselves). It might actually be a useful tool for some projects to create shapes that are impossible to do normally, and would still need an expert to cast it.

[MrAbdiel]

Maybe I can dupe Shandara and Bolten into a globetrotting adventure to raid the tomb of the ancient artisan Benicio Fabricato to steal his spellscroll. Just three characters, none of them built for combat, bumbling into traps~ :D

[DeTess]

@windstruck, @mrabdiel did you want to do anything else with the restaurant scene? Or shall we move on?

[WindStruck]

I think I'm okay with moving on.

[MrAbdiel]

Ready to roll on. Aiden's got to head home, roust Cliff and Markel into readiness to make that fishing appointment and to be very polite and grateful about it, and then get to finishing that harp.

[DeTess]

Ready to roll on. Aiden's got to head home, roust Cliff and Markel into readiness to make that fishing appointment and to be very polite and grateful about it, and then get to finishing that harp.

I think the harp was pretty much done by now, right?

[MrAbdiel]

Hmm. Well, according to my notes, I had 68.5 out of 1000 silver's worth of labour poured into the harp. That was when I stopped on it to make Shandara's spectacles. After that meeting, "several" days passed before the meeting with the folks at Escribano. With a week taking 10 as efficiently as possible, Aiden adds another 960 silver to that total and finishes the harp. If it's less than a week, it'll still have some work left; but if you want to factor in one or two judicious uses of Inexplicably luck, it's likely he's finished it and ready to hand it over if you're happy with that, boss.

[DeTess]

I think it's been about that long, so you'd be finished. I had planned the escribano meeting to happen right as you where planning to be done.

[MrAbdiel]

Excellent, Excellent. Well, he'll drop off the harp, and put his money in the bank, and organize the boys, etc. All that housekeeping stuff.

It might be time for him to start researching some very storied instruments of craft - Amazing Tools of Manufacture!

Not only can these serve as his 'adamantine' tools he needs for working super-hard woods, they also give a +4 bonus to craft checks, rather than the old Masterwork +2, which is awesome.

The other feature of the tools is an incredibly accelerated crafting speed - the ability to complete crafts in 1 hour as long as the result has a final cost of less than 2000GP (or 1 hour a day worth 2000GP's labor for more expensive items). Crafting in this way costs 50% in materials instead of the normal 33.3%, so it quickly becomes extremely wasteful to make expensive items.

I.E., if Aiden was using Amazing Tools of Manufacture to make another set of those tools, it would cost him 6000gp in materials instead of 4000gp... which is a 2000GP loss.

Mostly Aiden dreams of having a bunch of these toolsets for his different crafts because he loves making 'cheap' gifts for people - like Misha's masterwork leather armor - but he knows he needs to be devoting his best time to making his commissions, which are too complex and trial-and-errorry to be made in this way. With such tools, he'd be able to crank out a masterwork harp in an hour instead of a week (for 50GP instead of 33GP) - which means he could be generous with his giving but still devote most of his time to artificiery.

So I guess he needs to go to the library next, and start researching. Hoo boy.

[WindStruck]

"Wasteful" as it does "seem", it actually is a very great way to make money if you're taking orders in bulk.

You could spend weeks to painstakingly make a masterwork harp. Or, if you made a great name for yourself and your products became in high demand, you could churn them out at an extremely accelerated rate.

So let's say originally you sell at item for 1000gp but it takes you like two weeks to make it. Yes, you were more efficient on materials, and during those two weeks you therefore made a profit of 660 GP.

Now with your Amazing Tools of Manufacture, you only get 500 GP profit for that item, but in the course of two weeks you can make FOURTEEN of them. In that timespan, you could make 7,000 GP, as opposed to the measely 660 GP previously.

It's very win-win with very little downsides, I'd imagine, unless you have nothing better to do and you don't consider your own time valuable, or the materials themselves are exceedingly rare and hard to come by.

[MrAbdiel]

This is all true stuff, Windstruck! Admittedly, I am minimising its potency some because I can see how world breaking something like that can be out to its full effectiveness. Mostly I just want to be able to spontaneously make folks a masterwork end table or whatever without losing a week of work time! With the spirit of this game being about the artificiery, I’m pre-acknowledging that I won’t use such an item, if acquired, to force DeTess to contrive of some kind of limitation so I’m not rolling in dough!

[DeTess]

This is all true stuff, Windstruck! Admittedly, I am minimising its potency some because I can see how world breaking something like that can be out to its full effectiveness. Mostly I just want to be able to spontaneously make folks a masterwork end table or whatever without losing a week of work time! With the spirit of this game being about the artificiery, I’m pre-acknowledging that I won’t use such an item, if acquired, to force DeTess to contrive of some kind of limitation so I’m not rolling in dough!

I'm already imagining a scene where a representative of the instrument makers guild stops by with some goons to explain stuff like dues, quotas and protection fees while his goons look on threateningly XD

But yeah, between actual demand for luxury items and other craftspeople raising a stink you might run into trouble if you use it too much for pure profit generation, though those would not be insurmountable.

Do you need me to set up the archives visit?

@windstruck, do you need me to set up any scene for you?

[MrAbdiel]

That might be a good next scene. I'm not sure he'll prove any good at researching things, but if he flubs it, this is the kind of project he can consult with Bolten on to discover that, ultimately, he is too poor to finance it right now! :D

[WindStruck]

@windstruck, do you need me to set up any scene for you?

I don't think so. I think for now, Shandara is going to want to look into making a spell: a barrier that keeps out water.

I think the first place to go to are the archives, to see if such a thing already exists, and if not, figuring out the best way to go about this.

Arcana: (1d20+19)[21] (with library bonus)

Spellcraft (1d20+16)[30] or (1d20+16)[19] (investigative mind)

[DeTess]

You find that a lot of research has been done on this field with force effects, and there are functional spells for holes up to about a square foot. For larger holes though there has not been a functional spell yet. Any design either requires too much power to easily cast, is too weak to keep water out during storms, or does not last long enough to fix the hole. You could take another crack at it, but it'll be tough to improve on what has come before.

However, you find no designs using ice, as Aiden suggested, so there might be options there if you could design a spell to control the growth of the ice.

[DeTess]

@mrabdiel, feel free to roll me a knowledge(local) for Aiden (and/or refer to the lore snippets at the start if this thread).

[WindStruck]

Would a barrier that only repels water and keeps it out need more power, less power, or equal power compared to just a plain old shield or force effect that effectively blocks EVERYTHING?

In other words. A barrier that stops water from passing through it, but you could pass other objects through.

Also, would it help if Shandara's idea was optimized for ocean water, specifically?


(another question: Was the most important roll here arcana, or was it the spellcraft?)