Boon idea power bestowal

Rules Discussion House Rules
1

Hi i came up with this idea for a boon based on a imbueder class styled boon (enchanter of items not people) which ive always wanted to try i will likely be running the game as apose to playing but thought i could give my players this option to try out

Feed back would be apriciated and i know my spelling is terrible if any clarification is required let me know

I am aware their is a create extraordinary items feat and that would work well to acompany this but this is designed for the short boost in encounters where a imbuder/enchanter hasn’t the time to sit and craft

Thankyou

bestowal
Power level: 3/5/7
Duration: sustain persists
Invocation time: 1 major action
Attribute: creation, alteration, logic, learning

Description: you can grant power to those who need a boost, giving the target the ability to wield something extraordinary
whether a magical imbueder who can place power within a weapon conjuring fire upon an ally’s sword or a tech-savvy space farer who can alter the output of a laser rifle to freeze instead of burn your abilities grant others immeasurable power depending on your attribute score

Effect:
You bestow power on to an item, weapon or armor temporarily granting it a unique power based on the level at which this boon is invoked

Power level 3:

Combat - you bestow power upon a weapon or armour you or an ally is using

  • Weapon: choose one damage type the weapon does not currently posses it gains that damage type as long as the boon persists

  • Armor: you grant the wearer a +1 bonus to a single defence while the armor is worn

  • Item you bestow power upon an item, weapon or garment to enhance the users capabilities when making a non-attack action roll while using or waring the item (if clothing/armour) the wielder can re-roll 1 instance of a 1 rolled an any attribute dice while the boon persists

Power level 5:

  • Weapon: when you invoke this boon choose one attribute the wielder of the weapon gains access the chosen attribute for as long as the boon persists the power level of this attribute is equal to the invoking attribute minus 1 they also gain access to any banes that can be invoked by the attribute

  • Armour: when you invoke this boon choose one attribute the wearer of this armour gains access to the chosen attribute for as long as the boon persists the power level of the attribute is equal to the invoking attribute minus 1 they also gain access to any boons this attribute grants

  • Item: while using the item the wielder can treat their attribute as if it is one higher for the purpose of determining attribute dice as long as the boon persists

Power level 7:

  • Weapon: the attribute score you can now grant is equal to the invoking attribute

  • Armor the attribute score you can now grant is equal to the invoking attribute

  • Item while using the item the wielder can now automatically succeed on any non-attack action that has a challenge rating of (10 + the wielders attribute score)

2

This boon is all over the place. The options thing is generally not a good idea, especially when it is switching from weapon to armor to allowing re-rolls (which is a akin to a Legendary item’s property)

You were correct in mentioning about craft extraordinary items, b/c they are similar to that, and there is a reason some of those things are just there on crafting.

Several of these can be emulated by existing boons too.

  • Weapon damage type can be something the GM can allow via Bolster, as it isn’t too powerful of a thing overall, but it does give versatility, and should be limited as makes sense via the attribute used for bolster
  • Resistance gives an increase of defense, as do things like Haste and Invisible
  • Allowing a re-roll of 1s should definitely be left to an item and not a boon
  • Shapeshift can give access to another attribute, though at PL 7 for extraordinary, and for reasons, as that starts to get quite powerful. Leaving it as a damage type change is better than just giving a player a whole other set of banes/boons they have to figure out via a new Attribute
  • Giving access to higher dice is very impactful and left to Feats.
  • Auto success for any and all boons is very powerful as well, and is usually left to feats or items which are costly

Summary

Boon is too powerful and too versatile overall. If you are wanting more things to craft, look at doing something to change that instead.

I have a system that allows my players interesting in crafting to potentially create more than 1 consumable/expendable item in that 8 hour period, and allowing haste (if someone else is sustaining or boon focus 3) to shorten the time.

By just adding your own flavor/fluff to existing boons, you can achieve some of the results above already.

