Magic (gaming) - Magical Objects

Magical Objects

Many game systems include rules for simulating objects that have intrinsic magical properties. The accumulation and use of such objects can be a significant component of games in the fantasy genre, and they serve a balancing role in long-duration games of escalating difficulty. These objects are carefully balanced by the designer, both by restricting how often they can be put into play and by limiting their capabilities.

There are several common techniques for controlling access to objects used within a game.

• Expendable — Objects such as a potion or a spell scroll can typically only be used once before they are expended.
• Charged — Some objects can possess multiple uses, but each use expends one or more charges. Once the charges are expended the object becomes inert, but a character of great power may be able to recharge it. Other items disintegrate when they run out of charges.
• Periodic — An object can have magical powers that can only be used a fixed number of times within a given period. Typically the period used is a day, a week, or a month in game terms.
• Restricted — An object could work only under certain conditions, such as a particular location or when a certain type of target is chosen. It might work for only certain categories of beings, such as characters with specific skills, moral ethos, or a particular in-game race or gender.
• Random — A specific item may have some magical ability that only works part of the time. This usually applies to weapons as a special attack, similar to a critical hit.
• Slot — Many magical objects must be worn or carried. These take up a "slot" on the body that prevents use of other magic objects that require the same slot.
• Price — The most powerful items are usually very expensive, and in some games where items can break (as in the Diablo computer RPG series), repairs are more expensive, too.
• Faulty — The object might not always work as intended, and it can have unpredictable effects when it malfunctions.
• Skill use — An object can provide a magical benefit that only operates when the owner employs a particular skill successfully.
• Cursed — An object can be cursed, and have a negative impact on the character that acquired it. Typically such objects are disguised as a beneficial item until they are placed into use. Often, a cursed item cannot be easily removed from the owner's possession once it is revealed to be cursed. In some games, cursed weapons/armor are usually much stronger than normal weapons/armor, but have a drawback such as losing health or canceling actions. Some of these may be designed to give a great advantage to a character class while weakening him in a way that is irrelevant to him, for example a certain cursed armor may provide a great boost to protection while causing spells to fail — a negligible penalty to a true fighter character.

An object can have multiple magical properties, each of which can be limited in a different manner. For example, a magical staff could have a fixed number of charges that can be spent to create a "blinding flash of light"; be able to provide "magical illumination" for several hours each day, and possess a permanent ability to "glow in warning" whenever it comes near a poisonous plant or animal. This staff must be held in both hands for the magic to "work", thus using up both hand "slots". It may also only operate for a character that also knows how to produce certain types of spells, for example the "flash" spell may require a wielder who knows the "Lightning" magic school.

A few rare magical objects possess an innate "intelligence" and personality, thus becoming a NPC in the game. This concept is similar in some respects to an intelligent robot in a science fiction game or story, although the entity within the object is usually portrayed as more mystical in nature. The character that wants to employ the object must then interact with the intelligence and find a means to persuade it to cooperate.

Some game systems place a heavy emphasis on giving a magical object a well-developed history and unique characteristics. This is usually done to provide depth to the story being told by the game, and to make the "magic" seem less technological and more mysterious. Another technique for maintaining the mystery is to hide the abilities of the magical object from the characters that find it. The characters must then "identify" the magical abilities, either by putting the object into use (which may or may not be possible – as some RPGs do not let the player equip an unidentified item) or by consulting an expert in magical folklore. Some game system also include spells, scrolls, or other magical devices that can be used to identify the abilities.