This example is block able with the shield but it is not affected by the armor, or at least that is how I read it. The armor basically provides X against Impact, Cut, and Thrust, thus does not effect the Cold damage. However, the shield blocks physical attacks, which this is. The armor, being that it effects only physical attacks, can be argued as to affecting the scythe, as that it is both physical and elemental. That is where the problem comes from, the shield and armor only effect physical attacks, and the scythe is both.

To Summarize: How I read it, the shield definitely works, but the armor I does not. believe does..

Lia Valenth said:

I see you watched Shana too!
Both me and this player are big fans of anime/jrpgs too, so yes, that is very much the style and idea he's coming from. So, having a weapon who's destiny is just as, if not more, important than his is part of his character concept. I'll take a look through and try to build something up then. Is * this * the latest version of AlphaWhelp's rules for their creation?

Lia Valenth said:

Gotcha. So, with only Gnosis 15, it would have to rely on DP to buy those features then, which would come out of it's 400 DP not already spent on powers? Or would it get 3 CP just like Gnosis 10-20 PCs do?

Ya, that is the latest I know of. He kind of gave up on it with Prometheus Exxet (the official artifact rules) out, as far as I know.

Normally monsters do not get CP, so it would come from the DP. How I understand it, CP abilities are the background abilities for a specific creature, DP abilities are the bonuses of the race. So if you are making a race of creatures to fight assume 0CP, but if you are making a specific, outstanding creature that is part of a race then they can have 0-5 (usually 3) base CP.
So, in summery, unless it is a boss assume 0CP.

At the moment I'm waiting from Prometheum Exxet (it was sent on the 18th of Jenuary from Spain and I'm in Italy, so I hope it won't get too much time to get here). If you're still in need of creating a Level3 Artifact when I get my hands on it, just tell me the concept and I'll do the dirty work.

As for how I rule the 3CP Artifacts, I usually make stuff that has a base bonus (like a weapon/armor being +10/+15/+20) and then let the artifact give some sperial bonus "per level or per even level" and eventually get a serious power boost once per 5-6 levels or so. This allows you to give give a 3CP artifact that isn't worldbreaking at Level1 but at the same time not useless at Level10.

Now, if your new character has Solomon's Blood it would be nice providing him/her with some technomagic tool. A powerful Leo Weapon (which are accessible to Level1 characters) could be a feasable option, or a technoarmor. By the way, which class is your player going to be? Depending on the class, the Artifact might be better the Armor or the weapon. Anyway, I have a little list of Level1 or 2 Artifacts for Ancient Blood characters as well as a few Level3 Artifacts I made. Since most of the stuff was collected on the Spanish Forum and is not MY creation, I'm not going to post it on the forum, but I might send you it all if you're interested, provided you give me some contact.

Sent a friend request Elric, with contact info in there. I'd love to see what the Spanish guys have done, as I haven't done much up on their forums, except register, and look at a couple of things.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Awesome. It'll probably be about 2 weeks before he's able to meet with us again, so yeah, we have some time. (I'll be using this weekend to finish up the module with the rest of our players.)

Elric of Melniboné said:

The scaling bonus idea does sound really good to me, we'll definitely have to make use of that.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Yeah, when he first presented me the character with Artifact 3, and an open disadvantage, that's when I figured it would be fun to give him the Ancient Blood (paid for with Powerful Enemy) because I thought something tied to technomagic and the Lost Logias would lead towards a good running plot-line.

In terms of character, he's currently looking at Paladin (though it's not entirely set in stone yet.) His idea for the artifact so far, is a big two-handed sword that can transform, whose purpose is the destruction of evil supernatural beings. (When I pointed out that unlike DnD, good/evil is gray in Anima he answered "then the enemies of Light, or dark creatures then.") So, so far I'm thinking that perhaps the second form should be a bow or a gun of some kind. Perhaps one that consumes the wielder's Zeon to fire arrows/beams of Light energy.

I'm definitely interested in what the others have come up with too, so I sent you a friend request.

A good solution would be a hiper-powered leo magnus weapon (bastard sword/pistol). An alternative with Solomon weapons is having them work with predetermined attack values (maneuvred by AI) at least when they're shooting.

One important think you should point out to your player is that Anima Paladins are pretty much different from their D&D counterparts. They can be mean bastards as much as wanted. Classes in Anima are just "scaffholds" for creating the character and DON'T describe who the character is as much as in D&D. Anyway, good and evil somewhat exist also in Anima, although they're not strictly linked to Beryls (light) and Shajads (darkness), with Abaddon of course being an exception to that. Evil creatures exist in Anima too, anyway and they usually take double damage from blessed stuff (Demons, Undeads...), although it should be noted that nothing impedes a Demon or an Undead not to be evil.

