Consumables
Players start each [Quest] length period with three consumables per character under almost all circumstances. Should players be exceptionally poor either in money or sense, they may end up starting with less. This is a fairly significant change, however, so consider it carefully. It can lead to failure becoming a slippery slope, as consumables are designed to take the edge off of that exact same slope.
We offer a large set of items with different durations, and enough of them that a single party is actually making meaningful choices about their loadouts. Notably, consumable items are rarely open to monsters, as it would not make sense for them to have such equipment. We use this to distinguish bosses, recurrent foes, and the like as well!
Finally, consumables offer something really special to players: loot they can use right away which directly affects their short term survival and can be accumulated meaningfully, unlike other magical or mundane items. This means that it is perfectly reasonable for players to find a chest of healing potions, or recover a pair of ancient Ankhs. Players should be able to expect one consumable per character about every 6 encounters, varying based on difficulty and likely not received all at once. On average, a character can expect to use or need a consumable about every three encounters, leading to a gradual but virtually inevitable loss of resources across the arc of the [Quest]. It's up to the GM how much this scarcity receives emphasis.
Consumable Rules Summary
| Lesser | Greater | Relic | Artifact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lvl. 1-4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lvl. 5-9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lvl. 10-20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
- Consumables normally require a swift action to activate, however exceptions exist.
- Consumables listed with a skill are considered linked with it. A character that wants to use that consumable must have that skill trained.
- A good general rule in trading or attempting to acquire Consumables is that a consumable is worth two Consumable items of the next tier down. Artifact Consumables cannot be traded down.
- The Artifacts are never available for trade, and are generally only found as rewards for perilous quests, or created via a recipe as part of an Artifact level magic item. Some games may find it useful to make the Ankh considerably more available, however.
- Again, we recommend that each player get 3 consumables per [Quest].
| Lesser Item | Greater Item | Relic | Artifact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | Healing Potion | Formal Favor | Rusted Ring | Ankh |
| Gloss Armor | Hourglass | |||
| Tiny Model | ||||
| Arcana | Hollow Horn | Illusionary Terrain | ||
| Diplomacy | Limited Diplomatic Immunity | |||
| Engineering | Brush Shield | Canned Lightning | ||
| Floating Eye | Daedalic Wings | |||
| Meat Grenade | Intricate Headgear | |||
| Geography | Granite Spike | Affable Cube | ||
| Shape Earth | ||||
| History | What Someone Else Knew | Spirit's Shielding | ||
| Larceny | Firebrand | Friends in Low Places | ||
| Nature | Instant Tree | Strange Acid Flask | ||
| Perception | Curious Monocle | Wolf Totem |