Item Cosmetic Transformation Spellcrafting

Stana

Scholar
Marshal
Item Cosmetic Transformation states (paraphrased because it's long):

Once this Ritual has been cast on an Item, that Item may have minor alterations performed on it until the Item leaves this Circle of Power or until the next Logistics period, whichever comes sooner. These alterations may be made even if the item is normally Indestructible due to other Rituals. Alterations which may be made include such things as scribing new spells or writing in an otherwise Indestructible book, altering the shape and size of a weapon, shield, or suit of armor (within the limits of its type), or adding mundane upgrades to an item such as Silvering or Strengthening a weapon.

The item's basic type may not be changed - for example, a Blunt weapon may not be made into a Polearm, nor may a Short Sword be made into a Long Sword. A stolen item may not have its physrep transformed using this Ritual, unless the player from which it was stolen chose to keep the original physrep and forfeit their right to attempt to find the item in-game via its physrep. This Ritual may otherwise be used to provide an in-game explanation for a changed physrep on an item, so long as the item's in-game functionality does not otherwise change.


Hello! I notice this ritual is not spellcraftable. Is that intended? I foresaw an incredible use when the ritual was announced to assist players via spellcraft.

Case 1: The traveling player who cannot afford to ship their normal weapon/item/shield reps with them and have to borrow. My tag says "Black and White Kite Shield", but all this is available to borrow is a green coffin shield. That sucks, I can't use my fancy Stalwart Shield ritual this game.

Case 2: My "Silver Longsword with Black Pommel" didn't pass safety check (oops!) or broke mid-game and I don't have materials to repair it. It was a latex sword that accidentally got laid against the heater in the room and melted, and I need to borrow a boffer loaner that is no longer silver. Etc, etc.

Solution: Spellcraft an Item Cosmetic Transformation on it for 5 days to change the look (which has the benefit of stimulating the player economy for spellcraft usage and is a small treasure sink).

I know some chapters make allowances for this for their traveling players, but that is not a guarantee and this opens up a lot of options and may promote traveling. Those chapters that want to can provide this via plot means still!


If this needs to be a more formal proposal I can bubble up to my local owner!

Text Suggestion:

Spellcrafting Difficulty: 1 (Altering Size/Shape only)
Spellcrafting Reagents: 1
Spellcrafting Duration: 5 days
Spellcrafting Incant: I CALL UPON THE POWER OF <aspect> MAGIC TO CRAFT THE ITEM COSMETIC TRANSFORMATION RITUAL
 
I think this would be really cool. I know that is one of the downsides of traveling is not having your shield or weapon and needing to borrow one. While still needing to burrow a phys rep, being able to use your weapon in other chapters would be cool. I would presume it could work if you just had the items tag with.
 
I see no reason for this not to be spellcraftable. The customer service options are great, with no real abuse possible.
 
This would be extremely useful and give a nice ingame feel to a very out of game problem that we face when hosting travelers!
 
It would be useful for travelling players needing a spare rep, but it would also be a logistical nightmare to keep track of what rep goes with what on a regular basis.

Maybe better as an LCO plot effect than a standard ability of the spell.
 
It would be useful for travelling players needing a spare rep, but it would also be a logistical nightmare to keep track of what rep goes with what on a regular basis.

Maybe better as an LCO plot effect than a standard ability of the spell.

That might be a chapter specific issue. In the PNW, we have Spellcrafting tags and Temporary Magic Item tags. No Logistics needed, just a description signed off by a Marshal.
 
It would be useful for travelling players needing a spare rep, but it would also be a logistical nightmare to keep track of what rep goes with what on a regular basis.

Maybe better as an LCO plot effect than a standard ability of the spell.

A way to fix this would be to have the spell crafting requirements include attaching the MI tag to the item. (Not just putting a MI # on it)
 
Might work. My concern logistically is mainly a lost/stolen item that's been cosmetically transformed not getting properly connected to the right tag if picked up.
 
Might work. My concern logistically is mainly a lost/stolen item that's been cosmetically transformed not getting properly connected to the right tag if picked up.

A stolen item specifically cannot be cosmetically transformed:
A stolen item may not have its physrep transformed using this Ritual, unless the player from which it was stolen chose to keep the original physrep and forfeit their right to attempt to find the item in-game via its physrep.

The item in question should still have the requirement of the item number on it, always.
 
Stana - not so much after theft but before.
Yeah, I see what you're saying.

