Wednesday 29 June 2016

Materials and Additives


I'm nose deep in GM stuff so I thought I'd post something fun here.

One of my goals with BREAK!! was to make it so that actual pre-made magical and technological items (Relics) would actually be rare and powerful. Something that a Game Master could introduce into the game because they wanted that extra panache, but also something they could omit and not have the game suffer too much for it.

This is why Crafting was made to be as simple as possible. It should be easy for players to interact with so; 

  1. All the odd stuff they find can be put to good use and have some sort of tangible value.
  2. Make it so that lesser, "+1 Sword" style magic items were still kind of fun because players would be the ones putting them together.
Crafting entails taking a Magical Material, crafting into an item of your choice, and using Additives to give it special Abilities. Also some rolls and such are involved but you can wait until you have your hands on the rules for that.

Materials are just that. As is true of most of BREAK!!, common sense rules apply when it comes to the [type] - You can certainly make a weapon out of metal, and maybe even timber, but not usually out of a consumable. 

A solid consumable can be used to make an enchanted pastry, but not a fizzy potion.

Oh yeah, all materials have a small special effect attached to them because I think it's fun.


Shade Iron [metal]
An inky-black metal created when crude iron is left to rust in an Asura’s blood. Its malevolent origin grants it an oppressive aura.
  • Items made from Shade Iron will howl and groan in an unearthly manner while in motion. These sounds are as quiet as a whisper or loud as a shout depending on the desires of the bearer


Shadough [solid consumable]
A hearty and buttery dough crafted from cereals that grow in the Deep Shadowlands. The fact that it does not spoil makes it invaluable among Shadowland nomads.

  • Items made from Shadough do not need to be carefully packed. They remain at room temperature and will not accumulate filth regardless of how they are stored.



Additives don't follow the same rules.
Each one can grant certain types of Abilities if used during crafting - not every kind of item can have every type of Ability attached. For example, using a Gale Element Gem to make a Sword will give you a sword that can do Gale damage, whereas a suit of armor would instead gain protection from the same sort of damage.



Trapped Song

These small glass baubles are actually the crystallized voices of the merpeople lost in the Shadowed Sea. While usually in the possession of the fearsome Sea Witches, sometimes these treasures bob to the surface for lucky sailors and fishermen to discover.

  • Glamour: The bearer of the Item gains an appropriately lovely and melodious voice that compliments their attempts at discourse and performance, and has an edge on all Checks during the Negotiation procedure that allow for speaking.
Element Gem
Small, precious stones that form in areas of high elemental activity or affinity. These jewels course with a powerful energy, and can transfer this power to items they are incorporated into during Crafting.
  • Attack Ability: The item may do damage of the associated element (Flame, Shock, Frost or Gale) instead of normal damage.
  • Defense Ability: The bearer of the item takes one Heart less damage from any attack or offensive ability of the associated element (Flame, Shock, Frost or Gale).

1 comment:

  1. This sounds quite fun! I am looking forward to concocting crazy contraptions chop-chop!

    ReplyDelete