Certain Video Game systems losely based on DnD have socketing to them. Diablo, World of Warcraft, a few others, allows you to enhance your gear with gems and/or rune words. I'd like to make use of that
Basic Premise: Escentially, certain pieces of gear can be socketed with gemstones... just like in the games. Magical items tend to have this trait that the more magical they are, the higher the probability that they will have an intelligence to them. Artificers know that magical items tend to have quirks to them that must be respected or you'll ruin or even break the magic on them, and more powerful magical items like Artifcats and Relics have intelligence to them and will remember how you've wronged them to the point where the GM might have the magical item repeatedly fall into the hands of some enemy that wants to end the player and/or party.
That said, like player characters, sufficiently intelligent magical items - Heirlooms, Artifcats and Relics accordingly - might see a magical item and bond to it like a character would bond to something. In every case, it is a greater magical item bonding a lesser less intelligent magic item, like an artifact bonding a standard magic item. This would be called Equiping. So that awesome Holy Avenger Sword, you slide a +3 Ring of Defence onto it, and if the sword likes it, then it absorbs that ring into its makeup.
Standard magic items can equip one other magic item, Heirlooms can equip two, Artifacts three, and Relics four (At the GM's discretion, of course).
Socketing involves adding gem or equipment slots to an existing piece of equipment. Through this method, a mundane piece of equipment can be made magical, and a magical piece of equipment can be made even more magical and go up in grade. Through the course of an adventure, through Crafting, Socketing and Equipping, a once mundane piece of equipment can be turned into something spectacular, and even long quests to obtain just the right parts can create legendary weapons and armor! That said... do you think Vecna's Eye and Hand grew to be as powerful as they are from a once mundane person so easily?
Sockets can be added by Blacksmiths and Artificers.
Jewels and Runestones can be made by Jewelers or Tinkerer's tools, and preferably by someone who's magicaly inclined. To make either requires a schematic which is purchased with a price tag of equivelent grade magical items of what you're trying to add to the item. One time use is of course cheaper, but permanant Schemata (which are found as scrolls, books or tomes) are full price.
Use the chart in the DMG at the beginning of the magic item list for the costs of such items by grade (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Legendary, Artifact... but I had Heirloom prior to Artifact and Relic after). It also includes the difference between expendable or one time use (like a potion or a scroll) to permanant items.
The number of sockets on a magic item will also vary. Here are some examples:
Ring: One
Dagger: One to two
Sword: Two to three
Longsword or Greatsword: Three to four
Spear: One to three
Helmets and circlets: One to three
Chestpiece: Three to five
Legs and arms and boots: One to two
It should be mentioned in the case of an artifact, it can equip three other magical items, and then be further socketed. But if it doesn't WANT an upgrade, it - like the Ring of Sarumon - will find a way to ditch it.
GM Notes: If you go off of the price list for magical items in the DMG this isn't a cheap addition to the game. It's a cost-sink. All the treasure that your players might get could be sunk into a thing to get a +3 for something on an item they possess, but the journey is also what matters. One of the background traits, as an example, is Blacksmith, and one of the Goals of a blacksmith is perhaps to craft the greatest sword imaginable! So that charachter goes on a journey. They must get the skills needed to forge that sword, enhance it, enchant it, go to the four corners of your campaign world to get difficult to find and complex materials to be able to add to the weapon. By campaign's end, the character has centered their whole being around making and weilding that sword, and it's as much a part of them as they are a part of it!
If you look at the cost of gemstones, such as the diamond, a 100 gp diamond is rather large and hard to find. Sure you can find a bunch of broken little ones, but finding a "Flawless" diamond of that size and then cut it successfully with jewelcrafting tools is it's own difficulty. What if they fail their gemcrafting roll? It SHATTERS! Now you have to go find another stone! Do you allow the "Take your time" rule so that you don't fail? You just let them keep rolling till they get their 20? What if they're trying to mastercraft the gem or runestone? That's a +8 modifier. What does it do? Raise it's quality up by one, so instead of a +3 they get a +4? How much time does that take? What does the other party members do while this gem-nerd is staring at the facets of a gemstone with a jewelers monocle stuck to their eye? Does the character cut it themselves or does an NPC do it? If an NPC what is the cost in labor to do it? Questions like that should be answered.
