Re: SJ magic (items) - was: Locate Portal conversion

In <URL:news:local.spelljam> on Thu 30 Mar, David Shepheard wrote:
> This email has been split into three, as I wanted to address phlogiston 
> rivers separately.
[snip]

This (nearly all) sounds reasonable to me.

> >> > Maybe we should throw in standard magic items, like the Portal
> >> > Compass (obvious function), and the Portal Lantern, which shines
> >> > a big circle of light on a shell, which then acts as a portal?
> >>
> >> We should convert magical items and the rest of the campaign setting, but
> >> lets finish the spells first.
> >
> > Yes, but some fore-thought about what items spell be enchanted
> > into may be useful (though not normally mentioned in the spell
> > specs), and items can substitute for not knowing the spells.
> 
> We really aught to split this discussion off if you want to take it further.

Thread subject altered.


> Your Portal Compass, does what I see the Locate Portal spell doing (see my 
> other email), so perhaps you can make them using that spell.

Looks as though I messed-up talking about the Duration, so
probably not. See other post. Sorry.


> The problem with your portal lantern is that as you move towards the sphere, 
> you would change the circle (and the portal). You need something that works 
> like a flash bulb.
[snip]

Not really. Once you open the lantern and shine the magical light
it forms a circle/portal; there is no reason that the circle gets
smaller as you get closer - I was planning on using magic not
physics! [grin]  Of course, if putting out the lantern is what
makes the portal disappear, you'd better be very careful with it
as you pass through the portal!


> > I suggested Trasmutation rather than Creation as you could argue
> > that it should not need quite so much magical power (spell
> > level), and carrying rock (a hopefully inexpensive but dense
> > material) that is transmuted into the same mass of air would seem
> > to make sense.
> 
> Cleaning the air up can count as Transmutation, but creating air that wasn't 
> there before is almost certainly a Conjuration (creation) spell. As I 
> already said it *might* even be seen as getting air from the elemental plane 
> of air.
> 
> > I've also seen people with air-scrubbing alchemy (and presumably
> > spells) which help by removing the carbon dioxide from the air,
> > though they don't add any more oxygen.
> >
> > Maybe a Sewage-to-Rock spell might be useful, so a ship doesn't
> > waste any material?
> 
> And why do you want to retain mass? You don't need ballast. On a small 
> basis, you might be able to grow plants in treated sewage, purified with 
> some sort of spell ("Deck Tomatoes" perhaps).
[snip]

Retaining mass means that you are doing (permanent)
Transmutation, not Creation - if you are breathing the air you
don't want temporary Transmutation where the magic is just faking
up extra volume/mass for the spell duration.

Some DMs are a bit strict about conservation of mass - if you
want to change the mass you fetch it from somewere or dump it
elsewhere, for air the Elemental Plane of Air is obviously
popular. Magic is looked on as energy - yes you can directly
change it into mass, but that requires an awful lot of it.


> David Shepheard

-- 
Dreamer
dreamer@??????.?????.??.uk
http://www.romsys.demon.co.uk/