Friday, June 10, 2016

Magitech of Blackmoor: Dragonstone Nacelles, part 2

The magewrights of the Glittering Empire have fashioned a host of devices capable of interfacing with a dragonstone nacelle in order to take advantage of the stones’ magic, despite their users not having inherent magical ability or blood. Helms, torcs, gloves, bracers, boots and greaves are the most commonly seen, though it is said that the Eternal Emperor owns a suit of plate mail festooned with nacelle sockets. Arms as well as armor have been socketed. In most cases, they are usually situated at the weapon’s base or pommel.
While their looks may vary, all devices share the following features:
  • Grooved or toothed sockets, into which the nacelle is screwed or otherwise attached. A toothed-socket is designed for quick release, and a depleted nacelle can be switched out with another in a single round. Those that are threaded take three rounds to replace.
  • One to three gemstones, which glow according to the charge rate of the nacelle’s enclosed dragonstone capacitor. Unlike the unlimited use (or rather, being limited by the overall state of their wielder) of traditional dragonstones, those contained in nacelles are directly leeched of their magical energies, which are stored in crystalline capacitors. These require a recharge period, anywhere from a few rounds to a few hours, depending on the intensity of the invoked effect. Prolonged use risks overloading the nacelle capacitors and releasing the destabilized dragonstone’s energies in an uncontrolled blast.
  • Wiring of silver, and gold, wound around brass studs, which carry and diffuse the dragonstones’ energies.

Fully charged, a nacelle glows with a light equal to torchlight. As its energies are depleted, its radiance steadily dims, flickering when the capacitors reach a dangerously low level.
When activating more than one nacelle at a time, the user must be wary of the magics interfering with each other. A Save vs. Spells must be made, with a -2 cumulative penalty for each 'overlapping' power. On a failed save, the most recently activated effect is invoked, but cancels out the oldest. If the save misses by more than 5, the magical fields' destructive interference cancels all effects. On a roll of 1, the magical fields interleave into a standing wave, burning out the nacelles in a destructive burst of magical energy, comparable to a Staff of Wizardry's retributive strike. Those within 30' can make a saving throw vs. Spells for half damage, but the wielder of the nacelles is not allowed a save.

2 comments:

  1. Hmm...reading this gives me an idea of making nacelles that can plug into eldritch weapons that allows a person to swap out specific enhancements...i.e. changing a flaming sword to a shock sword. Really makes weapons and other items more customizable instead of needing a slew of weapons for the one specific effect you want to use.

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    1. Precisely the reason the dwarves developed them :D

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