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| Oh actually, I think this part of the game is gonna be easy to write - The Bounce Bracelet in Sonic Generations, Sonic Beyond (2022) |
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Howdy, Farmhands.
Odd-likes (I've made the executive decision to stop name-dropping Cairn as the sole originator of this project, people are making understandable assumptions) tie their magic systems in with their inventory system via the Fatigue mechanic. In many cases, powerful or supernatural abilities are either explicitly One-Time use, or cost a temporary burden filling in an Inventory slot. But also, there are objects that can contain multiple uses of an ability that cost no fatigue, but instead have specific requirements to regain those uses once spent. Do you use up your empty Inventory Slots to cast a spell multiple times? Do you fill your Inventory with single use spells you might never need? Do you bring a spent Relic on your journey in the hopes you can recharge it? And all of this is with the logical concern that you'll come across something important and shiny and need to decide what you take home with you; the stuff you have or the stuff you've just found.
It's honestly an excellent balancer in a game that's all about diegetic advancement.
(For the remainder of this blog, assume any stated Durations, Damage Die, and Charges are placeholders. I'm just throwing numbers out here as examples for now)
Part 1: Relics
"Relics are items imbued with a magical spell or power. They do not cause Fatigue. Relics usually have a limited use, as well as a recharge condition." - Cairn
| ah yes now we are talking |
The Sonic series has a history of including optional collectibles, be they wearable swag, new technology to add to their existing battle mechs, or mystical artifacts that are usually a set of jewels. The specific context varies by game, but generally, these objects are referred to as Upgrades.
- Light Speed Shoes, 3 Charges. A pair of golden sneakers that magnetically pulls the user towards nearby Rings. Recharge: Place a Ring worth at least 100 into each shoe and leave overnight.
- Bounce Bracelet, 1 Charge. A gray metal bracelet with a green power meter on the side, capable of casting Bounce on the wearer. Recharge: Access to a Power Source for 1 Short Rest
- Type-3 Laser Blaster, 3 Charges. A ranged weapon capable of launching explosive missiles (d12, Blast). Recharge: 3 new Rockets and a full tank of fresh Coolant.
Part 2: Spells
"Anyone can cast a spell by holding a Spellbook in both hands and reading the contents aloud. They must then add a Fatigue to inventory, occupying one slot... If the PC is deprived or in danger, the Warden may require a PC to make a WIL save to avoid any ill-effects from casting the spell." - Cairn, again
Magic
exists in the world I'm envisioning for this project, but not
necessarily in the Dungeons & Dragons way, Vancian or otherwise.
This dips a bit into talking about my totally cool fantasy setting I've
imagined, which I'm sure you're all thrilled to hear about, so bear with
me.
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| "This is like taking candy from a baby, which is fine by me" - Shadow the Hedgehog no really he said this once in an official appearance. |
Magical nonsense happens frequently, even if it isn't recognized as such. Rules of reality are casually broken, super strength, flight, and psionic abilities are just born innately in the populace. The
energy that causes these events can be read and measured, with
geographical locations having more or less of it, relative to how weird
the place is. There's no chanting or latin, or even an agreed upon method of categorizing specific phenomenon. There is only chaos, and those who can temporarily control it.
The abilities performed by tapping into that power, then, would be less 'Casting a spell' and more 'Manipulating the Force;' with specific triggers being memorized as Techniques.
- Drop Dash - Fall a vertical distance up to your Movement speed, without harm. Upon landing, jettison an equal distance to your fall in any direction, dealing 1d4 damage to any Creature in your path.
- Homing Attack - Pick a target within range of your Movement speed. You are launched towards that target as part of your Attack Action, without using up your Movement for that round.
- Insta-Shield - A burst of air blocks a single melee attack at the point of contact. If targeted by multiple opponents, take the second highest damage roll instead of the highest.
Part 3: Scrolls
"Scrolls are similar to Spellbooks, however, they do not take up an inventory slot, do not cause fatigue, and they disappear after one use." - Cairn, a third time
This is even easier now that I've sorted out what "Upgrades" and "Techniques" are. Instead of a smaller form, one charge consumable Spell, we can just... HAVE Mario Power-ups.
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| (tired drug joke here) |
- Super Mushroom - You and your possessions grow to 3x your proportional size for 10 minutes.
- Boomerang Flower - Toss it's oddly shaped head at an object up to a distance equalling your movement speed; it will retrieve any loose object that is not Bulky and return to your hand.
- Drill Mushroom - You can burrow into solid stone for 10 minutes., moving through it like water while leaving a tunnel behind you
- Fire Flower - Cast Fireball
Final Part: Other Some-Such
For the sake of the fantasy, some things won't be 1 to 1 between Cairn and the Sanic Hack. Techniques will not be part of a Grimoire, rather being a list of abilities, though they will require Saves to pull off. Power-Ups, unlike Scrolls, will take Inventory space, and their abilities won't be able to be transcribed into a collection for use later; they're one and done.
Likewise, I feel that Upgrades can and SHOULD be Weapons and Armor, but in a significant move away from how Odd-likes usually handle them, they should also be things that can be manufactured. Maybe not easily, lest they lose all credibility, but still something that can be tinkered with and improved in some way. Maybe a particularly tech-savvy PC would want to take an Item or Weapon or what have you, and slowly develop it INTO an Upgrade? I'll put a pin in that for a future blog post.
An Upgrade would need to be highlighted to Players at the table, especially if they're going to be commonplace tech in the context of the world. Mystical Gemstones, sure, they'll notice those. But placing a technological upgrade in an adventure site could lead to players missing them entirely.
I'm afraid I'll just have to take another whack at all of this later on down the line.
Until Next Time,
-Farmer Gadda
