Accessory - Dragon Magazine #111.pdf - Index of

ut PC magic-users cannot generally predict
these situations in advance when they
are selecting and memorizing their spells for
the day, nor can they expect the action to
grind to a halt while they study their
spellbooks. This is why most PC magicusers
load up on major-destruction, “big
blast” spells like fireball, lightning bolt,
magic missile, and cone of cold, which are
applicable to a large number of unpredictable
situations but lack the more subtle,
intellectual touch appropriate to the role of
the wily mage. However, if the above spells
were always on hand via magic-focusing
items, many PC magic-users would experiment
more with other spells that might be
useful, as above; paradoxically, the guaranteed
availability of the “big blast” spells
might cause them to be cast less frequently.
This could be considered a benefit to the
Dungeon Master also, who might be getting
tired of watching his magic-users blast their
way out of every situation and who might
appreciate a little innovation and clever
spell-use from time to time.
A list of all the possible magic-focusing
items and their individual characteristics
would be far too long to be included here.
This article is intended only to present the
general idea of magic-focusing items; the
details of the individual items will be up to
the individual DMs and designers. I have
generally confined myself to magic-focusing
items through which one and only one spell
may be cast. The forms I have used have
been mostly wands (for directional and
basically offensive spells), rings (for defensive
spells and others that the caster is most
likely to cast on himself or in his own area),
and talismans or amulets (for short-range
spells involving divination and enchantment).
The spells I have used or most
strongly considered using in designing these
items are listed below.
Wands: magic missile, knock, ray of
enfeeblement, fireball, lightning bolt, ice
storm, polymorph other, cone of cold,
feeblemind, teleport (target must be
touched), disintegrate, vanish, meteor
swarm.
Rings: feather fall, shield, spider climb,
in visibility levitate, blink, fly water breathing,
dimension door, fire shield, airy water.
Talismans or amulets: charm person,
detect magic, detect evil, ESP, forget, scare,
suggestion, charm monster, fear, repulsion,
mass charm.
Other spells could be added to these lists,
including some of the new spells in Unearthed
Arcana. Other DMs may also wish
to use other forms, such as boots, hats,
musical instruments, etc. I have used
wands, rings, and amulets because they are
traditional (note that many of the spell
functions above appear in conventional
magical wands, rings, and talismans and
amulets) and because it is relatively easy for
a character to carry and use several of each.
This is not an invitation for DMs to
indiscriminately shower their magic-users
10 JULY 1986
with all the focusing items they can carry —
focusing items may be less valuable than
most other magic items, but they are more
valuable than that. However, since these
items allow a magic-user only greater variety
in his choice of spells, and not more
spells or more spell power, I might allow a
mid- to high-level magic-user to accumulate
three or four or more of each over the
course of a campaign. I exempt magicfocusing
rings from the usual rule of “one
per hand,” and allow as many to function as
the character can reasonably and comfortably
wear, since many of the ring spells are
geared to emergency use (feather fall, etc.)
and are not very useful if the magic-user
must fumble for the correct ring. On the
other hand, I also stipulate that spells cast
through focusing rings must be cast by and
on the wearer of the ring (i.e., the magicuser
himself), which does limit their use
somewhat.
A few issues in the definition of magicfocusing
items — what they can and cannot
do — are so controvertible that they should
probably be decided separately by each
DM, with the demands of his own campaign
in mind. One of these is the question
of whether a magic-focusing item can convert
one level of a spell into another, given
equal total spell power. For example, could
a wand of fireball casting combine three
magic missile spells into one fireball, or vice
versa? Could a wand of magic missile casting
split one fireball spell into three magic
missile spells? There is the precedent of the
rod of absorption, but it does not apply well
because many other powers of that device
are specifically denied to magic-focusing
items and because analogies between magicfocusing
items and conventional magic
items are tenuous at best and must be
drawn with great care to preserve the general
point that they are basically different
animals. Rary’s mnemonic enhancer is a
better precedent because it involves actual
spell-casting, but it is important to note the
costly material components of this spell and
the net loss in spell power involved (ineluded,
apparently, to discourage frequent
use of the spell). Some DMs may find this
kind of power conversion (with or without
penalty) logical, others not; including this
feature would make magic-focusing items
considerably more powerful and desirable,
which again might or might not be appropriate
to any given campaign. In any case,
it must be reiterated that magic-focusing
items will not allow a magic-user to cast a
spell of higher level than he is able to learn,
and they will not convert different kinds of
spell energy (magical, clerical, etc.) from
one to the other.
There is also the question of whether a
magic-focusing item will enable a magicuser
to cast a spell, of appropriate type and
level, that he has never learned, including
even spells he is unable to learn due to an
unlucky roll of the dice (see Players Handbook,
page 10). If a magic-user does not
have fireball in his spellbook, but can cast
3rd-level spells, can he use a wand of fire-
ball casting or not? The logic of the case
depends on how much one assumes the
magic-focusing item aids the magic-user in
casting the spell — does it “know” the spell
itself, or merely jog the magic-user’s memory?
Allowing this option would make
magic-focusing items more useful and desirable
(though not as much so as using the
previously described option), and would
tend to deemphasize the importance of spell
acquisition in a campaign or draw some of
the sting from it in a campaign in which it is
strongly emphasized, if magic-focusing
items became common enough.
Again, different DMs might view either
of these effects as either good or bad. This
option also allows the DM to make sure that
a given spell will be available to the party at
a crucial point in the adventure — a knock
spell, for example, when the party is about
to enter a dungeon level full of locked
doors. Traditionally, this is accomplished by
leaving the appropriate scroll lying around;
leaving the appropriate magic-focusing item
lying around instead removes the risk that
the magic-user will blow the aforementioned
dice roll, or simply copy the spell into his
spellbook and then forget all about it. Since
the item would not “teach” the magic-user
the spell, no matter how many times he
used it, he would be able to cast that spell
only by using the item. This might lead to
some interesting situations; it would also
allow the DM to remove a spell from the
campaign simply by removing the item, via
a thief, disenchanter, fire trap, or the like
(an especially useful trick in the case of
DM-invented or PC-invented spells which
later turn out to be too powerful).
Another set of issues concerns the effects
of magic-focusing items on the manner of
casting spells — the casting time, components,
concentration required, etc. For
example, it may not seem logical to require
material components for spells cast through
a device. If material components are to be
eliminated, the spells should be restricted to
those without elaborate or expensive material
components (as in the lists above),
unless a special provision has been made for
including them (as with the bag of conjuring
focus below), for game balance reasons.
There is no logical need to eliminate or alter
verbal components, but it might be reasonable
to reduce the somatic components to
simply pointing or waving a wand, touching
or twisting a ring, or presenting or clutching
a talisman or amulet, etc. If the DM
decides that this should shorten the casting
time, spells with long casting times should
be avoided, again as in the list above, and
again for game balance reasons. Also, discharging
spell-like powers from conventional
magic items requires considerably less
concentration than casting spells in the
usual way. While analogies between conventional
magic items and magic-focusing
items must always be drawn with great
care, the logic of this limited parallel may
still appeal to some DMs. Allowing magicusers
to cast spells through magic-focusing
items while arrows whistle past their ears