Spell Ring Artifact Rules

[Thrasher79]

Hi,

I used a chaos spell. I specifically designed one that can destroy artefacts. It’s rarely used. But if the heroes find out that the wizard in the room has this spell, panic immediately spreads

Best regards, Thrasher79

[Gold Bearer]

I used a chaos spell. I specifically designed one that can destroy artefacts. It’s rarely used. But if the heroes find out that the wizard in the room has this spell, panic immediately spreads

I thought about letting an upcast or overcast version of one of the spells do that but I decided it was too mean to take away a precious. Probably because of my own childhood wizard losing the mighty Borin's Armour.

[Thrasher79]

Hi,

as I said, the magic only occurs very rarely. But my group is very experienced. At some point, they had practically all the good artefacts in their possession. With our level system, they already had a lot more magic. And there are some healing spells among them. I only keep the balance so that they don’t become too powerful. We play really tough adventures, so the heroes need good basic conditions to succeed. I see myself as the game master more as an entertainer. I pull the strings in the background so that the heroes are still challenged. And when I think that the balance is no longer right, I intervene. My group, for example, had 8 potions of refreshment last time plus another 4 body points of healing potions, etc. Now, two game evenings later, they are back on earth. Only 1 potion of refreshment and 1 healing potion that replenishes 4 body points per hero. Now they are quiet again:-) No more ‘You have no chance against us...’ Now they are complaining again and are grateful for every potion and every ingredient.

Best wishes, Thrasher79

[Gold Bearer]

I wasn't criticising. I take away their magic toys all the time. I've got three categories, magic items, artefacts and quest treasures.
Magic items is potions, scrolls and the US stuff that I treat as non unique and can be bought from magic shops.
Artefacts are unique but temporary, finding it for someone or an evil/corrupted item that needs to be destroyed, etc.
Quest treasures they get to keep forever.
Magical toys is one of my favourite parts and this way I get to give them loads without making them OP because most are not for keeps.

[BlackJax]

I wasn't familiar with this Quest Treasure back in the day, only recently became aware of it via the Inn, but am planning to include it in my own games. I was going to use the following text, does this look clear or have I missed something?

Spell Ring

At the beginning of the Quest, a spellcaster with this ring can take one of their spell cards and place it onto this card. This spell can be cast as normal, but instead of discarding the spell card after use, the spell card can be returned to the spellcaster player’s hand so it can be cast again, on a subsequent turn, and discarded after this second use.

[Daedalus]

I had just this last week independently come up with the same solution, though the wording is a bit different, of course. I had no problem understanding your revised rule for the Spell Ring. Like.

[Parzival]

A few observations based on the 2021 Avalon Hill/Hasbro version:

Using an Item (which is not a weapon) does not count as an Action. The Action thus has nothing to do with using either the Spell Ring or the Wand of Magic. The action is simply Cast a Spell. What the Ring and the Wand do is boost that action in some way: The Spell Ring increases the choice of spell to cast by one (repeating a single spell). It does not grant the ability to cast that spell more than once in the same turn— but neither does it prohibit this! The Wand of Magic allows a caster to cast two spells in the same action. Since each spell is used up when cast, in and of itself a Wand of Magic does not allow a caster to do the same spell twice— but neither does it prohibit this!

If you have both magical items (“Artifacts”), then both are functioning and can function at the same time. So in this case you could indeed cast the same spell twice in the same action. Artifacts are typically additive in nature, not restrictive— Borin’s Armor can still be used with a Shield and Helmet, as an example. No Artifact supplants or prohibits the use of another Artifact unless the card text so states. (Weapons excluded of course— you can only use one weapon on a turn, Artifact or not.)

So if a Wizard has the Spell Ring and the Wand of Magic, he may indeed on one turn cast the same spell twice as one action. That uses up the Spell Ring for the remainder of the quest, but of course the Wand of Magic still remains viable. The Wizard doesn’t have to cast the same spell twice in the same turn, but he could— if he has both Artifacts.

There is no reason to hamper the Wizard’s usage of either Artifact simultaneously— especially as in any quest, that would be a one time use, never to repeated in that same quest.

When interpreting rules, don’t stomp on the heroes’ agency.

[BlackJax]

So perhaps this is better...less is more!

Spell Ring

At the beginning of the Quest, a spellcaster with this ring can take one of their spell cards and place it onto this card. This spell can be cast as normal, but instead of discarding the spell card after use, the spell card can be returned to the spellcaster player’s hand so it can be cast again as per the normal rules.