The item should still have it's item number on it. Assuming all parties are following normal protocol for lost/stolen items it shouldn't be an issue, and a [Rogue/Plot/Logistics] marshal should be able to resolve it. I honestly don't foresee it being much more complicated than dealing with these things normally, and I believe the pros vastly outweigh the cons.
 
It's why I say specifically it should have the MI tag and Spellcraft tag attached. Then it has everything without question.
 
Looking into the supposed customer service issue with Item Cosmetic Transformation and nowhere does it say that loaner weapons need to be transformed to be used, that is 100% a chapter decision. If it were spellcraftable, it would turn a player issue into a character issue by making them spend Reagents and High Magic points, which are IG resources, due to an OOG logistical problem. Any chapter can choose to let a traveling player, or one that forgot their rep but still has the tag, use a borrowed phys-rep and most will because, as you stated, it is a customer service issue. I hope this clears up any confusion as to why it is not spellcraftable.
 
Looking into the supposed customer service issue with Item Cosmetic Transformation and nowhere does it say that loaner weapons need to be transformed to be used, that is 100% a chapter decision. If it were spellcraftable, it would turn a player issue into a character issue by making them spend Reagents and High Magic points, which are IG resources, due to an OOG logistical problem. Any chapter can choose to let a traveling player, or one that forgot their rep but still has the tag, use a borrowed phys-rep and most will because, as you stated, it is a customer service issue. I hope this clears up any confusion as to why it is not spellcraftable.

Technically, the spellcraft cost doesn’t need to include any Reagents. While all rituals that can be currenty spellcrafted do have some Reagent cost, it’s not necessarily a rule that it has to.

I think the idea about making it spellcraftable is to have a more thematic IG reason to change the way an item looks. Sure, we already have a solution for how these situations are handled via chapter discretion, but it doesn’t need to be the only one.

Some people just like IG fixes vs OOG ones. :)
 
Don't forget that changes have unintended effects, this would make it much easier to steal a magic item and cosmetic transform it immediately to use a different rep making it much harder to ferret out the culprit.
 
Don't forget that changes have unintended effects, this would make it much easier to steal a magic item and cosmetic transform it immediately to use a different rep making it much harder to ferret out the culprit.

Sure, but we already have a lot of “I wanna be a jerk” options available in our game, and they’re not abused so horribly that we feel the need to remove them from the game.

1) Amnesia
2) Traps
3) While spellcrafting this ritual would be fast, casting the ritual ain’t that long either, especially if you Quicken it.
4) Destroy Magic
5) Spirit Walk
6) Transfer Enchantment
7) Extend Battle Magic
8) Circle Lock

Heck, if I convince a character to take a full strength Endure Elements, I could render them unplayable for actual years by trapping them in a Limited Circle of Power unless rescued by Plot, or even just one year by Paralyzing them, Extending, and burying the body.

Sure, a spellcraftable Cosmetic Item Transform would make thieving more possible, but that just makes Link/Lock/Item Recall more valuable.
 
While all that is true, there is a real out of game aspect to most of the above, while grabbing and swapping out an MI rep means the PC in question is only revealed out of game to plot, so I'd argue there is a significantly lower social factor to that option as it's much more plausible to get away with it without the in game victim knowing out of game what happened.
 
While all that is true, there is a real out of game aspect to most of the above, while grabbing and swapping out an MI rep means the PC in question is only revealed out of game to plot, so I'd argue there is a significantly lower social factor to that option as it's much more plausible to get away with it without the in game victim knowing out of game what happened.

What’s wrong with thievery being feasible in our game, exactly? It’s an aspect that’s actually not discouraged by our system, and there’s a section in our rulebook that specifically guides people on how to be good thieves.

More importantly, as the ritual exists, the scenario you’re proposing will not be less likely simply by the ritual not being spellcraftable. It just means the thieves will either

1) simply hide the rep somewhere it won’t be found until the Player makes the OOG decision to get the expensive rep back and forfeit the ability to identify the MI later

2) make sure their plan involves enough time to cast the ritual, instead of Spellcraft it.

3) I’ll agree that a spellcraftable option would make thievery more possible, sure. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Consider how possible necromancy is via Life Leech. Giving thieves another tool shouldn’t be frowned upon, because thieves are a part of our world, too. Furthermore, it adds a great customer-service solution that’s IG. If your IG word fears this ritual will be used for ill...you can solve that IG by regulating who possesses this ritual.

I don’t see a tool for thieves as a bad thing; I think it’s a catalyst for IG drama and conflict, and that’s actually a good thing.
 
Huh, actually looking into it deeper this is a moot point, I missed the line prevent said action from taking place already. Whoops ^.^
 
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