World Note:  Magic Items

"This tastes like day old oatmeal".  The young dwarf stared intently at the grayish wet lump stuck to his spoon.  "Is this really the best you can do?".  Corin Keymeister looked to his grandfather with a look of both surprise and whimsy.  Playing with the conjured meal was far more beneficial to his spirits than eating it.  The old architect adjusted his girth into his padded chair and signed.  "Well I didn't get this large licking magic spoons, boy".  Finally settled into his chair, the senior Keymeister patted his round belly and smiled as his grandson played with the enchanted spoon.  He could afford the tap and the worthless relic didn't really cost much anyways.  Perhaps not worthless; that spoon had been there only life line when he and Rolan had been trapped in the mines.  For three weeks, they survived by sharing the gray goop the spoon generated.  Perfectly edible and not unpleasant, but after a week their bowels began to let them know that the food wasn't natural.  Magic is something beyond the natural world.  The fact that the mine vermin never came near the spoon should have been a hint.  By the second week, Rolan had suggested using the sloop to bait rats, preferring the flavor of a nice cooked critter over the 'pocus porridge'.  Sadly, the rats wouldn't bite.  After the third week, Keymeister swore he would rather starve.  Luckily, their crew had managed to dig them out before starvation became a reality.

'Grandfather... Can I keep it?".  Keymeister laughed, and his belly jiggled along with his humor.  "Why not, but you'll have to do some chores if you want me to charge it up for you."  Teach them young the value of a silver.  The way he was pulling oats out of that spoon, he would drain the magic in a week or so.  So often, the common folk believe that magic is some limitless form of energy.  They don't understand the effort and sophistication of the Divine Syphons.  Of just how much sacrifice went into constructing the Ley Lines across the isles.  The genius of this arcane infrastructure was the reason he became an architect.  To understand the way the Great Clockwork regulated the flow of 'tap' across the open seas... it was magical, in the old world sense.  Too bad more of the common folk didn't understand.  They don't teach arcane mechanics on the farm... probably because conjured food tastes so awful.

The smiths tend to learn a little.  No good weaponsmith is ignorant to the ways of enchanting, even if it is only how to inlay a Spell Gem.  Corin would be learning this soon.  One of the first skills they taught young architects would be how to recharge a depleted Spell Gem.  Tedious process, but it gets easier.  Keymeister found it meditative; the slow infusion of tap from the lay lines into a ruby inlay.  A couple hours, and the axe would hold an arcane flame for a month.  Eventually the magics would be depleted, but it was good business charging the swords and pistols of soldiers.  Those that had the money could afford whole collections of Spell Gems, swapping them into their weapons as the tasks saw fit, and that money made Keymeister a rich man.

Looking across the floor, Keymeister grimaced as he saw a pile of oatmeal that could drown a rat.  'That's a week wages on the floor, spreading like pig manure on a sunny day' he thought to himself.  Better have that talk about silver soon than later. 

GAME NOTE:

There is no 'permanent' magic in Kindar.  All enchantments and magic items require a steady supply of 'tap' to operate.  Potions, scrolls, wands, and staffs or charged wondrous items are not impacted by these changes as they already have their 'battery' of magic.  Also, the most basic enchantments are also unaffected.  Items like '+1 Weapon/armor' are 'permanent' in that they burn through their enchantment very slowly.  Consider it to be more about enhanced construction than arcane interaction.  A sword is a '+1 sword' because magic was used to hone it to perfection.  The only thing that destroys the magic is corrosion and time.  A '+3 sword' with no further enhancements would be degraded to a '+2 sword' over time, and again to a '+1 sword' until eventually it was nothing more than a corroded masterwork blade.  Repairing the weapon returns the magic.  This allows for interesting discoveries as the play stumbles upon a rusted relic which may turn out to be something of legend.

If an item has an 'effect', that effect requires a 'Spell Gem'.  Gems act as batteries for 'tap'.  Every time the effect  is activated, it uses some of its built in tap.  This can be offset by the player imbuing the item with their own essence.  Every character generates a small amount of unfocused divine tap called 'essence'.  This essence generation is dependent upon their level and their nature.  1 tap per level, plus a tap adjustment based on roleplay (typically + or - 1-3).  GMs should consider how true a character is to their alignment and their deity when providing extra essence generation.  For example, a Lawful Good Deltan who is a devout follower of Alirus may find herself with a +3 essence bonus due to her acts of bravery, charity, and selflessness.  The same Deltan elf who allows others to be harmed, hordes food amongst the hungry, or ignores a crime may find themselves with negative essence.

Every item has a base tap cost per use of its special abilities.  Items which confirm a 'permanent' bonus will have a daily cost they must meet.  If the player can generate enough essence to power all of their items, then there is no power drain.  Otherwise, they begin burning through the Spell Gem inlayed in the item.  A Spell Gem typically contains a max charge equal to the XP value of its creation.

Example:  A 1st level fighter is true to his alignment and deity.  He has an essence of 2 currently as he is not especially pious, but has some karma built up.  This fighter is given a +1 Flaming longsword.  The weapon is fresh from the forge and comes with a ruby Elemental Spell Gem loaded with 320 tap.  If he uses the weapon as a standard +1 Longsword, he has enough essence to power it with 1 left over.  No drain and the weapon will last him a lifetime.  Even if he chooses to fire it up, there is no drain because of his true nature.  'Flaming' adding +1 to the enchantment cost, its safe to say it would cost 1 tap/essence to activate. 

Say now that the fighter defies his nature.  He was normally a brutal, fearsome warrior (Neutral Evil) and he choose not to slay his enemy in order to impress a local tavern girl.  Though he may have won the girls affections, he now doubts himself and has lost a point of essence.  Having only 1 essence, he can power the base enchantment but must burn through the spell gem to activate the flaming sword.  This would cost 1 tap from the gem every round of activation. 

In the same example, suppose it had been a 'Belt of +2 strength'.  The belt would burn 1 point of its spell gem every day it is worn.

Spell gems can be recharged by those familiar with the arcane arts.  The cost is similar to repairing a broken item.  So its important to note that many magic items in the game will come partially burned through or completely drained if they have been in a dungeon for years.  A good arcanist can repair them.