1.12.8 Magical items
If a character is fortunate, he/she may have amongst his/her
possessions, one or more magically enchanted
items.
For wealth calculation purposes, each magical item is considered to have
a monetary value, made up of the total of:
- the (non-magical) value of the item in which the enchantment is
focused (see examples of other possessions),
and
- the monetary value of the magical enchantment that is focused in the
item.
The monetary value of a magical enchantment is based on the
difficulty of the enchantment placed into it
(i.e. the total of the enchantment's Power,
Finesse, Duration,
Range, Area of effect,
Concealment and Investment),
as follows:
| Total enchantment difficulty |
Value |
| Less than or equal to 11 |
2s |
| Per additional point of difficulty up to 20 |
+2s/point, i.e. a difficulty 20 enchantment would be worth 20s (£1) |
| Per additional point of difficulty up to 25 |
+£1/point, i.e. a difficulty 25 enchantment would be worth £6 |
| Per additional point of difficulty up to 30 |
+£2/point, i.e. a difficulty 30 enchantment would be worth £16 |
| Per additional point of difficulty up to 35 |
+£4/point, i.e. a difficulty 35 enchantment would be worth £36 |
| Per additional point of difficulty over 35 |
+£10/point, i.e. a difficulty 40 enchantment would be worth £86 |
The same monetary equivalent rules apply to a character who has
permanent (or long-lasting) enchantments cast over him/her (rather than
invested in an item).
For example, Erik Shadow-walker has a magical dagger (Serpent's Fang),
which is of excellent workmanship made from mithril (+2 to attack, parry
and damage dice rolls) with a large well-cut black opal inset into the
hilt. The intrinsic cost of the dagger is £30 for the mithril (0.15
kg), plus £300 for the large well-cut gemstone, all multipled by 125%
for the excellent workmanship, making a total intrinsic value of £412
10s. The dagger is built to inject fast-acting nerve poison into anyone
struck by it, and contains 10 doses (0.3 kg) of poison, worth
approximately £1. A number of enchantments have been focused into the
item as follows:
- A permanent field of magical darkness surrounds the dagger, so it is
shrouded in darkness. This is a Darkness magic
Change environment focused
enchantment with Power 10 (reduces light levels by 5 levels,
enough to turn bright sunshine into total magical darkness), Finesse 4
(enabling Erik to control the level of darkness at will), Duration
Permanent and autonomous (i.e. 11), Range fixed on enchanted object
(i.e. 0), Area of effect single object (i.e. 0), Concealment 0 (i.e.
obvious as magical to onlookers), Investment 0 (because focused
enchantment) = Difficulty 25. The monetary equivalent of this
enchantment is £6.
- A permanent weapon enchantment is placed on the dagger. This is a
Death magic Weapon
enhancement focused enchantment with
Power 8 (+4 to damage dice rolls), Finesse 8 (+4 to attack dice rolls),
Duration Permanent and autonomous (i.e. 11), Range fixed on enchanted
object (i.e. 0), Area of effect single object (i.e. 0), Concealment 0
(i.e. obvious as magical to onlookers), Investment 0 (because focused
enchantment) = Difficulty 27. The monetary equivalent of this
enchantment is £10.
- A warded attack spell is placed on the dagger to trigger when anyone
other than Erik touches it (including when it hits an opponent). This is
a Death magic Attack
enchantment with Power 9 (basic damage of 18), Finesse 6 (attack
dice roll of 12), Duration instantaneous (i.e. 0), Range touch (i.e. 1),
Area of effect single target (i.e. 0), Concealment 0 (i.e. obvious as
magical to onlookers), Investment 10 (permanent, 20 times per day) =
Difficulty 26. The monetary equivalent of this enchantment is £8.
- A teleportation spell is invested in the dagger, so that Erik can
call the dagger back to him at will. This is a Darkness
magic Teleportation enchantment with
Power 2 (enough to teleport 1kg), Finesse 4 (enough to get back to a
location Erik knows very well, i.e. his hand), Duration instantaneous
(i.e. 0), Range global to touch (i.e. 11 total), Area of effect single
target (i.e. 0), Concealment 0 (i.e. obvious as magical to onlookers),
Investment 10 (permanent, 20 times per day) = Difficulty 27. The
monetary equivalent of this enchantment is £10.
- A telepathy spell is focused in the dagger, so that Erik can
communicate with any death-aligned creatures. This is a
Death magic Telepathy
enchantment with Power 5 (quite difficult to block), Finesse 4
(enough to communicate simply), Duration permanent and autonomous (i.e.
11), Range person touching dagger (i.e. 1 total), Area of effect 30
metre radius reducing over area (i.e. 3), Concealment 3 (i.e. not
obvious to onlookers - communication is mind to mind), Investment 0
(focused enchantment) = Difficulty 27. The monetary equivalent of this
enchantment is £10.
- A further telepathy enchantment is focused in the dagger, so that
Erik can communicate with any darkness-aligned creatures. This is a
Darkness magic Telepathy
enchantment with Power 5 (quite difficult to block), Finesse 4
(enough to communicate simply), Duration permanent and autonomous (i.e.
11), Range person touching dagger (i.e. 1 total), Area of effect 30
metre radius reducing over area (i.e. 3), Concealment 3 (i.e. not
obvious to onlookers - communication is mind to mind), Investment 0
(focused enchantment) = Difficulty 27. The monetary equivalent of this
enchantment is £10.
- A characteristic boosting enchantment is focused in the dagger, so
that whenever Erik is touching or wearing the dagger, his ST is boosted.
This is a Darkness magic
Characteristic boosting enchantment with
Power 6 (+3 to his ST), Finesse 5 (resultant ST may not exceed +5),
Duration permanent and autonomous (i.e. 11), Range person touching
dagger (i.e. 1 total), Area of effect single target (i.e. 0),
Concealment 3 (i.e. not obvious to onlookers), Investment 0 (focused
enchantment) = Difficulty 26. The monetary equivalent of this
enchantment is £8.
The total monetary value of Serpent's Fang is, therefore, £412 10s
+ £1 + £6 + £10 + £8 + £10 + £10 + £10
+ £8 = £475 10s, a not inconsiderable sum of money
(approximately $1M in modern equivalent).