Check My Techno-wizardry

[Talavar]

One of my players is a techno-wizard, so I want to make sure I'm understanding the TW creation rules properly. I'll post a few creations, and if people could voice their opinion on whether I'm using the creation rules correctly it would be much appreciated.

First up, a TW lightblade. Now, the one listed in RUE has 3 secondary spells that seem completely unnecessary. Anyone know why blinding flash, energy bolt & globe of daylight are in there? If we compare it to the TW flaming sword, which has the secondary spells circle of flame for duration & impervious to fire to keep the weapon from damaging itself, they don't really seem to serve a purpose. So to my thinking, a TW light blade has 1 spell chain with one primary spell: light blade. It requires the dirt cheap gemstone clear quartz, and if we want the device level (the level the item casts the spell at) to be 6, that would need at least 3 carats of clear quartz. PPE construction cost is PPE x 10 x Device level, then divided by carats used, so 20 x 10 x 6 = 1200/3 = 400 PPE construction cost, maximum. Since quartz is so cheap, you could easily use 10 carats of quarts, and get the PPE construction cost down to 120.

Now, activation cost is Construction cost/20, so that would be 20 PPE max, or 6 PPE if 10 carats are used.

Construction time is PPE construction cost/10 x device level, so 400/10 x 6, or 240 hours , or 72 hours if 10 carats are used.

Construction cost is PPE construction cost x 10 x device level, + cost of gems, or 24 180 credits. If 10 carats are used, that's only 7560 credits.

Is my use of the rules accurate here? Can a techno-wizard really make a melee weapon doing 1d4x10, with +1 to strike, for less than $10 000, with an activation cost of only 6 PPE?

Even if we add in the seemingly pointless secondary spells the item needs according to its RUE listing, you can activate it for 9 PPE, make it in 101 hours, for $12,500, still using the really cheap 10 carats of quartz. That zircon you need for the energy bolt secondary spell drives the cost up a little, but that's still pretty cheap for an awesome melee weapon.

[AlanGunhouse]

Generally speaking, the other spells in the spell chain are indeed required. Explaining why is the hard part, it requires an understanding of the logic of enchantment chains. I think, though I am not certain, that a spell chain requires a number of support spells based on the level of the highest spell in the chain. Really though, calculating the spell chains tends to be the hardest part of the matter because there are no hard and fast rules for it. It is an art, not a mechanical calculation.

When I am designing a spell chain, I tend to throw in every spell that I see as logically related to the effect I am trying to achieve. Better a bit of overkill than an enchantment that unravels due to insufficient links in the chain.

Mind you, I play an Ecowizard, not a Technowizard, but the enchantments are similar in many ways.

[Talavar]

But per the description, the secondary spells in the spell chain are there to modify the effect of the primary spell. In the given example, the TW flaming sword, fire bolt is the primary spell, but because it is instant duration, it needs to be modified with circle of flame for duration, and impervious to fire to protect the weapon itself from its own heat.

There are canon TW items that only have single spells for a spell chain - like the TW Lightning Rod - so it's not like everything needs a bunch of secondary spells tagged on for no good reason. There's no requirment about the number of spells in a spell chain - they're only needed if you're trying to modify the spell effect in the TW item away from what the standard spell version does.

In a TW Light blade, the spell effect already does everything you want it to - it makes a magic sword, with a duration & damage - you're not modifying anything. Blinding flash is pointless - we're not trying to blind anyone; energy bolt is pointless - we're not looking for range or damage; and globe of daylight is redundant - a light blade already is light, what with the double damage to vampires and all. A lot of newer TW items seem to have extra secondary spells thrown into the mix without any sort of reasoning behind them.

Aside from that, is my calculating of this correct? Can you really make a light blade for that little effort & cash?

[AlanGunhouse]

In theory, the secondary spells are optional...it says so in Rifter 21. Blinding Flash is often in any spell chain that involves light to do damage so perhaps there is a reason for it.

[Talavar]

I wonder what the rationale is. In a lot of techno-wizardry, there are understandable reasons for the secondary spell effects, but most writers - particularly of newer stuff - seem to resist giving a TW item only 1 spell necessary. It's not like it's for balance reasons, which I could understand if it was, since it hardly effect the price of many items.

As an aside, I wish the writer of the TW Gem list had put more thought into what spells should be associated with what gems. There are some weak spells associated with expensive gems, and some really powerful spells associated with dirt-cheap gems (like light blade - quartz is stupidly cheap; it should have gone with diamonds).

[Talavar]

There are some weak spells associated with expensive gems, and some really powerful spells associated with dirt-cheap gems (like light blade - quartz is stupidly cheap; it should have gone with diamonds).

The reason's right there. Players start off with really weak spells and have to go find reall expensive gems. When they learn more powerful spells later on they usually don't have any of the cheap gems and have to go get those (people start out not rich, go looking for expensive gems and things, not dirt cheap ones).

But that's not really how it is. Some weak spells are with cheap gems, some strong spells are with cheap gems; some weak spells are with expensive gems, and some strong spells are with expensive gems. It just seems random, and I wish some thought had gone into balancing it. I think emeralds are the second most expensive, at 16 000 per carat, and that's what you need for invisibility simple, while Resurrection needs an agate, at 60 credits per carat. That's cheap enough you could use dozens of carats of agate, and make Resurrection cost just pennies a glass (PPE-wise)!

And if you're rich and powerful, you hardly have to go looking for agate - you hire someone to do that for you. Even if you paid a 100% premium for the convenience, you're still getting off easy compared to someone trying to buy a couple of carats of emeralds.