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 For those who are afraid of spoilers, worry not - most of the secrets in Bastion will not be published until players figure it out themselves.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