3

Thank you for the idea of flavoring bolster with damage types i hadn’t thought of that i get resistance give bonuses to defences but that covers all defences but only for a specific type but that makes sense

However i think you mis under stood the last section the item empowerment doent grant automatic success on boon invocations but to skill check action roles

as to the break down options the it was the best way to single out/limmit some of the effects

This is a first draft which i hope to improve upon but i am not looking for crafting option this was built for the idea that crafting is not always an option for instance a desert or arctic waste and the re-role only applies to 1 attribute dice as apose to the legendaries d20 but i can see what you mean about the re-rolling being fairly powerful but that same concept could be place on a crafted extraordinary item for just a mild increase in wl

I can see where you comming from though with it being all over the place though as its a dificult idea to create the only other problem is that if you specialize in all the options to grant all those boon you end up spread really thin and incapable of most of them including the crafting thankyou though ill bare it in mind as i look to revise it

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4

Non-Attack just applies to Damage Attack and Bane Attacks, not to Boon invocations. If you mean out of combat actions altogether, well, you honestly don’t need that. If there is no stress (time constraints, battle, looming threat, etc) you usually should not be requiring a roll to do a task b/c of every roll matters. If there isn’t anything stopping the character from just rolling again, then no roll is needed.

Otherwise, you can have someone just do a generic action roll to provide aid/advantage, but then again, pretty much everyone in the party can do that, and at that point, is there a roll that is needed at all?

Unfailing actually applies to all dice rolled, and isn’t technically a re-roll, but it is the same concept.

Though just having Advantage to a roll is essentially giving a re-roll since you have an extra dice there now, except it is a re-roll for any number that comes up on the attribute dice, and then you are pretty much just looking at Bolster again.

Indeed, it is there to maintain balance. Having 1 boon that does all the things, you can just take Boon Focus and be happy. Whereas if it was like the current boons, you have to take Boon Focus more than once.

Believe me, I would be very happy to have a character and just make 1 Boon that does what 3 or 5 boons do, and then grab Boon focus 2/3 in it.

5

NOW

However, as a Crafter, you can create all sorts of interesting items to do things for you, and focus in just 1 attribute (Creation).

You can make interesting and unique items (after approval from the GM of course that they work for the setting and you could gather/make the ingredients needed).

Minor Enhancing Mana
Speedy Chocolate Chip Muffin

  • Maybe you are good at baking treats for everyone

Wand of Deadly Magical Weapon

  • Notice with this one I like to make items that have drawbacks too, makes them more flavorful, plus you might not want to always use them.

Plus, focusing on other attributes, you could use boons/banes/attacks with it, but describe the flavor/fluff of your attacks/boons as putting together strange materials really quickly to craft them into an attack or aid

6

I see what you mean the boon does cover a wider area than intended i looked over it several time and dobble check some of the core rules it turns out the re role almost equates to advantage but alot weaker i tested that with my dice but over powered if used in conjunction with a dice explosion again tested

As for the crafting that is one of the main draws about the rule set as it was far more excepting than the other rpgs and well constructed the thing that i also accounted for in some part as i hate things without some form of flaw as without flaws everything is just too over powered i managed it for all bar the armor
The disarm bane nullifys any use of the boon as you target a wielded item As well as the nullify bane for general i also debated reduccing duration to single use or attack but thought that with multi- targeting it would just render that mute

Thankyou for all your points though i get that this is probably to much of a catch all also could you post the multi craft of consumables you spoke of earlyer i was curious but forgot to ask

I also forgot to mention that not being in combat doesnt alway mean free from presure their can still be time constraints

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7

Also on a side not i thought about the attribute spreadding an it played into/ reminded me or my main favored part of this system that leveling up doesnt necicerily mean you more powerful it can mean you’ve just become more equipped/developed at executing your skills so a natural progression for an imbueder would be bolster and resistance coupled with supirior concentration and bane/boon focuses

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8

Indeed, I included that too with the items in the parenthesis, and the mention of doing a Generic Attribute Roll to provide aid to the situation.

Lots of ways to handle that of course.

Crafting Extraordinary Consumable or Expendable Items

This is something for Consumable/Expendable items, allowing you to craft more than 1 in a sitting. You end up rolling with the Attribute that makes sense (typically what gave you the ability to have the Feat, or the Attribute the item is using):

In theory you can make a consumable item in 8 hours, though it seems to indicate that means only 1. I don’t like that as much, so I’ll let you roll what you craft with (Attribute) to determine how many.

You can Craft a number of consumable items based on the following Challenge Ratings:

1 +
1 = CR 22
2 = CR 24
3 = CR 26
4 = CR 28
5 = CR 30

This means a minimum of 1 item, and a max of 6. The reason for 22 starting CR is you need an attribute of 5 to get Craft Extraordinary, and the average for a Score of 5 is 20. So to get more than 1, you need higher than that.

