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As a thought experiment, I wanted to try to preserve some of the designer intent behind Resonance while rewriting it into a form I could live with. I think Resonance might make more sense if instead of one universal pool, it was a rating used for several purposes - i.e., making wands etc independent from how many items you can actually wear. Let's take a crack at it.
- You have a Resonance rating equal to .
- You can wear a number of magic items up to your Resonance. Aeon stones and similar items that attune to and follow you without actually being worn count as worn items for this purpose. If you wear more than this limit, all of your worn items stop functioning until you are back down to your Resonance.
- A powerful item may say in its description that it counts as two items worn. An item above your level counts as an additional item worn, as does an item with an alignment opposed to yours.
- Some item activations list an Invoke cost, such as "Reaction (Invoke 2): Reroll a saving throw" or "2 Actions (Invoke 0): Cast the Ghost Sound cantrip." You have a pool of Invocation points each day equal to your Resonance. Invoking an item above your level increases the cost by 1, as does invoking an item with an alignment opposed to yours. For instance, Ghost Sound in the example above is free if the item is not above your level, or 1 point if it is.
- Consumable items above your level have Invoke 1. Otherwise, consumable items of your level or lower are not Invoked and so do not count against your pool, unless they specifically say otherwise.
- Some consumable items may allow you to pay Invocation to keep them instead of consuming them. For example, a Trinket may have the cost "(Invoke 2 or Sacrifice)," in which case you may either pay 2 points to invoke it and keep the item for future use, or sacrifice the item to invoke it for free.
- You can control an intelligent item without having to make Will saves if its Ego is not above your Resonance. An intelligent item pays its own Invoke costs, but in doing so increases its Ego by that amount for 24 hours.
Then you can have feats and stuff that interact with that, the eventual Occultist can interact with that. More powerful items can have higher costs to use. Putting on a pair of boots doesn't diminish how much you can be healed. And you can keep Alchemist separate, instead of awkwardly conjoining it to Resonance: the Alchemist doesn't use Resonance, it just gets an alchemy pool of its own based on Intelligence and class level.
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This...is actually great. I'm behind this 100%, and all prior complaints that I had would be gone.
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calculations of "half your <insert ability> score" is confusing when every other calculation is based off an ability modifier.
I would suggest keeping the Charisma Mod + Level, or if you want it to be significantly higher at lower levels, level x2. But for simplification, lets make the calculation the same as other calculations in the system.
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As a thought experiment, I wanted to try to preserve some of the designer intent behind Resonance while rewriting it into a form I could live with. I think Resonance might make more sense if instead of one universal pool, it was a rating used for several purposes - i.e., making wands etc independent from how many items you can actually wear. Let's take a crack at it.
...
- You have a Resonance rating equal to .
- You can wear a number of magic items up to your Resonance. Aeon stones and similar items that attune to and follow you without actually being worn count as worn items for this purpose. If you wear more than this limit, all of your worn items stop functioning until you are back down to your Resonance.
- A powerful item may say in its description that it counts as two items worn. An item above your level counts as an additional item worn, as does an item with an alignment opposed to yours.
- Some item activations list an Invoke cost, such as "Reaction (Invoke 2): Reroll a saving throw" or "2 Actions (Invoke 0): Cast the Ghost Sound cantrip." You have a pool of Invocation points each day equal to your Resonance. Invoking an item above your level increases the cost by 1, as does invoking an item with an alignment opposed to yours. For instance, Ghost Sound in the example above is free if the item is not above your level, or 1 point if it is.
- Consumable items above your level have Invoke 1. Otherwise, consumable items of your level or lower are not Invoked and so do not count against your pool, unless they specifically say otherwise.
- Some consumable items may allow you to pay Invocation to keep them instead of consuming them. For example, a Trinket may have the cost "(Invoke 2 or Sacrifice)," in which case you may either pay 2 points to invoke it and keep the item for future use, or sacrifice the item to invoke it for free.
- You can control an intelligent item without having to make Will saves if its Ego is not above your
This reads like you just split the resonance pool in two and divided it between wearable items and charges while making items potentially more expensive in point costs.
EDIT: Its actually worse, as it punishes odd levels and modifiers. It also add several layers of needless complication for the sake of complication and false nuance that isn't necessary. Compared to traditional resonance, my 9th level character with 16 charisma goes from having 12 resonance to split as she wants, maybe 4 invested and 8 uses to being forced to have 5 invested resonance she might not be using and 5 uses.
Meh, I like alchemists and resonance. The 1e alchemist used the concept of having innate and unique magical fields to trigger properties in items, it was why their extracts and mutagens were self-only unless they learned how to infuse the extracts with their own personal field, draining a hint of that field away for a while until the magic was completed. Maybe the new version of the concept is hard to work with, maybe not. But I certainly think alchemist should keep class interactions with resonance as opposed to an alchemy pool. We already have resonance pools and spell pools and channel pools, adding alchemy pools and invocation pools seems unnecessarily complicated.
Also, doesn't this go against developer intent? It intentionally makes using high-level consumable items unrewarding. You would rather have 10 level 1 wands than 1 level 10 wand under this system, not only because of the discount in price but also because it wouldn't ever drain your invocation pool.
Not to mention the wording allows confusion for the items worn. For instance, a character could (theoretically) be wearing a magic scabbard that is not an "item worn" despite being an item and being worn because it uses invocation to power it. Meanwhile there is one strong magic ring on the left hand that is two "items worn" despite being one item, but the other hand bears a set of five items worn that are a set that make up one "item worn" despite being 5 items. Not to mention the issue of armor, wear a set of full plate is not an "item worn" unless it is magical (and if magic armor doesn't default to an "item worn" then unless it is a particular set of magic armor).
