Residuum: A Re-Fluffing

[Dormain1]

Originally Posted by Alkiera
The rebuttal was that Eberron Campaign Setting's Artificer class had this ability in it (called Reclaim Essence), and was released before WoW.

So why not leave it as a specific class ability or feat rather than give everyone the ability to do it?

And anyway it was in Diablo before Eberron

Originally Posted by Alkiera
magic would be way more common if all you had to do was say the right word or write/carve the right message.

The problem common people have using magic is the right sized font and the tone and inflection in the word

It all depend on how you view the creation of items, if the wizard needs to be present during it's creation or if any mage can get a masterwork item and enchant it

 

[Dausuul]

We'll have to agree to disagree, then, as I prefer the 'magical energy' magical systems. As for the sword being a conduit...

*shrug* That's fine. As I said earlier, it's all personal taste. You like the magic energy; I prefer a more animistic feel, which is why I came up with the alternative flavoring I outlined at the start of this thread.

 

[Mort_Q]

So why not leave it as a specific class ability or feat rather than give everyone the ability to do it?

For the same reason that healing is no longer a specific class ability... it's not fun.

The article mentioned different ways of balancing the economy. If you don't like residuum, make the ritual more expensive, or ban it from your campaign.

In either case, I suspect that we'll see an Artificer class at some point that is better than all the other classes with its ability to handle residuum.

Personally, I can't say I care for the name... but I also haven't really read much of the crunch, and none of the fluff.

And anyway it was in Diablo before Eberron

I don't recall that. Maybe I need to find my discs and reinstall. I or II?

 

[Dormain1]

Originally posted Mort_Q
I don't recall that. Maybe I need to find my discs and reinstall. I or II?

II don't you remember the hunt for the gems to make your sword uber

everyone rips from the best source, otherwise its not worth taking

I like the new rules as it allows for more customized characters, and if you make disenchanting a little harder its easy to make a plot or side quest out of the whole experience, I guess I just have to wait til i can see the full rules

 

[RigaMortus2]

The rebuttal was that Eberron Campaign Setting's Artificer class had this ability in it (called Reclaim Essence), and was released before WoW.

People don't seem to understand that little to nothing in WoW is new. Blizzard, in it's entire history, hasn't 'invented' anything... they only recombine and refine, and they are very good at it. They take what they see as the best mechanics, rules, fluff, whatever, from many sources, polish them up a bit, and make a game out of it. The vast majority of the mechanics of WoW were in other games before WoW, just not the same game.

Most of the 'D&D stole X from WoW' people lack the history to see that Blizzard probably slote X from D&D first, and D&D is only stealing from it's own previous editions.

So what exactly did the person in the other thread claim?

Being able to disenchant an item into residium is very similiar to WoW disenchanting. This is true as far as I can tell.

However, iff the person is claiming that WoW invented this concept, then yes, they are wrong.

So, which is it? Did the person simply state that it is a mechanic similiar to WoW disenchanting? (True) Or did they claim that WoW 'invented' that idea/mechanic? (False)

 

[kennew142]

The excerpt made it clear that the GM can leave out residuum altogether if they like. As for the name, I hate it too, but I'll just call it numina, mana or something along those lines. I prefer the magic is energy trope, but if you don't then the OP's suggestion seems a very reasonable alternative.

I'll have to see the ritual write up before I make any decisions, but I'm thinking of requiring flawless gems to hold the numina when it's drawn out of an item. Without a specially prepared container, numina naturally dissipates into the aether. Releasing the numina into a new item destroys the container, thus the cost of the ritual.

Of course I'm pulling this all out of my fundament at the moment and may do something completely different once I've had a chance to read the rules and digest them.

Once upon a time I made every single magic item unique, with a detailed history. Over the years I've become reconciled to the fact that D&D assumes a certain commonality of magic items. Most players expect it, and I've come to not hate it. Players have become used to the fact that items I give out as a GM sometimes grow in power over time. Items they buy or make do not. Items I specifically design for the campaign have a history and are special in ways that other items do not. This makes a two tier (or three tier, if artifacts are included) system for magic items.

 

[Lizard]

Me, I'd like it if it turns out "residuum" (currently winning 'stupidest name in 4e', and with White Raven Onslaught on the table, it has tough competition) is not generic white magic powder, but instead comes in forms. I've always felt material components have been undervalued in magic, especially magic item creation. I'm all for eye of newt and tongue of frog, or three drams of powdered beholder scales.

I'd like a deep, complex, system whereby the "residuum" sucked from a +1 sword can be used to enchant weapons, but not to make a magic ring or a potion. Perhaps all energy has 'taints' or 'favors' which define it. You may need "Residuum Of Blood" to make weapons, "Residuum Of Abjuring" to make armor, and so on. A given item can yield variable amounts of each, ideally in different forms -- solid, liquid, gas. Imagine needing two vials of one type of magic essence, a few ounces of another, and a sealed flask of a third.

Almost certainly, core will be a flavorless system designed for quick sharding of purples. But a third party book could do a lot with this.

Start with renaming it.

 

[theredrobedwizard]

Personally, I like the name residuum. It flows nicely from the Only-Slightly-Post-Dark-Ages folks from the Generic PoL world that brought us Macetail Behemoth and Thundertusk Boar. They just seem like the kind of names that people in those cultures would give to things like that. Residuum, the magical material that's a residue from magical disenchanting. Seems logical to me.

-TRRW

 

[Boarstorm]

I think I'm going to go with Leftoverum, so far as names are concerned.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I'd like a deep, complex, system whereby the "residuum" sucked from a +1 sword can be used to enchant weapons, but not to make a magic ring or a potion. Perhaps all energy has 'taints' or 'favors' which define it. You may need "Residuum Of Blood" to make weapons, "Residuum Of Abjuring" to make armor, and so on. A given item can yield variable amounts of each, ideally in different forms -- solid, liquid, gas. Imagine needing two vials of one type of magic essence, a few ounces of another, and a sealed flask of a third.

I swear I remember something talking about disenchanting a while ago, and the developer said that you couldn't take the material you gained from a ring to enchant a sword. It would have to be another weapon.