Depending on what you are crafting and what makes sense from your background or the narrative, I might allow you to roll with advantage.

If you are hasted (by someone else sustaining) PL 6 during that time, I could allow you to do it in 4 hours (so potentially 2 different crafts in 8 hours)

Hasted PL 8 could allow 3 different crafts in 8 hours (roughly 2.5 hours per crafting)

Alternatives

  1. If what you are crafting is at your max WL you can craft then you can only make 1
    • Furthering this, you can only craft a max of the difference in your Max Craftable WL and the WL of the item + 1
    • This just depends on your setting and how much you want someone to be able to craft
  2. For haste, PL 6 reduces crafting time down to 6 hours, and PL 8 reduces it down to 4 hours
    • For the person sustaining haste, like for any boon being sustained over such a long period of time without Boon Focus 3, I would require them to do Will or Fortitude rolls to be able to maintain it the whole time. As GM, you could make it be every 2 hours, or every 4 hours, or whatever makes sense to you. Things like the Ascetic Perk could aid in prolonging.
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9

I suppose I’ll also post my potion duration idea since it goes along with this.

Most potions would require, RAW, for the imbiber (drinker) to sustain the boon if it was a sustain persists boon.

I like the flavor of the potion sustaining it instead. This could result in you wanting to increase the WL of the item though, but in most of my worlds, this is how consumables work (not just potions, but things like baked goods that give effects, etc).

For some potions, it may be allowed that the imbiber (drinker) has to sustain the effect. However, below is a possibility so you do not have to sustain the effect, but it just persists on its own.

The length of time a potion lasts is determined by the users fortitude (or other applicable Attribute as determined by the GM) as follows:

1 hour +
CR 12 = 1 hour (2 total)
CR 16 = 2 hour (3 total)
CR 20 = 3 hour (4 total)

Do not take more than 1 in a 4 hour period of time. If more than 1 is taken before 4 hours have passed, any number of the following may occur as determined by the GM (note, could be positive and/or negative depending on how kind or cruel your GM wants to be at the time… and also what might make sense for the given item):

  • Double the Effect of the Potion
  • Persistent Damage 6 (1d8)
  • Persistent Damage 2 (1d4) as Lethal Damage
  • 1 level of Fatigued
  • Incapacitated until the item has worked its way through the system (4 hours)
  • Additional Advantage
  • Anything else the GM can think of as relative

Consuming more than 2 within 4 hours most certainly can result in Finishing Blows as the GM sees fit.

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10

I like the idea of including the possibility for hasting a character while crafting that adds a uniques spin and i get the challenge rating ruling as 2d6 has a high average also i’d like to ask you about the summon creature boon i’ve noticed in small test simulations the majority of them can be killed within the round of being summoned while they cant take action ive thought of countering this with barrier/ darkness boon to obscure them but to you have any other ideas for aiding that as the low defence and low hit points make sense they are essentially minion class so i don’t wish to edit it and buff their stats

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11

Ps thankyou for all the help and feedback hope i can contribute something more substantial in the future

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12

Summon is powerful b/c of action economy, so to balance that power, they are quite easy to kill.

However, here’s the thing. Even if they get killed, they just served their purpose, b/c instead of targeting the players, that enemy just “wasted” their Major Action attacking the summons instead.

It’s a little up in the air for some as to whether the summons can do a defend action before their turn comes up, personally I allow it, so there is always the possibility that they still can stay up vs an attack, and then move and be ready to provide flanking or get in the way of someone and risk them provoking an attack of opportunity.

The other reality is that

  1. You can summon before an encounter (if waaaay before, you might be required to do some fortitude/will rolls to maintain the sustaining actions)
  2. You can summon them behind people, behind objects, out of sight, at a weird angle where the enemy might not even notice them
13

everything ends up contributing, even if they specific thing you offered is shown as not the best, it started a conversation for others to see and consider.

14

Thankyou for the tips with the summoning to :slight_smile: im hopping to dm soon so ive been trawling the core rule book i got, the comunity pages and running senarios to help me best advise my group when they try this as i know they can be quiet creative so when they ask id like to be as inform as possible to help them understand what they can do

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