10.5 Items

Magic items are a staple of fantasy games. I have not included them in the basic rules for Anima Prime because they’re not central to the actual stories told with this kind of game, and you can use all the items you want in your maneuvers and strikes—their effects are just not predetermined.

For example, I’ve had playtest conflicts where characters used grenades or traps in maneuver descriptions. It’s part of making the maneuver cool and varied to earn GM-given dice, and so the characters relying on items in this way are just as effective as those who just use flashy style and their bare hands. Further, the use of Awesome Tokens to take away strike dice from a conflict already emulates getting some item or another out of the conflict for later use.

On the other hand, I understand that there is a lot of fun to be had in being a collector and in getting a tangible random payoff out of a conflict. You can easily introduce that dynamic into your Anima Prime game, but it will always be setting-specific. After all, the kinds of items to get and the kinds of adversity you’re fighting for the materials will depend heavily on your setting.

Creating an item system will take some work. You’ll need to account for the following things:

1. What does each item do and how does that relate to powers?
2. Can you combine or trade items?
3. Which adversity has which items?

Item Effects

The first step is developing a list of effects for the items. Here you have a few choices:

1. The items are single-use. They have a particular effect, and after they are used, they are gone.
2. The items have effects just like Soulbound Weapons. They grant conditions or other modifications that are in effect as long as the item is equipped.

You also need to figure out if anyone can use items, or if they are tied to powers. For example, you could have a Use Items power that either works like Soulbound Weapon and Upgrade Weapon or like an action power during a conflict. For each level of Use Items that the character has, she can use items of that level (whether they’re equipped as armor or used as disposable items). Creating items out of materials could depend on yet another power.

Sources

The source of items in most games are enemies, whether directly (item drops) or indirectly (money/material drops). There also often are rewards for missions or other such things, which in Anima Prime you can tie into conflict goals or handle in the same way as the players earn faction and engagement dice.

When the source of items is adversity, you can either assign a specific item drop to specific enemies or you can create random lists.

If you feel like emulating the “overkill” effect of certain source materials, you can double the items gained if a character inflicts more wounds in the final strike against a character than she needed to defeat it.

Example Item System

I prefer items, if they are included in my games at all, to be disposable so that they don’t replace or overshadow the characters’ own powers. The following is an example system for items that you can plug into the premade Ghostfield setting (see chapter 12) or use as a template for your own system.

Powers

Create Items
This power is needed in order to turn raw materials into usable items. Take it once to be able to make standard items. Take it twice to be able to create advanced items as well. If you don’t have this power, you can trade twice the needed materials for an item of that type whenever you get in touch with one of the crime cartels (you need a link to one or both cartels to do this). Creating an item out of raw materials takes one round per item; spend an Awesome Token to create an item in one action instead.

Use Items
This power is needed to actually use items. Take it once to be able to use standard items. Take it twice to be able to use advanced items as well. Without this power, you cannot use items at all. Using an item counts as the character’s action for that turn, which uses up the item. Use Item can be done as an action with an Awesome Token, just like any other power.

Mix Items (free power with Create Items II and Use Items II)
A character who has Create Items II as well as Use Items II can use an action to use two items together for a special effect. Mix Items can be done as an action with an Awesome Token, just like any other power.

Item Effects

The following tables list 3 things: the item name, its required materials to create it, and the effect it has when you use it. In this case, the items often work like a specific power. The PC does not need to have that power or expend charge dice to use an item.

Some of the items trigger strike rolls. These have their own dice that do not come out of anyone’s pools. Those dice are all discarded after the strike.

Some of the items have effects that are ineffective against characters with certain powers. Body Resistance and Soul Resistance apply here.

You can expand this as you like, with different cores and items. I haven’t playtested this and won’t guarantee that it balances out with other powers.

Standard Items:

(see beta pdf for table)

Advanced Items:

(see beta pdf for table)

Mixed Items:

(see beta pdf for table)

Drop Tables

Roll a D6, add the competence rating of the adversity (use the original value if it was lowered via goals during the conflict), and consult the appropriate table below to figure out which materials can be gained from the defeated enemy.
Gaining materials takes a character scene per enemy, during which the PCs extract the items from the remains. You should still play out character interaction during this scene and you gain none of the usual scene benefits.

If the adversity is not among the categories listed below, the PCs cannot gain any materials from the enemy. Alternatively, the GM could give the PCs a coin and let them exchange 5 coins for a Fire, Frost, or Shock Core.

(see beta pdf for tables)

When the PCs are Beyond (see the Ghostfield setting details), the GM can create goals that allow the characters to retrieve some materials from the floating rocks. This is up to the GM. Note that characters can, in the absence of adversity, fulfill goals during character scenes. Use this in conjunction with the Threat Die above for fast-paced and dangerous excursions Beyond.

In addition, in Ghostfield, I would let the characters sell materials and items in exchange for faction dice.

As a final note, I might consider giving at least Item Use I to all PCs for free, just so that they can actually make use of their spoils without having to give up anything else, but that’s up to how your group wants to handle this.