Enchanting daggers

[wallydubbs]

So I was wanting to get the opinion of other questers on here of this idea I had:
I'm thinking about giving the Wizard a unique ability of enchanting regular daggers into becoming Magical Throwing Daggers. This probably wouldn't fly too well on the European circuit since most monsters only have 1 BP.

Anyway, I was just wanting feedback. For the North American version, do you think it might make The Wizard too powerful or does it seem reasonable? The Wizard will need to give up his action for that turn and any 1 spell to enchant the dagger. He may only do this once per quest. The dagger will be lost after throwing it.

[torilen]

I would say make it something done in between quests, if they are allowed to go back to town.
(i.e. not quests that just run right back to back into one another - most of KK is like that)

The wizard and/or his companions would have to find or buy the daggers, and I would say
he/she would need some special material, either bought or found during quests, in order
to enchant them. This would make the wizard work for the ability to do so.

Alternatively, make it a new spell, the wizard gets it every quest and can do it once per
quest, like you were thinking, and it would take a turn, just like casting any other spell.
The spell only lasts through the end of the quest - so if a dagger is enchanted right at the
beginning of the quest and does not get used, it is not enchanted for the next quest.

I might suggest, if you are going to make it a spell, there should be some amount of a chance
for failure. Almost every single spell in HQ allows for a failure at some point. Perhaps the
wizard rolls a number of dice equal to his or her Mind Points and has to roll a certain number
of skulls or white shields. Perhaps it would be a simple red die roll and he/she has to roll a
certain number or higher.

Perhaps the dagger gets a chance to defend. hahahaha

[clmckay]

I can't really imagine this being a problem (in NA Body Point system) no matter what sort of implementation you decide on.

I would certainly stick with the need to already have a dagger available to enchant.

For this, you could do a spell like any other. It's easier from a tracking perspective (I've got the card and a dagger, I can do this). I wouldn't require any sort of special material other than the dagger, that gets too involved for my tastes (then you have to figure out where they can get the material, etc). I think you would need to know your group to decide on whether or not to make the dagger lose its enchantment at the end of the quest. I'd say that certainly could fit flavorwise, but how prone are they to stockpiling? If your player would rack up 5 daggers and then unload them all at once you could have a problem, but only one or two wouldn't be that big of a deal, especially as it would be a single throw per turn.

I like the idea of a chance for failure, that seems part and parcel of HQ and could help with any tendency to stockpile. I made an artifact called the "Enchanter's Toolkit" at one point. It allowed the wizard (or someone with 6+ mindpoints) to etch runes onto a weapon to enchant it. I use the colored dice, so in my card it upgraded the color of dice the weapon used. The toolkit only had enough supplies for a couple uses, or a chance to break (I need to look it up, I can't remember). My wizard player had one for awhile that I had placed in a quest. He seemed to like it, however we moved onto to less difficult quests and so when it was gone I saw no need to replace it for him.

If you are concerned about the risk of stockpiling, I would maybe consider going the artifact route instead. That way you have an out if it becomes problematic.

That's the beauty of this game, you can easily upgrade and downgrade power and difficulty as needed, all to make for the most enjoyable experience for your players.

[Nicodemus]

I agree that the Wizard should have daggers purchased from the weaponry to perform the action. What about also adding one or both of the following options:

i. The Wizard can enchant a number of Daggers to become Magical Throwing Daggers up to a maximum based on the number of unused spells he had at the end of the previous Quest
ii. The Wizard can choose to start the next Quest one less Spell for each additional Dagger that is enchanted beyond the maximum above.

Basically this lets the Wizard trade off Spells that are often less useful for a guaranteed BP of damage.

Perhaps also limit it such that Daggers enchanted this way only function for the upcoming Quest and then the magic dissipates and they become normal Daggers once again. Otherwise the Wizard could end up with a massive stockpile of these

~N

[mitchiemasha]

It could be another feature of the Sorcerers table, handy for enchanting scrolls with a know spell during a quest. Some (later game) could even be trapped or cursed via the quest notes. A nice little shock for the wizard who gets used to spending his action at no risk of losing a mind point. Now he'll have to roll to evade what ever fluff we've added to satisfy the story.

A trade off for spells is a good idea and yes, the magic would need to dissipate to prevent stock piles.

[Anderas]

I like the idea.

You need some consumable, in this case a dagger, and you need a special spell or tool. So it is not at all cheap. Still it allows the Wizard some more participation in the monster heavy late quests.

This could be a skill card @clmckay. One more for the collection.

[The Admiral]

Yep, good idea, but I agree that this is something to be done when a trip to the shops is allowed. I would assign a cost to enchant a normal dagger. I would say 100 gold coins, but that is a personal choice.

[Stoner81]

In my rules I changed the artefact of Magical Throwing Dagger (I named it Return to Sender) in that it returns to the thrower each time but it can be used by anybody. I would suggest perhaps limiting the enchanted version to only be useable by the Wizard or have it roll 1 Combat Die for attack instead of it automatically inflicting 1 BP of damage.I restricted the distance that thrown weapons can be thrown by doubling the Hero's current body point score and rounding down where needed.

Just spit balling some ideas



Stoner81.

[wallydubbs]

Alternatively, make it a new spell, the wizard gets it every quest and can do it once per
quest, like you were thinking, and it would take a turn, just like casting any other spell.
The spell only lasts through the end of the quest - so if a dagger is enchanted right at the
beginning of the quest and does not get used, it is not enchanted for the next quest.

I might suggest, if you are going to make it a spell, there should be some amount of a chance
for failure. Almost every single spell in HQ allows for a failure at some point. Perhaps the
wizard rolls a number of dice equal to his or her Mind Points and has to roll a certain number
of skulls or white shields. Perhaps it would be a simple red die roll and he/she has to roll a
certain number or higher.

Yes, I like this idea, for a chance of failure. I'm thinking enchanting the dagger could fail; the Wizard would need to roll a combat dice when enchanting it, if a black sheild is rolled the spell is lost and the dagger rusts.
Of course, I should have mentioned the Wizard would have needed to buy a dagger first. I wasn't suggesting he pull one out of air.

I agree that the Wizard should have daggers purchased from the weaponry to perform the action. What about also adding one or both of the following options:

i. The Wizard can enchant a number of Daggers to become Magical Throwing Daggers up to a maximum based on the number of unused spells he had at the end of the previous Quest....

Basically this lets the Wizard trade off Spells that are often less useful for a guaranteed BP of damage.

Perhaps also limit it such that Daggers enchanted this way only function for the upcoming Quest and then the magic dissipates and they become normal Daggers once again. Otherwise the Wizard could end up with a massive stockpile of these

This is good too, asides from the stockpile option. I'm trying to avoid that by allowing him to do this only once per quest. If he uses saved up spells from previous quests this'll give him too much of an edge. Plus daggers are only 25 gold, it would be kinda cheap of him to do that. Generally the Wizard stays out of combat, but this would allow him to be more useful in a combat scenario.

[mitchiemasha]

Admiral. I wouldn't add a coin cost to enchanting a dagger. That does seem to fit to me.

The combat dice fits well. BS and it's gone so is the spell, possibly -1 Mind... What about Skull / Shield? If discarding a spell it can be done anywhere for the cost of your action. If at a Sorcerers table, no need to discard the spell.

A good way to introduce the mechanic would be upon discovering a Sorcerers table with in a home brewed Quest. When the room is searched, the quest notes are revealed. Now the Wizard knows of this ability.