Alchemy System Concept #1

All Numbers are subject to change, this is a rough draft.

Major points of change:
* Converting Alchemy Points (AP) to Generic Grist. 1 AP = 100 Grist
* Alchemy Cards no longer exist, instead you simply have Items, and Sylladex Cards, and the Sylladex Cards are filled with the items.
* The Alchemy Categories still apply

All Items now have 4 traits:
* Attribute(s) - Attributes determine what Power Effects can be applied to the Item
* Categories - Common, Uncommon, and Rare, the purpose behind this will be explained later.
* Grist Cost - How much it would cost to create the item
* Abilities - Power Traits and Effects.

Category Modifiers:
* Common - 1
* Uncommon - 2
* Rare - 3

Each Power Trait and Effect is assigned a Grist Cost (a simple conversion from the AP costs), this is then multiplied by the Category of the Item = This is the cost of the End Product.

The old system had no way of restricting what you could make based on the materials you had. excluding your own logic and the GM's Approval, there was no reason you couldn't abuse the system and say, use a Lamp and a T-Shirt to make a Rocket. Attributes change that. Attribute is basically any Descriptive term you can attach to the Item in question. an Attribute tells you what Power Effects an Item is allowed to have, and thus what the end product alchemised item is capable of having. There is potentially limitless amounts of Attributes, which is okay, because we don't need them all immediately, If there isn't the right ones for your item, then MAKE THEM!

This being said, If you applied every single applicable Attribute, it'd probably only restrict you from using one or two Power Effects, which is ridiculous. So there's an limit of attributes per Alchemization. Think of it like a Recipe for a Chocolate Cake. You can't make it if you don't have chocolate, but you can't make a Vanilla Cake if all you have is Chocolate. Mechanically, It works like this:

Item Category Modifier + Other Item Category Modifier (add as needed) + Alchemitting Skill (Imagination Modifier) = # of Alchemitable Attributes.

For Example, you're putting together a Glowstick and a Sword. Glowstick is a Common Item, Sword is an Uncommon. Your Imagination Modifier is +2. this means the number of Attributes you can use are 1+2+2=5. You then assign which Attributes you want to use, allowed to choose out of the Attributes that Glowstick and Sword would have, here's some examples:
Glowstick
* Light Attribute
* Chemical Attribute
* Plastic Attribute
* Liquid Attribute
* Artificial Attribute
Sword
* Metal Attribute
* Weapon Attribute
* ?Sharp Attribute?
* Artificial Attribute

So You choose to use Light, Chemical, Weapon, Metal, and Artificial Attributes. Congratulations! You made a GLOWSWORD! What can it DO? well look at the available Power Effects (Power Traits are Universal) and spend as MUCH GRIST AS YOU WANT ON IT!

I really like this system. it's three simple steps that can be greatly expanded upon, or be kept quite simple, it makes it so the GM doesn't have to approve every single Item, AND that items are realistic, AND FINALLY keeps a Grist System that's more faithful to the Comic.

Heres Version 1.2

The Motif / Idea I want to encourage here is this:
"With Greater Imagination, Comes Greater Risk. With Greater Risk, Comes Greater Reward."

We're going to do some explaining of the system from a "Problem, Solution" style:

* Problem: "Barbasol Bombs would cost as much as repeatability exploding sword or something"
* Solution: Keep AP, but ALSO instigate the Grist System (because people want it). Every Item has an AP Allowance as determined by Player Character Level. Every Item has a Grist Cost as determined by Item Complexity

* Problem: "But what stops me from having 50 Barbasol Bombs at once?"
* Solution: The Sylladex of course. You're limited to the number of cards you have in your Sylladex hand. If you've got 50 cards, sure, fill them with Barbasol Bombs, but you can't carry anything else.

* Problem: "Isn't this just Treasure / Craft Grinding? Like in WoW, Minecraft, and other games with resources? I HATE TREASURE GRINDING!"
* Solution: If you were REALLY determined to obtain an item that requires grist levels you currently don't have access to easily, or want to rapidly expand your Sylladex, yes, you could concieveably Grind, work the system, eat up A LOT of inworld time, but you don't have to at all to have an enjoyable time, Plus with this system you can't really "go looking for trouble". there is barely any Random Encounter Hunting. I throw monsters at you when I feel like it, and Monsters are one of the only ways to get Grist.

* Problem: "It's not fair that his Fetch Modus is so easy Mechanically but mine is really hard!!"
* Solution: You're right, it isn't, which is why we're gonna handle this two different forms: Purist, and Simple.
* * Simple - This is for those who don't want to deal with the hassle of Fetch Modi. We'll devise a simple system that captures the randomness of Fetch Modi, without the complexity of an actual Mechanical Fetch Modi.
* * Purist - this is for those who want to use a Fetch Modi mechanically, despite the annoyance or the "unfairness" of it, because they still find it fun and "nostalgic" of the comic. For their Sacrifice, they get a reward, an incentive to keep using the annoying but more comic-like mechanics. Ranks are assigned, 1. Complex 2. Moderate 3. Simple, each one offers you increasingly less Boondollars every time you use it, as an incentive for using it.

Everything here of course needs to be explained more, but this gives you the idea.

Ok, in a discussion in the forums, this alternative was discovered:

*Major, combat important items are kept as made in the book. This is to keep combat balance and simplicity.

*Minor items are treated much looser, either requiring a stat check or nothing at all.

*Examples:

**Alice wishes to make a bunch of Barbasol Bombs to use instead of "I pick up a rock" for Unarmed Ranged Basic attacks. The GM says "Okay, you've been killing a bunch of imps recently, I say you'd have enough grist to do that.

**Bob wishes to make a one-shot jetpack to allow him to jump a chasm. The GM says "Okay, you just killed that Basilisk, so I'd say you have enough grist to do this", then asks Bob what he wishes to use to make this. He decides he will use his backpack and a 2-liter bottle of soda to make a one-shot, fizz powered jetpack. The GM okays this idea, and tells Bob to make a science check. If Bob rolls over a 10, bob will get a +2 to his Athletics Check, as if an assist had been made on him, to represent making and using a quality jetpack. However, if Bob rolls under a 10, he will get a -2 to his athletics check, as if an assist had failed for him, representing making and using a really bad jetpack. If bob gets an even 10, nothing happens to represent making and using an average jetpack.

**Charley wants to make another weapon for her SwordKind Abstratus, with the same stats as her current weapon, but with different appearance. She decides she makes it with her current sword and a poster for the movie Atlantis. The GM rules that this is ok, and that since she'd recently fended off an Agent of Derse, she'd have the grist to do this. The Atlantean Scimitar is easily made.

**Dave wants to make a new weapon for his Whipkind abstratus. He wants to make it able to do more damage with a burst of warped space, which he's decided to represent with an Elemental Infusion (3). The GM rules that since this changes the stats of the weapon in a major way, Dave must wait until he levels up and can buy it with Alchemy Points, despite that he just singlehanded slayed Hedgemonic Brute. Though, if he can do that, Dave probably doesn't need it anyways.

Keeping Random Common Deck after Character Creation.

At Character Creation you get 4 Item Points. Use these to buy as many Common Deck Items as you want / possible, then convert anything left into grist. Items are assigned points values, most of them correspond with their lvl but not all of them.