Now... what about Heirlooms and Relics?
A GRAND example of an heirloom is the Family Sword of Nevar from the movie 'Lady Hawke'. A sword passed down from father to son that has many sockets in it, and each generation places their own gemstone into a socket onto the sword. Nevar was the last one of his line to add a gemstone to complete the weapon, and the quest he set for himself before he could add it was that he had to kill a man. But not any man, a Bishop that'd cursed him and his love.
Heirlooms are items that usually have a family bond to a person. Or in the words of Bodger Bloger from Viva la Dirt League: "This is my Grandfather's Hammer, Which is mine!". To which they function as basic magical items for anyone else using it, but someone of the family, someone of the blood, can weild it at it's full power, potentially after unlocking all it's abilities. With the DnD campaign that VDL is coming to an end on, Bodger had to kill FIVE different GIANTS to empower the hammer to its full power!
Relics are Artifacts... CUBED! Relics will tend to have an entire campaign centered around them, somehow. As an example, the Hand and Eye of Vecna are what I consider as Relics, being for them to BECOME relics, Vecna had to become a powerful magic user, then become a Litch, then have both severed from him, then have them empowered and carried about the planes till they are basicly extensions of Vecna at this point. The Reliquary that Rasputin carried at his side in the animated film 'Anastasia' is another example of a relic. Remember, you break it you bought it! (Meaning his unlife ends and he gets dragged to hell if the reliquary is broken). And finally... THE Excalibur is a relic, as I believe in the Encyclopedia Magica (You kids that never played 2nd ed won't be familliar with these books), Excalibur functions as like a +5 Holy Avenger and Vorpal Sword being weilded by the Paladin King Arthur himself, or if you prefer the Fate series, King Arturia...
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Certain Video Game systems losely based on DnD have socketing to them. Diablo, World of Warcraft, a few others, allows you to enhance your gear with gems and/or rune words. I'd like to make use of that
Basic Premise: Escentially, certain pieces of gear can be socketed with gemstones... just like in the games. Magical items tend to have this trait that the more magical they are, the higher the probability that they will have an intelligence to them. Artificers know that magical items tend to have quirks to them that must be respected or you'll ruin or even break the magic on them, and more powerful magical items like Artifcats and Relics have intelligence to them and will remember how you've wronged them to the point where the GM might have the magical item repeatedly fall into the hands of some enemy that wants to end the player and/or party.
That said, like player characters, sufficiently intelligent magical items - Heirlooms, Artifcats and Relics accordingly - might see a magical item and bond to it like a character would bond to something. In every case, it is a greater magical item bonding a lesser less intelligent magic item, like an artifact bonding a standard magic item. This would be called Equiping. So that awesome Holy Avenger Sword, you slide a +3 Ring of Defence onto it, and if the sword likes it, then it absorbs that ring into its makeup.
Standard magic items can equip one other magic item, Heirlooms can equip two, Artifacts three, and Relics four (At the GM's discretion, of course).
Socketing involves adding gem or equipment slots to an existing piece of equipment. Through this method, a mundane piece of equipment can be made magical, and a magical piece of equipment can be made even more magical and go up in grade. Through the course of an adventure, through Crafting, Socketing and Equipping, a once mundane piece of equipment can be turned into something spectacular, and even long quests to obtain just the right parts can create legendary weapons and armor! That said... do you think Vecna's Eye and Hand grew to be as powerful as they are from a once mundane person so easily?
Sockets can be added by Blacksmiths and Artificers.
