Artificer
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Artificer is an inborn Power, of the Item Creation type. Unlike most (if not all) other Item Creation procedures, the character must use the Power while he is physically creating the item, i.e. weaving an item of clothing, forging a sword, or making a torch. This means he must have the necessary mundane craftsman skills.
On the other hand, the character doesn't need to unlock the Power, it can be used as soon as it manifests (and it manifests early), and even before the character's Power manifests, the character will feel instinctively drawn or one or more of the craftsman skills he needs to learn in order to use this Power.
Contents |
Manifestation and roleplaying
Usually very early. The player is free to choose any Youth level interval, i.e. 9-12 Years of age or 21-30 Years of age. The most common is the 12-15 or 15-18 interval, and for most player characters and may NPCs, this will be deep in the character's backstory, rather than something that happens during play. Also, very few characters are surprised when the Power manifests. They'll experience a sense of rightness, even if mixed with a sense of confusion. Or maybe they won't notice it at first, since the Artificer Power creates subtle effects.
An Artificer character using the Power without being aware of it, i.e. after it has manifested but before he consciously accepts the fact, makes subconsciuos choices as to what Enchantments and at what grades he will put into the item, in proportion with how important the item is.
A few Artificers remain in denial throughout their entire lives, but this can be an extreme roleplaying challenge, and many players and GMs will not be able to handle it. Fortunately, if a player (or GM) starts out deciding that the character will remain in denial about having a supernatural Power for his entire life, and then realizes that he (the player or GM playing the character) cannot pull it off, it is easy to change plans and simple have the character accept that he has a Supernatural ability.
That still lives plenty of room for theological and existential angst, although for the sake of the sanity of the other players, such a period should not be too drawn out. Eventually the character should come to terms with what he is, or else go insane to the point where he is no longer an active participant within the game world.
Power variants and cost
Power variants
The Artificer Power comes in two versions, one called Artificer (Gen.) that can be used for all craftsman skills that the character has (and as he learns new skills, he can use Artificer (Gen.) with those too), and another that is specific to one craftsman skill, or with GM permission to two very closely related skills (e.g. torchmaking and candle-making).
This requires GM acceptance for combinations not specifically mentioned in the rules, based on comparision with existing examples (e.g. candle- and torch-making are thematically very closely related in that they're about light-producing consumable objects).
A character can have the skill-specific Artificer Power up to thre times, in which case the second instance of Artificer has a Cost Factor 1 lower, and an eventual third instance has a CF 2 lower. If more than 3 are desired, take the general version of Artificer, giving access to use with all craftsman skills.
Cost Factor
Take the lowest of Dexterity and Intelligence.
Add 1 for Artificer (Gen.).
For the skill-specific version, instead subtract 1 for the first instance, subtract 2 for the 2nd instance, and substract 3 for the third instance. The first instance is always the one with the highest Power Level, the third instance is always the one with the lowest Power Level.
Then look up the cost in the table below.
Since Artificer is an Item Creation Power, there are on Power Points.
Cost table
Power levels and effects
Power levels table
As usual, levels not listed on the above table cannot be bought. Choose the level closest to your vision of the character.
Table entries explained
| PL | Max EL | ArtL | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | 1 | You may spend Essence to create one Lesser I item every 3 Years. Unused privileges accumulate for up to 9 Years, after which they are gradually lost (i.e. you may save up a maximum of 3 such privileges). |
| 1.5 | - | 2 | You may instead spend Essence to create one Lesser I item every Year, and one Lesser II item every 6 Years. Unusued priviles accumulate for 18 Years, after which they are gradually lost |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | You may create as many 2nd level Enchantments as you desire, and in addition you get the privileges as for PL 1.5. Note that you still pay the Essence for Lesser I and II items, so only use the privilege for creating Lesser items of 3rd EL or higher. |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | You may create as many 2nd and 3rd level Enchantments as you desire, and in addition you may create one Lesser II item every 3 Years, with this privilege accumulating for 21 Years. This supersedes the privilege for PL 1.5. (Please note that Lesser I items are almost never higher than EL3; if you do find an exception, you may use your privilege on it.) |
| 3.5 | 3 | 4 | Once per 3 Years, you may create one Lesser I item that you not pay Essence for. This privilege accumulates for 12 Years, after which it is gradually lost. |
| 4 | 4 | 5 | You may create as many Enchantments of 4th Enchantment Level or lower, as you wish, and retain the privilege from PL 3. |
| 4.5 | 4 | 5 | In addition to what PL4 gives you, you may greater two Grand Works in your lifetime, these being 5th level Enchantments. You age 1 OP (Oldness Point) per Great Work, and this is visible (to the extent that 1 OP is) but gradual. Your hair doesn't abruptly turn grey or white. |
| 5 | 5 | 6 | You may create as many Enchantments of 5th Enchantment level or less, as you wish. You may also create as many Lesser II items as you wish, even those (if there are or will be any) that are EL6). This removes the need for any "privileges from lower PLs except PL 3.5. |
| 5.5 | 5 | 6 | Once in your lifetime, you may create one WondrousWork, this being a 6th level Enchantment, but you age 1d2+1 OP, visibly but subtly. |
| 6 | 6 | 7 | You may create as many Enchantments as you wish (any level), including as many Lesser II items. |
| 6.5 | 6 | 7 | Once per Year, you accumulate 0.1 (ear-)Marked Essence, that may only be spent on Lesser I or Lesser II items. You may accumulate to 0.7 of this Essence. |
| 8 | 6 | 8 | Instead, once per 6 Moons, you accumulate 0.2 such (ear-)Markd Essence, for Lesser I and II items only. You may accumulate 2.0 of this Essence. |
Power Levels not mentioned are not available.
Some Power Levels, especially half-levels, give prvileges that may be somewhat complex. If the character has a Power Level where he gets one or more privileges, and the player chooses to forego all of them (so as to only get the "straight and simple" effect of Artificer, being able to put Enchantments into items as he makes them), a compensation is given.
This is -1 DP.
Artificer Level is a statistic that is sometimes used in the Item Creation rules. A higher Artificer Level is more desirable, and sometimes gives bonuses of various kinds. It tends not to play any role in the creation of Lesser I or II items, though.
Max EL is a short reference for the highest EL that the character can Enchant into items, and for the sake of simplicity, here is a shorter version of the table above, including only those PLs that grant access to a higher EL.
| PL | Max EL | ArtL |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 5 | 6 |
| 6 | 6 | 7 |
