I don't like the idea of using spells in enchanting, seems that enchanting spells would be to limited in scope, especially for a Warrior Mage, although a nice set of utility spells would be fun. My idea is, for Warrior Mage Enchanting, to use sigils learned like smoking images or horse classes. Sigils would be used in varying patterns to create enchantments. The multitude of sigils and combinations, the challenge in learning and mastering them and complexity of creating the enchanted weapons/armor/items would make enchanting exciting but not just a side hobby (though it could be).

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Learning sigils -
In this proposed system there would me several methods of learning different sigils. The learning tree for sigils would be like spells where you would have to know how to create a certain sigil before you could learn specific others. As well, with some sigils a certain level of proficiency is required before advanced sigils could be learned. Learning them would require scholarship (perhaps a possible Warrior Mage unique lore skill). To learn them the first method would be from the guild leaders. Each guild leader would teach a different set of sigils, about 2 or 3 sigils per leader, or more depending on the amount of sigils released; all of these learnable if the Mage is willing to travel. These would only cover a segment of sigils that most Mages could possibly use.

The second method would be from non-guild leader NPCs and would cover advanced sigils. To find these sigils a Warrior Mage would have to do some research and footwork to find. Could be magic shopkeepers, new NPCs in the world, or old NPCs like the hedgewizard of Ratha. There could even be rare sigils from NPCs that were not in game most of the time that a GM would have to wake up. Some of these would be quest like and have to find and retrieve items or complete task before the NPC agreed to teach you.

Lastly and probably the most common method would be from player to player. Each sigil would have it's own level of difficulty. Teaching a sigil to another player would rely upon the teachers teaching skill and the students scholarship skill (and maybe a WM only lore ;). Also if the teacher is teaching a rune with a higher circle difficulty than the student has attained, it will be more difficult and fail depending on the difference in circle, offset by higher teaching and scholarship skills. Also like smoke images, sigils will have levels of mastery that advance much slower than images. With higher levels of mastery comes greater success in using the sigil and ease to teach.

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Types of Sigils -
What sigils would go into an enchantment depends on its type. They type of sigils that would function together would be depend on its type and the sigil itself. The primary type of sigil are called power sigils would be like the engine of an enchantment, giving the enchantment its energy. They could differ from sigils that draw from the wielder’s harness, to having a stored amount of energy, to producing energy with every hit that struck critically.

Another set of sigils would be elemental. These would be attuned to certain elements and have attributes and rules associated with each element. There would be more than one sigil for each element; for example, Earth would have the mountain and the lun (cave) sigil, while under water there were the tide, Journalai and torrent sigils. The different type of sigils would have different properties, amount of power they could hold, the form of the element they take, their connectivity, etc…

Then there are key sigils, ones that have no particular type, these are usually the brains of an enchantment. They finish off the rune patterns and set the other sigils to working together. Though that’s not the final type of sigil; to put all these together one more sigil type is needed, linking sigils. They do just as their name suggest. In this form of enchanting different sigils require different kind of links, such as an enchantment that called for a fire sigil and water sigil to be linked, it would be impossible unless you had the appropriate linking sigil or sigils to combine them.

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Using Sigils -
Creating an enchanted item would require a prepared item to be enchanted. The process wouldn’t completely be guesswork and trail an error, there would be a set of underlying principles to the system that players would figure out in time. Preparing it would require different means; rubbing it with a runestone material, dipping it in naptha or something to the effect that would leave the weapon in an altered state. Next would come the etching of the sigils into the piece. The difficulty of etching the sigil into the piece would depend on the malleability of the object, with a chance for a failure sending the stylus awry and ruining the sigil. Even though the attempt at the sigil was failed another procedure could be used to erase the failed etching and start over.

The patterned etched onto the weapon/armor/item the final step is a potion poured onto item. This potion could be created by the mage or bought, and there would be different potions for necessary to use for different enchantments. Once the last step is taken three things could happen: first the enchantment could take and the item remains the same or changes appearance depending on the enchantment, second the enchantment could fail horribly and the item turns to slag, or third nothing could happen and the item is as it was before the entire process began. In time a player would increase their own knowledge base of what patterns worked and which didn’t and the rules of enchanting.

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So just something to consider, an alternative to spells dealing with enchantments. In any method of enchanting I’d like to see a system based on the players problem solving skills and determination included with circle, ranks or die rolls.
Thank you for reading.

Vandread



"Oderint dum metuant."

I still say weapon ranks should count a whole lot. The market's gonna be too crowded...