As far as Ancient Blood characters are concerned, anyway, the best build is Technician. Spend 0DPs on Attack and Defense and all your Combat DPs on Accumulations and Ki, and buy Solomon's Legacy techniques (which all work with Predetermined rolls). That's a killer build. I also created a Magnus to improve it, you can find it in Homebrewed Magnus.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Out of curiosity, where does the concept of Leo Weapons first come up? I don't recall seeing it in the Core book, Gaia 1, or the Monster Manual.

I take it "Solomon's Legacy" is from Dominus Exxet? But where is "Blessed"?

Leo Weapons is an Imposible Weapon from Dominus Exxet. The Solomon Legacy Ki Technique style is also from Dominus Exxet. As per Blessed...I've no idea.

"Blessed" is a concept typical of Executioners (those weapons forged by Abel...and copied afterwards by many - Inquisitors, but not only, often have them). Also, in Those Who Walked Among us it's clearly stated that demons (at least lesser) are vulnerable to blessed. As for undeads, I can't remember where I read they were vulnerable too...so I might also be wrong, but since most undeads are evil, I guess a blessed weapon should do the work anyway.

Okay, so here's my idea for one supernatural creature to send against them, and the stats I drew up. Any opinions and help making sure I've got this right would be appreciated.

========================================
Gold Snatcher (2ft tall, 45lbs)
Thief 2
LP 185 Damage Resistance
Between Worlds Construct 20

STR 3 DEX 10 AG I 10 CON 6 INT 3 PER 10 POW 7 WP 7
PhR 40 MR 40 PsR 40 VR 40 DR 40
Initiative 120 Gem-Cutter
Attack Ability 65 Gem-Cutter (60dmg, -3AT)
Defense Ability Damage Resistance
AT Natural + Gold Plating (Cut 6 Imp 6 Thr 6 Heat 6 Cold 6 Elec 6 Ene 2)

Size 4 Movement Value 8 Regeneration 0 Fatigue 6

Essential Abilities: Unnatural Size (-5), Quick Reflexes, Racial Vice: Theft, Lack of Smell and Taste

Powers:

Tactile Vision: The gold snatcher has no eyes with which to perceive the world, instead perceiving it just as well through it's heightened tactile sensors which also function as it's method of hearing sounds. (Extrasensorial Vision, Acute Sense (Touch))

Self-Repairing: By consuming a portion of the gold it has stolen equivalent to it's state of disrepair, the Gold Snatcher is able to repair the damage done to its body, recovering at a rate of Regeneration 10. (Regeneration 10--only works by consuming gold in weight proportional to LP lost. IE, it must consume 1.2lbs of gold objects per 5 LP lost.)

Spider Legs: The Gold Snatcher's legs are capable of sticking to nearly any surface, giving it the ability to move along walls and cielings much like a spider. (Free Movement)

Gold Plating: One of the first tasks a newborn Gold Snatcher sets about is enhancing its own, naturally hard skin with additional gold plating to offer it further protection from harm. It particularly enjoys using embroidered and painted gold objects for this task so that it may use those designs to enhance its disguise when it changes shape. (Natural Armor 5 Open at Head, Physical Immunity)

Golden Disguise: The most devious skill of the Gold Snatcher is it's ability to alter itself into almost any golden luxury item. It uses this ability to trick others into picking it up and transporting it into places filled with riches for it to steal and consume. The poor noble who happens to purchase a Gold Snatcher in disguise is one who will soon be bankrupt. (Metamorphosis, Condition: Golden objects only)

Gem-Cutter: The Gold Snatcher's only weapon is actually primarily a tool. As the name implies, its primary use is to cut objects too large for the Gold Snatcher to steal whole, with it's secondary use being to cut holes through chests and safes, or wherever needed so as to escape danger and retreat to its nest. However, because of it's design to cut through such hard and sturdy objects, it makes a fierce weapon capable of piercing most common armors. (Natural Weapon, +40dmg, -3AT)

Secondary Abilities Notice 60 (90), Search 60 (90), Disguise 50, Hide 80, Theft 60, Stealth 60

Description : The Gold Snatchers are originally constructs born in the wake, reflections of luxurious items imbued with the greed and hedonism surrounding them. They found their way onto Gaia when one of those traveling the wake encountered one in disguise and picked it up to bring back and sell. Though they have no interest in fighting and only defend themselves when escape seems impossible, their primary driving instinct is to acquire and accumulate wealth by any means possible. This is both their nature, and their only need in terms of survival.

