Resonance: My Take

[Data Lore]

Seems mostly fine to me. Looking at it, this is how I might make it more palatable...

Permanent Items: Keep current implementation; like 5E attunement

Consumables: Use of Resonance is not required for consumables but allows them to work to greater effect or duration; base effect or duration for some items may need to be downtuned a bit (stolen from today's stream)

Alchemists: Change Studied Resonance so you add Int mod to Resonance pool IN ADDITION to Cha (maybe limit it so you can only use those extra points for Advanced and Quick Alchemy)

[Ancale]

I've been trying to wrap my head around why resonance is needed.

Cost for wand of clw 2225. By my calculations a 6th level party of 5 that loses half their hit points per 6th level encounter will blow through a CLW every 3 encounters. Those three encounters should net around 6000 gp of treasure. so the wand will use more than 1/3rd of the treasure you obtain. that doesn't include scroll or other items that will be used. At 10th level a wand is going to be used up in one encounter that should net 5800 gp. so it actually costs more to use the wand at higher levels vs amount you should be netting.

a Wand of Cure moderate wounds is 6750gp Does 4 times the healing so it should make it through 4 level 10 encounters that would net 22400 gp.
4 1st level wands needed to do the same would cost 8900 to healthrough that many level 10 encounters.

A Wand of Cure Serious wounds is 11250 would heal through 6 encounters for a cost of 11,250 vs 6 CLW at 13350.

This doesn't even address the fact that the CLW is nearly useless during combat at level 10.

now the argument that no one is going to use a staff with only 10 charges that cost 30k holds some water. But being rechargeable by the caster, one could make the argument that it is more cost effective in the long run.

[The Once and Future Kai]

Ancale wrote:

I've been trying to wrap my head around why resonance is needed.

In my opinion...

As a replacement for item slots it's fantastic.

As a replacement for charges/uses per day it's convenient.

As a requirement for using magical consumables it's unncessary and harms the game.

As a requirement for using alchemical consumables it's nonsensical and harms the game.

[Requielle]

I also am still not sure why so many people to be wedded to the idea that we just must have resonance, somehow. That it's the one true cure for whatever the magic item problems are.

It feels like we're planning on setting the lawn on fire to get rid of the crabgrass. And we're having convoluted discussions about how to burn the lawn without also setting the house on fire, or getting cited by the fire department for being complete idiots, or scorching our prize-winning rose bushes. And what we're not discussing is whether maybe there is a better way to remove crabgrass.

I acknowledge that there have been folks suggesting that we quit focusing on the symptoms (CLW spam, low-level potion hoarding, christmas tree effect) and focus instead on what game mechanics make those such attractive options. But by and large, people seem to have just accepted that the solution is gonna be some type of lawn inferno, and are trying to make that solution less bad. And maybe toast some marshmallows, because that will make it fun, right?

[Brondy]

Ancale wrote:

As a replacement for item slots it's fantastic.

Why it's fantastic?

Mandatory item are more strictly(see table character whealth page 348)and magic slot still exist, only now are hidden, unless you have a GM that allows you to wear 10 turbans, 3 jackets or 5 bracelets and infinite resonance points...

The only change now it's the order with which you take the items and the numbers since everything is decided by the manual. It does not seem to me that first at level 1 there was the risk of getting them all.
Besides the fact that this precludes me different narrative choices like the possibility to create pc or npc whose strength is due to the magical objects and not to the level.