The Magical Crafting System is Now Complete!

Hello everyone ~!
I have some great news today - after four days of working nonstop on Bastion, I have completed the magical crafting system that I promised in the last blog post.

"MagiCraft"

Working on potions and magical trinkets in an open-air laboratory

Every single detail that I described in the post has been accounted for -  players can now buy or find components and, depending on their character's skill or class, make some useful magical items to carry around. All of the crafted items are one-use only but the expense it takes to buy the materials is usually around only 50% or sometimes even just 15% of their "store price" counterparts.

There are about 50 different components, 8 sealants, 4 different containers and 2 tools. There are about 50+ different crafted items, only 30 of which will be revealed through conventional means (magical training or common sense). The others will be hidden throughout the module, and I am thinking of even making one or two  revealed through trial and error only (although I doubt any but the most bored, stubborn, die-hard players will go to such great lengths to make a few items, so this point is a maybe).

As I have said before, the basic rules for magic-craft are as follows:
Cantrip Items
- Free to make for anyone, so long as the basic recipe is followed

1st Level Spell Items
- Wizards, sorcerers and bards of any level do not suffer any checks.
- All other classes must pass a spellcraft and intelligence d20 check under a certain difficulty. If the player fails the check, the components will meld together in the wrong way and explode (non-damaging, however, unless there is a demand for more realism). You, of course, lose the components this way and will need more.
- If a book called the "Wizard's Brewbook" is obtained, the player no longer needs a check to make 1st level spell items.

2nd Level Spell Items
- Wizards, sorcerers and bards of any level do not suffer any checks.
- All other classes must obtain a "Wizard's Brewbook" before being able to create any 2nd level spell items.
- When any player that is not an arcane magic user attempts to create a 2nd level spell item, they must undergo a more difficult spellcraft and intelligence d20 check. If the player fails the check, they will botch the combination and the components will explode and be lost.

3rd Level Spell Items
- Characters must have at least 5 combined levels in the wizard, sorcerer, red dragon disciple, palemaster and bard classes before they can successfully create 3rd level spell items. (A level 2 wizard, level 2 sorcerer and level 1 bard, for instance, can create 3rd level spell items - the notion is that they have enough magical experience, if not training, to successfully create these items.)
- Characters without 5 combined levels in the arcane classes will botch the operation and the components mix into an explosion and be lost.
- Non-arcane classes will not be able to create 3rd level spell items. Happily, the components for non-arcane classes will not explode if some coincidence led a character to have an accidental combination. If an arcane magic user coincidentally has the components for a 3rd level spell item before 5 arcane levels, they will explode, unfortunately.

4th Level Spell Items
- Characters must have at least 7 combined levels in the wizard, sorcerer, red dragon disciple, palemaster and bard classes before they can successfully create 4th level spell items. The same rules as before apply.
- Failing to have at least 7 combined levels will cause the components to explode.
- Like before, non-arcane classes will not be able to create 4th level spell items. However, accidentally having the right components will not cause the components to explode for these classes. Arcane magic users under 7 arcane levels will have their components explode.

5th Level Spell Items and higher (at this point, information will be almost copied and pasted)

- Characters must have at least 9 combined levels in the wizard, sorcerer, red dragon disciple, palemaster and bard classes before they can successfully create 5th level spell items and greater. The same rules as before apply.
- Failing to have at least 9 combined levels will cause the components to explode.
- Like before, non-arcane classes will not be able to create 5th level spell items and greater. However, accidentally having the right components will not cause the components to explode for these classes. Arcane magic users under 9 arcane levels will have their components explode.



A few handy tips
If you are going to use a non-arcane class in Bastion's Break and want to create magical items, you will want points in spellcraft, as well as a pair of handy "Gloves of Magical Knowledge" (basically "Gloves of Spellcraft" for non-casters) or a pair of "Greater Gloves of Magical Knowledge" (basically "Greater Gloves of Spellcraft" for non-casters). Having 14 intelligence, the "Wizard's Brewbook," a pair of "Greater Gloves" and 2 spellcraft will allow your crafting to fail only 5% of the time. And of course, even greater statistics in this vein will reduce your failure rate to nothing. Despite not being able to create 3rd level items, you will be able to make some pretty darn useful goodies that other non-casters would never have access to. (Like the "Darkness" spell, cheaper "Invisibility" magic and "Balagarn's Iron Horn," as a little sneak peek.)