Though a single Gold Snatcher in a poor village is a simple pest easily eradicated (and more easily sold-off by accident to a traveling merchant), in a city of great wealth such as Gabriel, they can become as fearsome a threat as a plague of locusts. Because of it's desire to accumulate wealth, Gold Snatchers often build hidden nests in a place they feel is safe, and close enough to a supply of wealth. However, once their nest grows to a certain size, they will use the accrued wealth to create more Gold Snatchers, each of which continue to use and further build the nest. If the supply of wealth is rich enough, their number can multiply rapidly, wreaking more havoc the wealthier their home proves to be.
======================================================

By my calculations, the stats come to 0DP total on Essential Abilities (or 20DP if you prefer to count the Acute Sense of Touch there), 280 DP on Powers, 45 DP on Damage Resistance, and the rest on Abilities. The stats already include her stat bonuses to the totals, with their Natural Bonus placed in Search and Disguise. Aside from the listed stats, I'm thinking they should have at least a +40 Bonus to Disguise when using Golden Disguise (for prepared materials), though I feel like it should actually be more, or a different check of some sort.

If this checks out, I'll use these stats as a base to create the Nest Guardians which are meant to be similar, but more tank/offensive (AKA the Boss for a session of dealing with Gold Snatchers).

Nice, but 185Life Points with Damage Resistance is somewhat...frail. Still perhaps they might be a good training for a level1 party.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Yeah, the party is only freshly level 2, and I don't intend for any of the individual Gold Snatchers to be a real combat challenge. My goal is more using them for an investigation-type session, where the PCs need to uncover the source behind the thefts (and perhaps recover their own lost wealth).

I don't intend for a single Gold Snatcher to be much challenge in combat; if they were they'd be a serious threat to small towns as well. My idea is more that in a wealthy city like Chaville (the PC's current location), the Gold Snatchers will quickly multiply to vast numbers, much like a plague of locusts.

I see the three challenges posed by the Gold Snatchers to be 1) Uncovering the fact that they are the source of the crimes, 2) Combat against the Nest Guardians, and 3) Managing to actually exterminate all of them, eliminating the infestation.

I'm kind of curious if they can figure out a way to accomplish 3), since even I'm not sure how they'll do so in a place like Chaville...

Okay, so what I have so far for Nest Guardians:

========================================
Nest Guardians (9ft, 1,000lbs)
Warrior 4
LP 1230 Damage Resistance
Between Worlds Construct 20

STR 10 DEX 8 AG I 6 CON 9 INT 3 PER 8 POW 7 WP 6
PhR 55 MR 50 PsR 5 0 VR 55 DR 55
Initiative 85 Gem-Cutter (75 for Multiple Attacks)
Attack Ability 135 Gem-Cutter (115dmg, -3AT) (With Additional Attack Module: 85/85/85/75)
Defense Ability Damage Resistance
AT Natural + Gold Plating (Cut 7 Imp 7 Thr 7 Heat 7 Cold 7 Elec 7 Ene 4)

Size 23 Movement Value 6 Regeneration 0 Fatigue 9

Essential Abilities: Unnatural Size (+5), Quick Reflexes, Lack of Smell and Taste, Ambidextrous

Powers:

Tactile Vision: The gold snatcher has no eyes with which to perceive the world, instead perceiving it just as well through it's heightened tactile sensors which also function as it's method of hearing sounds. (Extrasensorial Vision, Acute Sense (Touch))

Self-Repairing: By consuming a portion of the gold it has stolen equivalent to it's state of disrepair, the Gold Snatcher is able to repair the damage done to its body, recovering at a rate of Regeneration 10. (Regeneration 10--only works by consuming gold in weight proportional to LP lost. IE, it must consume 4lbs of gold objects per 5 LP lost.)

Spider Legs: The Gold Snatcher's legs are capable of sticking to nearly any surface, giving it the ability to move along walls and ceilings much like a spider. (Free Movement)

Gold Plating: One of the first tasks a newborn Gold Snatcher sets about is enhancing its own, naturally hard skin with additional gold plating to offer it further protection from harm. It particularly enjoys using embroidered and painted gold objects for this task so that it may use those designs to enhance its disguise when it changes shape. (Natural Armor 5 Open at Head, Physical Immunity)

Gem-Cutter: The Gold Snatcher's only weapon is actually primarily a tool. As the name implies, its primary use is to cut objects too large for the Gold Snatcher to steal whole, with it's secondary use being to cut holes through chests and safes, or wherever needed so as to escape danger and retreat to its nest. However, because of it's design to cut through such hard and sturdy objects, it makes a fierce weapon capable of piercing most common armors. (Natural Weapon, +40dmg, -3AT)

Secondary Abilities Notice 80 (110), Search 50 (80)

Ki Powers: Use of Ki, Ki Control, *Crippling Strike

Crippling Strike : Delivers a single attack determined to inflict a mortal wound. (Automatic Crit, +50 Crit Level) Cost: 4 POW 5 STR, 4WP, 4CON
(Effectively capable of using once, on the 4th round of combat or later.)

