Cinco: Inventory Items

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Oh yeah, I forgot I was doing this! Here's some gorgeous art by Norn Noszka to start. :) Last time, I talked about the UX side of your character's inventory. This time, I'm talking about what you can slot into it. I'm trying not to say "structure" and "content" for some reason. Character development?

Armor

Armor is pretty boring, and I think only one player (Ènziramire!) has a defensive item which he basically reskinned as a vodou amulet. Much cooler! I have the basic D&D armor types otherwise, which aren't particularly exciting but are at least useful as a comparison:

  • Leather: +2 defense [12]; 1 slot; resistant against elements.
  • Chainmail: +4 defense [14]; 1 slot; vulnerable to elements.
  • Plate: +6 defense [16]; 2 slots; vulnerable to elements; cannot swim.

The defense values are basic bitch. More interesting is to think of armor as making characters more or less vulnerable to elemental harm, even if it otherwise helps one avoid harm in general. The choice between leather or chainmail is between having +2 extra defense, or resisting elemental effects (originally I put just "lightning" and "fire", but leather also is nice insulator for yourself in the cold, so I was like yeah why not water and ice... and then why be so specific?). This isn't meant to be formal, anyway; just meant to help prompt situations or outcomes based on the material fiction (???) of the game. Think of Zelda's "chemistry engine".

Weapons

The damage types of physical weapons are basically the same as D&D Fifth Edition, except that each type has a different critical effect. This was largely inspired by Bob the World Builder's house rule (in fact, I drafted my version after seeing his original video, not seeing that his second video resolved some misgivings I had about the first). The main difference was, I figured, why not just replace crits altogether with specific effects rather than having the house rule build on top of existing crits? This is how it comes down:

  • Bash: Target becomes vulnerable until they spend 1 action to shake it off.
  • Pierce: Deal double hearts of damage (ol' reliable!).
  • Slash: Deal damage to all adjacent opponents of equal or lesser defense.

There's other ways to build on weapons to make them more complex. Ranged weapons require ammo to be equipped in addition to the weapon itself; you can spend the ammo card to deal +1 damage on a hit, but otherwise you don't need to worry about tracking anything. Large weapons, which take up 2 slots, deal +1 damage (this usually adds up to 2). Finally, firearms or crossbows deal +1 damage since they require you to reload between uses.

If you do the math, the most powerful hit you can do (base 1) is shooting a large (+1) firearm (+1) and spending ammo (+1) for a total of 4 damage—which, as a piercing weapon, would crit for 8 damage. This is a very expensive move that could put you in danger, though.

Adventuring Gear

I don't ask anyone to track chump change. I just remind everyone they can pick up or swap out any mundane items before an adventure begins, or while they're in a place where they could go shopping. The important part is whether you decide to pick up specific tools that allow you to do specific things, or if you pick up some supply (3 per slot) which basically acts as an abstract consumable. There is little friction or busywork, which has been nice.

This all mostly comes up in a camping phase which... hasn't come up because I like setting my sessions in populated areas. Hypothetically, though, you can restore 1 heart or 1 inspiration each night by: spending 1 supply (like rations or medicine); sleeping in a tent (oh my god, it can only fit two crewmates!); and finding shelter from the wilderness. Again, I can't really speak to it, but hypothetically it sounds intuitive and fun.

Arcana

We play with very freeform magic! Your character can start with an arcana (magic item), and you just decide the thematic or aesthetic basis of your magic. Then, you can spend 1 inspiration to use the arcana to do something that you normally, physically couldn't do. D&D is D&D and, although we don't actually see much combat, one common use is just to do a water beam—in which case, you just deal D6 damage on a hit and talk with me about what a crit looks like if you do crit. Players have also used magic to put out fires, or illuse themself as an NPC's ancestor. Freefrom magic feels good! It feels genuinely magical to negotiate the effects of a spell and experiment with what's possible, if you don't fuck it up.

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