Scroll of Discern Alignment

[SuperBlue]

Okay, I dont' have 4e Fantasy Hero (spose I really should try finding it on Ebay) so I don't know how Scrolls are Handled. I imagine they would be whatever spell is on it, with a single charge (duration figured in), OAF (Anyone can see the spell, and can use Mage Hand to take it away) as well as IND (cuz anyone can use the Scoll).

So how would 'Discern Alignment' be handled? I figure Detect: Alignment, with Ranged... but I don't know what else to add to that.

[feywulf]

Unless the scroll only detects one particular alignment, you would want to add discriminatory.

[SuperBlue]

Originally posted by feywulf
Unless the scroll only detects one particular alignment, you would want to add discriminatory.

I thought about doing that

[Snarf]

I'm not sure, but I think that since the scrolls dissolve when you use them instead of recovering charges the next day, they can take a limitation based on how hard they are to replace.

5th Edition p.90
Expendability
-1/4 Difficult to obtain new Focus
-1/2 Very difficult to obtain new Focus
-1 Extremely Difficult to obtain new Focus

So, if it costs lot of money to get a new one, that's another -1/4. If it must be made from a diamond baked in dragon brains, that's -1.

[Chris Goodwin]

You can build Powers with Charges that never recover.

[tgaptte]

Scroll of Discern Alignment:

Detect Alignment (3), Range (+5), Discriminatory (+5)
OAF (-1)
Focus is expendable: Difficult to obtain (-1/4)
Focus is fragile (-1/4)
1 charge (-2)
Charge does not recover (-2)
Independent (-2)
Incantations to start (-1/4) (Read the words)
Gestures to start (-1/4) (Unfurl the scroll)
Must have adequate light to read by (-1/4)
Extra Time: Full Phase (-1/2)

1 RP/13 AP Total Cost

Hope that helps!

Tim

[Snarf]

Originally posted by archer
You can build Powers with Charges that never recover.

Gah! Forgot! That would work way better than expendable.

Tgaptte, I think you're not supposed to include the expendability limitation if you're already using a nonrecoverable charge.

[SuperBlue]

Okay, here's what I've come up with

Scroll of Discern Alignment:
Detect Alignment of all within range, Ranged, Discrimitory, 360 Degree Sensing (Base 25)
OAF -1
Focus is fragile -1/4
1 Continuous Charge: 5 Minutes -3/4
Charge does not recover -2
Independent -2
Incantations to start -1/4 (Read the words)
Gestures to start -1/4 (Unfurl the scroll)
Must have adequate light to read by -1/4
Extra Time: Full Phase -1/2
Doesn't Work in Anti Magic Feild (-1/4)

AP: 25
RC: 3

Slightly more expensive than tgaptte's version, but it lasts longer and is more versitile.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by SuperBlue
Okay, here's what I've come up with

Scroll of Discern Alignment:
Detect Alignment of all within range, Ranged, Discrimitory, 360 Degree Sensing (Base 25)
OAF -1
Focus is fragile -1/4
1 Continuous Charge: 5 Minutes -3/4
Charge does not recover -2
Independent -2
Incantations to start -1/4 (Read the words)
Gestures to start -1/4 (Unfurl the scroll)
Must have adequate light to read by -1/4
Extra Time: Full Phase -1/2
Doesn't Work in Anti Magic Feild (-1/4)

AP: 25
RC: 3

Slightly more expensive than tgaptte's version, but it lasts longer and is more versitile.

This works. I consider items on Non-Recoverable Charges to be "Ephemeral" and dont require them to be paid for in character points. Instead, they cost money like Equipment. Typically the base market price will be AP * RC, or 75 gc in this case.

However, I would seriously think about whether or not the scroll is really a focus of it is just a SFX for the charge. I would handle it as just being the physical embodiment for the charge myself, which makes the construct more expensive.

Of course, for this to work, your characters need some sort of "Alignment" to be detected. I handled this in my D&D-esque HEROs games in the past to be an optional Distinctive Feature. Those who didnt take the DF were considered to be Nuetral. Player actions could result in me applying an appropriate DF (for no extra points on thier part).

But in general, most players preferred not to dwell on the alignment concept and instead take appropriate Psylims to more precisely define thier behavior patterns. Thus few people were intrinsically good or evil, with the majority of the ones that were being religiously involved in some fashion.

[tgaptte]

Hee hee, sorry...you caught me double-dipping! ;D Purely unintentional, of course!

Tim


Originally posted by Snarf
Gah! Forgot! That would work way better than expendable.

Tgaptte, I think you're not supposed to include the expendability limitation if you're already using a nonrecoverable charge.

[tgaptte]

Hey SB,

I like your version better!

Tim


Originally posted by SuperBlue
Okay, here's what I've come up with

Scroll of Discern Alignment:
Detect Alignment of all within range, Ranged, Discrimitory, 360 Degree Sensing (Base 25)
OAF -1
Focus is fragile -1/4
1 Continuous Charge: 5 Minutes -3/4
Charge does not recover -2
Independent -2
Incantations to start -1/4 (Read the words)
Gestures to start -1/4 (Unfurl the scroll)
Must have adequate light to read by -1/4
Extra Time: Full Phase -1/2
Doesn't Work in Anti Magic Feild (-1/4)

AP: 25
RC: 3

Slightly more expensive than tgaptte's version, but it lasts longer and is more versitile.

[Markdoc]

Here's what I would suggest:

Scroll of Discern Alignment:
Detect Alignment of all within range, Ranged, Discriminatory, 360 Degree Sensing (Base 25)
Usable by other (+1/4)
Trigger (read Scroll, +1/4)
38 real points
OAF -1
Focus is fragile -1/4
1 Continuous Charge: 5 Minutes -3/4
Incantations to start -1/4 (Read the words)
Power requires difficult, expensive or otherwise inconvenient ingredients (-1/2)
Gestures to start -1/4 (Unfurl the scroll)
Must have adequate light to read by -1/4
Extra Time: Full Phase -1/2
Concentration (1/2 DCV, -1/4)

Real cost: 9

That's more points, but you can make as many of these scrolls as you can get ingredients and give them to your buddies. It costs you no more points.

As a GM, I rule that the "ingredients" ned to be prepared/extracted/distilled for the raw materials, which takes time, to stop mages dashing off a bundle of scrolls during a lunch stop - depending on how nasty you are about this, you may want to increase the limitation for ingredients to -1.

I dropped the does not work in anti-magic field limitation since (unless people can get anti-magic shields for free in your game) people normally buy these as Dispel or Suppress or something similar. I'd give no points for "does not work against powers that it would not normally work against"

cheers, Mark