Jewels and Runestones can be made by Jewelers or Tinkerer's tools, and preferably by someone who's magicaly inclined. To make either requires a schematic which is purchased with a price tag of equivelent grade magical items of what you're trying to add to the item. One time use is of course cheaper, but permanant Schemata (which are found as scrolls, books or tomes) are full price.
Use the chart in the DMG at the beginning of the magic item list for the costs of such items by grade (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Legendary, Artifact... but I had Heirloom prior to Artifact and Relic after). It also includes the difference between expendable or one time use (like a potion or a scroll) to permanant items.
The number of sockets on a magic item will also vary. Here are some examples:
It should be mentioned in the case of an artifact, it can equip three other magical items, and then be further socketed. But if it doesn't WANT an upgrade, it - like the Ring of Sarumon - will find a way to ditch it.
GM Notes: If you go off of the price list for magical items in the DMG this isn't a cheap addition to the game. It's a cost-sink. All the treasure that your players might get could be sunk into a thing to get a +3 for something on an item they possess, but the journey is also what matters. One of the background traits, as an example, is Blacksmith, and one of the Goals of a blacksmith is perhaps to craft the greatest sword imaginable! So that charachter goes on a journey. They must get the skills needed to forge that sword, enhance it, enchant it, go to the four corners of your campaign world to get difficult to find and complex materials to be able to add to the weapon. By campaign's end, the character has centered their whole being around making and weilding that sword, and it's as much a part of them as they are a part of it!
If you look at the cost of gemstones, such as the diamond, a 100 gp diamond is rather large and hard to find. Sure you can find a bunch of broken little ones, but finding a "Flawless" diamond of that size and then cut it successfully with jewelcrafting tools is it's own difficulty. What if they fail their gemcrafting roll? It SHATTERS! Now you have to go find another stone! Do you allow the "Take your time" rule so that you don't fail? You just let them keep rolling till they get their 20? What if they're trying to mastercraft the gem or runestone? That's a +8 modifier. What does it do? Raise it's quality up by one, so instead of a +3 they get a +4? How much time does that take? What does the other party members do while this gem-nerd is staring at the facets of a gemstone with a jewelers monocle stuck to their eye? Does the character cut it themselves or does an NPC do it? If an NPC what is the cost in labor to do it? Questions like that should be answered.
Now... what about Heirlooms and Relics?
A GRAND example of an heirloom is the Family Sword of Nevar from the movie 'Lady Hawke'. A sword passed down from father to son that has many sockets in it, and each generation places their own gemstone into a socket onto the sword. Nevar was the last one of his line to add a gemstone to complete the weapon, and the quest he set for himself before he could add it was that he had to kill a man. But not any man, a Bishop that'd cursed him and his love.
Heirlooms are items that usually have a family bond to a person. Or in the words of Bodger Bloger from Viva la Dirt League: "This is my Grandfather's Hammer, Which is mine!". To which they function as basic magical items for anyone else using it, but someone of the family, someone of the blood, can weild it at it's full power, potentially after unlocking all it's abilities. With the DnD campaign that VDL is coming to an end on, Bodger had to kill FIVE different GIANTS to empower the hammer to its full power!
Relics are Artifacts... CUBED! Relics will tend to have an entire campaign centered around them, somehow. As an example, the Hand and Eye of Vecna are what I consider as Relics, being for them to BECOME relics, Vecna had to become a powerful magic user, then become a Litch, then have both severed from him, then have them empowered and carried about the planes till they are basicly extensions of Vecna at this point. The Reliquary that Rasputin carried at his side in the animated film 'Anastasia' is another example of a relic. Remember, you break it you bought it! (Meaning his unlife ends and he gets dragged to hell if the reliquary is broken). And finally... THE Excalibur is a relic, as I believe in the Encyclopedia Magica (You kids that never played 2nd ed won't be familliar with these books), Excalibur functions as like a +5 Holy Avenger and Vorpal Sword being weilded by the Paladin King Arthur himself, or if you prefer the Fate series, King Arturia...