Not that this doesn't have merit but I think we should wait for the full write-up on resonance in the playtest, in addition to the full magic item chapter to see how resonance is being leveraged, before trying to make alternatives to it.
I missed something, what is the awkwardness between Alchemists and Resonance? I thought alchemy wasn't magical and didn't interact with Resonance much at all. The class only gets their Int bonus to Resonance due to an expertise in, for lack of a better word, consumables lore.
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@Fuzzypaws. I just wanted to say that I like the amount of effort that clearly went into designing this system AND the amount of effort that went into clearly explaining things while keeping things simple and short.
I am willing to give Resonance a shot once the Playtest actually launches, and the full rules are visible.
I would be equally willing to give your system a shot.
I am on the fence over the official system at this time. Having the full rules will help push me in either direction.
I like that you made items above your level more expensive. I like that you made using diametrically opposed items more expensive. These things add flavor, and make the choices more interesting. A CG PC might legitimately have qualms about using a LE item, and this helps demonstrate that.
On the flip side, I would be also OK without either.
True Neutral OP
You can wear a number of magic items up to your Resonance. Aeon stones and similar items that attune to and follow you without actually being worn count as worn items for this purpose. If you wear more than this limit, all of your worn items stop functioning until you are back down to your Resonance.
Not a fan of "all of your worn items stop functioning": It means that is I use the item in a mundane way is could knock out all my other items. For instance, I wear a [normal] chain shirt and it gets with a acid spray that destroys it but lucky me we find some armor in the next room! But I'm at my max items so if I put it on for the base protection, everything blinks off...
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A discussion in the Paizo Blog: Trinkets and Treasures thread in comments #679, #686, and #692 offered another interpretation of resonance. I wrote it up and posted it there in comment #877, but I decided to also post here to compare and contrast with Fuzzypaws' ideas.
Resonance definitely feels like a highly magical resource which doesn't make much sense for the characters who are based on being as non-magical as possible. Sometimes you just want to be a dude with a magic sword, not a dude with a growing pool of magic that you use to empower your sword.
I can't help but think of the barbarian with the superstition totem... 'Magic bad! Now let me take some time out and use my magic to activate my items...'.
I see it is time that I go back to disagreeing with graystone. It was inevitable really. I don't think you necessarily have to look at resonance in that way. I don't think you have to think of it so much as a magical energy pool. I'm looking at it as more of a tolerance rating.
Hmm that would be an interesting way to do it. It starts giving penalties when you get over your resonance. Magic tolerance real low guys i'm about to pop!
Vidmaster7's idea might fit the setting. Resonance is not a way to power magic items. Resonance is a way to tolerate magic items.
Imaginary Rules for Resonance as Tolerance
The powerful magic in enchanted items puts a strain on a living body using the magic item. Fortunately, most individuals can attune their lifeforce with the magic item and work in harmony with its magic. This resonance can also provide direct control of the magic items as opposed to the indirect control via command words or spell completion.
Every character starts with an amount of resonance equal to their level plus their Charisma modifier. This represents their tolerance to magic items gained from personal talent and lengthy experience with magic items. When he or she uses a magic item, such as donning magic armor or activating a magic staff, he loses one resonance for the day.
Donning a wearable magic item, such as a hat, boots, a ring, an amulet, or armor, automatically steals one resonance. Removing the item and donning it again does not take further resonance. Instead, on the first donning, the item becomes invested in the character and needs no further resonance for into continuous abilities. Some activated abilities may consume further resonance. If a character wears a magic item continuously though the period when his daily resonance renew, the magic item claims one new resonance.
For a wand, staff, rod, or weapon, it can claim a resonance and become invested for the day through a command action [[A]]. Once invested, a staff, rod, or weapon may offer a continuous effect while held. Wands and staffs must be invested in a character before her or she can cast their spells. The first investment of the day on a staff also recharges a staff. Activating a wand by casting its spell consumes a resonance, too.
Scrolls, potions, trinkets, and non-worn wondrous items claim a resonance when activated. They do not have to be invested in advance. Magical traps steal a resonance from the victim that triggered the trap.
When a magic item would take a resonance from a character but the character has none to give, the character suffers a backlash instead. The item does not become invested. If it was invested, then it is no longer invested in the character. The default backlash is 10 minutes of stupefied condition, starting at stupified 1. After the stupification reaches stupified 3, further backlash instead increases the duration of stupified 3 by 10 more minutes. The backlash of some magic items gives the enfeebled, sluggish, or fatigued condition instead.
Resonance as tolerance is definitely something I could live with.
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Resonance as tolerance is another window dressing that could work, but leaves the underlying mechanics personally unsatisfying.
I like the innocence of picking up a nice new item, putting it on and suffering no ill effects or loss of resources besides perhaps gold. I like magic items being crafted and infused with inherent magical power that anyone could use. That's what magic items have been for me my whole gaming life.
To introduce the concept of non-cursed items having a burden on the wearer is just not to my taste.
Thank you for the possible house rule mathmuse. I really like systems where spellcasting past your means starts to cook you, and this is fairly similar.
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I've been thinking of resonance as tolerance not for your body, but for your aura. Each time you activate or attune to a magic item, it strains your aura a little. Too much strain, and your aura is unable to accommodate the magic. Running out of resonance is a result of over-working your aura.
Personally, I have little tolerance for resonance.
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Personally, I have little tolerance for resonance.
Quite: it's like that Burning feeling I got from Kineticists... :P