I am excited to see the implementation of this system in the greater Bastion plot and gameplay.
And as always, I'd love your feedback.

All the best,
linus

A New System and The Progress of Bastion's Break, Part I

It's been a while since my last blog post, so I've decided to make give you all some updates on exactly how Bastion's Break is coming along.

General Housekeeping


Updates on the General Shape of Bastion's Break
Bastion's Break is split up into three general "chapters." However, in game, there will not really be an indication of where Chapter I ends and Chapter II begins. These "chapters" are simply another way to think about the overall plot of Bastion. Once a core number of players have played the game, I will perhaps, if there is demand, release a descriptive 'manual' on the Bastion's plot and a few hidden secrets. For those who are afraid of spoilers, worry not - most of the secrets in Bastion will not be published until players figure it out themselves.
As a general note:
Chapter I is short, and Chapters II and III pretty much blend into each other, with about the same amount of gameplay hours in each.

Quests
In contrast with the development timeline that I posted about Bastion, I've already begun work on the quests. In fact, this past week, I've just about finished the general programming for the Chapter I. There's around an hour of uninterrupted game-play, and the quests are somewhat unconventional.

A New Magical Item System


Nerfing and Boosting Mages
I am in the middle of incorporating a nice little item-crafting system that will help all classes, but especially mages. Since the module restricts resting to only inns, personal beds and hiding places, these items will be a great boost to mages and add a little bit of fun roleplaying realism.

Sneak Peek
There will be merchants on the central market of Bastion - on a street called Market Square in the Trade Sector - who sell components. Characters who wield arcane magic and who choose to study with a magic-focused organization in the city will learn a series of very useful recipes for a number of single-use magic items, akin to potions, but not limited to potions. There is not an item for every arcane spell, but there are a large quantity of items available. And these are not spell components. Mages can still cast spells normally, but can carry around these items (or the components to create the items on the fly) for the times when they have no spells left.

And for hardcore role-players (like me), I can tell you these items are like magical totems crafted by witch doctors. While the conventional spells cast by wizards, bards and sorcerers are cast from sheer power of soul or from education, these items are the results of when casters use arcane knowledge to make use of the magical properties of everyday (or unique) plants, elements and animals.

An example recipe:
These items must be created with or without a containing object (depending on the item), tools (depending on the item), a sealant and a number of components that range from one to four different components.

The spell "Daze" can be "cast" with an item called a "Vial of fermented scarab."
To create a "vial of fermented scarab," the player will need to have an empty vial, termite saliva (the sealant in this case), a dead scarab beetle and some fungal rot (as well as access to a personal alchemist apparatus).
There are 50 different components, 8 types of sealants, 4 types of containers and 2 tools available.

While all classes can create items that cast cantrips, only mages can combine ingredients without an intelligence and spellcraft check. The breakdown is as follows:


Cantrip items: All classes can create such items without any checks needed.

1st level items: All classes can create such items, but the bard, the sorcerer and the wizard will need no ability and skill checks. All other classes will have to undergo an intelligence and spellcraft check. Rogues do not get to use the "Use Magic Device" skill for this process because these are not class-restricted magical items for which rogues can "pretend" well enough to use. Instead, this process is one of learning and study, and knowing how to act like a wizard will not help when it comes to mixing the components right.


2nd level items: Only the bard, wizard and sorcerer can create these items without aid. All other classes can potentially create level 2 items, but they must have obtained a book called "The Wizard's Brewbook" somehow. If player characters find "The Wizard's Brewbook," they can create level 1 items without any checks, and they can create level 2 items with the previously described intelligence/spellcraft check.

3rd level items: Only the bard, wizard and sorcerer can create these items at all, and only if they manage to obtain a book called "Advanced Arcane Brews."

4th level items and higher: These recipes are secret, but they exist. Arcane magic users can craft these items only if they are of the following levels:
4th level - level 7+
5th level - level 9+
6th level - level 10+
There will be snippets of these recipes lying all around the module.

As usual, I'd love some feedback on what others think of this system.
Some questions that I'd want answered from players are:
- Does this system make magic users too powerful in game?
- Should there be fewer or more components?
- Is this system too complicated for players to use?

Thanks for viewing,

linus