tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post1789722769492846572..comments2023-10-08T08:54:40.079-04:00Comments on LARP Ohio: Permanent ItemsTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17437406306299325645noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-46584259158816907912011-03-28T04:06:07.490-04:002011-03-28T04:06:07.490-04:00I love the stuff Dan and Mickey have shed light on...I love the stuff Dan and Mickey have shed light on with the "Mirror Mirror" game and its "Signature Items" concept - very cool.Mike Ennishttp://warweb.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-31668388849880467642011-03-25T21:17:23.232-04:002011-03-25T21:17:23.232-04:00At NERO Elkins, we have ten "permanent" ...At NERO Elkins, we have ten "permanent" items in play. They are ten artifacts directly linked to the in-game culture and are supposedly ancient inherited items. However, they are LCO, and every 2 years their magic must be "renewed". Yes, this renewal is done by NPC casters, but the items are important to the culture. Some are in PC hands, some NPC hands. They are limited to these 10 items.<br /><br />In another game I've played, there are permanent items, because the magic system is supposed to allow any effect or enchantment the caster can imagine and adequately explain. However, the more complicated the enchantment or effect, the more magical energy he must raise by destroying components, casting at the right phase of the moons, performing longer rituals, getting help from additional casters, etc. I don't think permanent items have ever been an issue, mainly because of the small player base, maybe 20 active players total.MajikPiGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08631345749685677035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-91962066285750481922011-03-25T18:00:36.767-04:002011-03-25T18:00:36.767-04:00Am I the only one that thinks the new mandatory it...Am I the only one that thinks the new mandatory item limit totally sucks balls? Not are my items so prohibitively expensive that it's absolutely unheard of to make anything other than weapons and shields, and not only do they evaporate after 6-20 uses, but now even if I somehow manage to work my ass off and collect a bunch of them, I have to use a clunky, obnoxious mechanic to switch them on and off? Seems really lame to me.omegacowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10332142701713064178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-28016032907301492862011-03-25T13:25:05.920-04:002011-03-25T13:25:05.920-04:00The more you know!The more you know!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10979935681444364292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-62024233814956340292011-03-25T12:12:31.799-04:002011-03-25T12:12:31.799-04:00"Summoned, I come" - Delenn
To translat..."Summoned, I come" - Delenn<br /><br />To translate into NERO terms, Mirror Mirror also has a three slot system and your signature item is spiritlocked (and I believe is always "active").<br /><br />One of the little known bits of NERO history/cosmology is that when they introduced expiration dates (in the mid-late 90s) as a requirement they also invented an IG reason as to why items expire now. So it's not that items legendarily didn't last a long time, it's that there is a modern "curse," basically, that makes them degrade now.Mickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08410370955403380206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-18160222305889509092011-03-25T12:06:14.717-04:002011-03-25T12:06:14.717-04:00I think that would actually be pretty cool. The Ac...I think that would actually be pretty cool. The Accelerant game Mirror Mirror (at which Mickey is a staff member) has a system called "signature items" to represent things like your family sword, a personal wand, artifacts from your character history, etc. You spend character points on your signature item, and you can't have more than one. And you should really have a cool prop for it too. <br /><br />We are essentially talking about a new type of *skill* - and this exists outside of the current treasure distribution system. Good food for thought.Dan Chttp://nerology.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-17460955586265522822011-03-25T11:58:34.496-04:002011-03-25T11:58:34.496-04:00I don't even know if you need that from a bala...I don't even know if you need that from a balance perspective, its not a bad idea but it may overcomplificate the situation...Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437406306299325645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-84435897477931892112011-03-25T11:54:10.090-04:002011-03-25T11:54:10.090-04:00What if to achieve a Permanent MI you had to spend...What if to achieve a Permanent MI you had to spend build on it, like in D&D where you have to spend XP. Would that help equalize the power game and add the coolness of legacy weapons?Michael Conleyhttp://www.northcoastnero.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-55730028053997863112011-03-25T11:28:08.980-04:002011-03-25T11:28:08.980-04:00I think I have floated that as an idea in the past...I think I have floated that as an idea in the past too, that makes sense. Removes the legacy component but adds a control.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437406306299325645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-83335431350328396602011-03-25T11:19:47.432-04:002011-03-25T11:19:47.432-04:00Even still, there's a lot of games going on.
...Even still, there's a lot of games going on.<br /><br />Let's assume there are 150 people playing NERO every weekend for 3/4 the year. That's 11700 game days a year. At 500 game days per, that's 23 permanent items. Even at 1000 game days per, that's 11 permanent items per game. <br /><br />If I were to add permanency, I would pair it with spirit locks or something so that it could only be used by a single person. That would prevent hoarding or item inflation.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10979935681444364292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-26120798511441146632011-03-25T11:08:55.564-04:002011-03-25T11:08:55.564-04:00That is a fair number of items but the other part ...That is a fair number of items but the other part of the proposal is that the formal system needs to be constantly updated. I don't really care how many items you have, we can scale for items, I just want you to continue to want more items. Your power is still capped by the 5 limit cap.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437406306299325645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-48796071524242906572011-03-25T11:00:05.500-04:002011-03-25T11:00:05.500-04:002 permanent items per year per chapter still is st...2 permanent items per year per chapter still is still something like 400 items in 5 years. If NERO does not grow between now and 2021, there may be a thousand permanent items in the game by then. And those items won't be equally distributed, they'll only be in the hands of level 30+ characters who were around when they were created. <br /><br />Plot teams constantly pour treasure into the game economy, but they don't take stuff back out - this, and our game's longevity makes item decay logistically necessary.<br /><br />If the story has need of a permanent item, plot can create a non-expiring LCO artifact. But this sort of thing is always anchored to a story and thereby serves narrative, not gamist goals.Dan C.http://nerology.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-72470970369205867732011-03-25T10:39:27.352-04:002011-03-25T10:39:27.352-04:00I can dig your hesitancy, but seriously if one per...I can dig your hesitancy, but seriously if one permanency catalyst goes out per 500 game days that is a max of probably 4 per year. You can make all castings in dark territory and have a possibility of destruction of the catalyst on the flaw table to get the probability down to 1 per year, 20 years will still not be enough to make them commonplace.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437406306299325645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7781060643507162251.post-57535242391883585852011-03-25T10:30:35.741-04:002011-03-25T10:30:35.741-04:00There are a lot of assumptions about how magic ite...There are a lot of assumptions about how magic items are supposed to work which we inherit from other fantasy lit. And honestly, we have to ignore a lot of that because our MI system is dictated by gameplay, not story. And that's a good thing! You're right that from an immersion POV, it doesn't make sense that Excalibur would expire. But perhaps King Arthur has to quest to renew the enchantment every two years?<br /><br />No matter how strictly you limit the number of permanent items into the game, 20 years from now they will be commonplace. NERO made this mistake in the past, that's why there was a big item pop in 2000. Given, this was a time when there was no item cap, and items could have more effects.. A guy I know has a permanent 25 effect item which has been "grandfathered" by his plot team. When I teased him about it, he got really indignant about the trials he had to go through to "earn" it... (a mod arc) back in 1995.<br /><br />From a story point of view, the magical effect is not necessarily what's important about the item. I used to know a guy who fought with a "family heirloom".. I asked him (in-game) how he managed to maintain a blade for longer than two years. He said that every so often he has to take it to a smith and have him work on it [ie issue a new tag], and take it to some mages to renew the damage aura, but it's still the same sword [prop] his grandfather fought with. This is a permanent item, in a sense - it has a legacy, a recognizable appearance, and a role in his personal story. The tag is kind of irrelevant.Dan Chttp://nerology.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com