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Decide if you die or they die!

 

Working through magical items for Noggin's Adventure Gear, we're knee-deep in the iterative design of progressively beneficial magic items. These progressive bonuses are like a paper bag stuffed with design pitfalls, mainly because these items evolve with the player, and predicting the endless combos of player choices is like trying to guess what your cat will do next – pretty much impossible. So, let's set the scene: I aimed to craft items that hand the reins over to the players. Passive perks or Active Abilities for magical items? Great stuff. But, they didn't quite scratch my itch to weave mechanically incentivized roleplaying into the fabric of these items. I needed a fresh angle to bake a 'risk and reward' decision into each item like a sneaky chocolate chip in a cookie.

 

Now, if players hit the jackpot, their item will boast more than just a passive perk, like a stat boost or extra damage. It might have a spell or a minor ability that they can fire up a certain number of times. Sure, there are items out there with a simple, binary decision-making process. But their decision tree lacks the zing of risk or reward – it's all about timing. Is now the moment to unleash your item's power? If yes, then whoosh, off we go into magical item extravaganza. If not, well, your magical item just keeps gathering fantasy dust in the back of your mind, living there rent-free.

 

I wanted to add a dash of risk and reward to these items. I'm not the first to tread this path, but I aimed to weave a more nuanced decision tree into the mix. Let's dive into my mutated mechanical creations with the excitement of a six-year-old on Christmas morning. The two mechanics I cooked up are “Sacrifice for Power” and “Recharge through Roleplay.” This post will dissect “Sacrifice for Power,” and in a future one, I'll spill the beans on “Recharge through Roleplay.”

 

“Sacrifice for Power” is a nail-biter, a table-gasping mechanic allowing players to chop off a chunk of their hit points to activate their item's superpower. These items come with a twisted passive perk, offering the wielder extra oomph. The juicy mechanical drama injection is the active ability, gobbling up a hefty slice of your current or max hit points in exchange for some game-changing powers. I wanted this to be a manic inducing encounter altering decision when used. Choosing to skate on the edge of doom isn't a walk in the park, but that's the price for unlocking this power at your fingertips. And hey, it injects drama into any encounter, at no extra charge for the Game Master.

 

Here’s a teaser item to whet your appetite, and it also gives you a sneak peek of my next blog post about “Recharge with Roleplay.” So, while checking out this item, enjoy the preview!

 

I hope your fireballs land in small rooms with many enemies,

-Jack