Description : When the Gold Snatchers' nest becomes vast enough to require defense, they construct these devices to keep their collective hoard safe from intruders and other thieves. Since the Guardians never leave the nest for any reason, they are built with complete disregard for stealth. Their purpose is only to slay any who intrude and threaten the hoard. As such they are constructed with two large gem-cutters for the purpose of dicing apart their foes, and the skill to bring them to bear against their foes with frightening speed.

They are also equipped with an emergency protocol allowing them to pool their energy into dealing a crippling strike against foes who do not fall quickly before their blades.
======================================================

If my numbers are right, all the stat bonus and bonuses for class are already included. Unlike the Gold Snatchers, the guardians have 210 DP to Damage Resistance. Crippling Strike has the "Bound to Single Element: Earth" disadvantage, which makes it 30MK instead of 45MK, allowing it to fit within the 100MK gained from Warrior.

So, question... am I reading/interpreting this right?

"Reactions, or Passive Actions, are those performed instinctively, in response to events... They are performed instantly, as needed"

So... A mage/psychic is capable of tossing up their magic/psychic shield at any time, in response to any attack? So even after whittling away at it with multiple attacks, only the one that actually breaks through is capable of damaging them, because they can immediately throw a new shield up against the second, following attack?

Also, our mentalist still finds it hard to accept that his Psychokinetic Armor is "less effective than plain old leather armor" against Heat, Cold, and Electric damage. That is the case though, right? (In regards to pure energy attacks such as fireball.)

how many Nest Guardians are you planning on them fighting (and what level do you expect them to fight it at?)

also, psychokinesis says exactly what it is, it's all physical. if you wanted to block any type of attack, go into the Energy discipline and get that shield.

also, yes they can put up a shield in response. but dont forget that a mentalist that has already used a psychic power during the round has 0 potential left over, so he's basically rolling 1d100 and thats that, same for mages, if they dont have zeon to cast their shield defensively, they cant put one up.

Raybras said:

They're only level 2, so probably just one Nest Guardian as the session's boss fight. Maybe with a couple Gold Snatchers nearby at most.

That brings up a question with the mages then-does "don't have zeon" mean they're Zeon Stock is depleted, or they've used their max MA for the round, or they haven't accumulated any Zeon by the time the attack comes?

if their zeon stock is depleted is a definite no cast, having no accumulated zeon also is a no cast. if you cast a spell during the round and have some zeon left over, it can be used as such. all in all, if no zeon is currently accumulated, no shield casting.

also, what is the party's general combat values? (attack/defense/projection)

Kouryuu said:

Its MA, but of course not that simple, because they can use passive spells with their MA instantly. Lets use an example of a mage that has 50MA;

Example 1) The wizard goes after someone who attacks him, he can use all 50 Zeon on a shield.
Exemple 2) The wizard goes early and they decide to use 30 Zeon to cast an offensive spell. They have 20 zeon to use a shield, less than any shield in the game costs. In this case they could not put up a shield, unless they used 2 fatigue to increase their MA by 30, which comes with its own problems if you get low on fatigue. The next round they have only 50 Zeon to use again (anytime you cast a spell all extra Zeon goes back to your Zeon pool at the beginning of the next round).
Example 2) Same wizard casts a better offensive spell at the beginning of the round, costing 50 Zeon. They now have 0 Zeon leftover and can not cast a shield no matter what they do.

If they accumulate for a round and start the next round (100Zeon at their disposal for shield, and attack on thier turn) and cast an offensive spell that costs 80 or 100 Zeon they have the same problem for the shield, respectively, while a 50 Zeon spell would give them 50 Zeon to use on the shield. But the next round they would only have 50 Zeon to use. There are a lot more examples that could occur with different effects, but hopefully this makes sense.

To Summarize: magic is complicated.

Elric of Melniboné said:

Okay, so I've got Dominus Exxet in hand now, and we'll be playing again this weekend (with the artifact character joining the party at last). The Leo Bastard Sword/Pistol definitely seems like the right way to start. I am a bit confused though--Do the weapons do everything listed under the section on their own, or does the character have to acquire the Leo Weapons Magnus before he can take full advantage of their capabilities? If so, how useable are they prior to meeting the requirements for the magnus?

The player is looking to have the gun-blade be anti-dark creatures, and to unleash greater power as the user falls closer to death. Suggestions/help?

Lia Valenth said:

Shields are actually based on Maintenance. If a mage throws up a shield and maintains it, the zeon each turn is pulled straight from their pool. There is no impact on MA after it is cast, initially.

tasuret said:

Only if you put one up at some point during the battle or just prior. The only shield that can be maintained forever is Perfect Shield (without...like 172,800 Zeon Regeneration a day [Good luck with that ], or using Divine Magic to maintain it). My above post assumes a shield has not yet been cast, or if a shield is broken. One thing to get out of this is to keep some Zeon as backup in case your shield breaks.