On Binding Enchantments

[tnli]

When creating a binding enchantment, do you either:

1) Create a binding enchantment for, say, an elemental, or do you need to be more specific and say that it's for a fire elemental, then look at the fire elemental's stats, and determine that you need to sacrifice three points of POW as the fire elemental has three characteristics, and then can bind only fire elemental to that binding, OR...

2) Create a binding enchantment and sacrifice three points of POW for it to bind any spirit that has up to three characteristics, and then as you come up with spirits see if it has 3 or less characteristics (great, you can bind it into this enchantment!) or 4+ characteristics (bummer, can't bind it into this enchantment!).

3) Something different, let me know!

Obviously case 1 is a lot more restrictive than case 2.

Now, I have seen some items in the adventures that specify that they work as binding enchantments for only earth elementals or air elementals, so that would kind of push it towards the case 1.

Any thoughts?

[Kloster]

In RQ3, you were creating specific enchants (Fire elemental, frex). I have not checked, but I presumed this has not been changed.

[Stephen L]

2 hours ago, tnli said:

Create a binding enchantment for, say, an elemental

This is how I've always played it.  Though the rules don't explicit say it, there is the merest of hints in the wording on p249:

Quote

Thus, a typical spirit binding enchantment requires
a sacrifice of at least 2 points of POW (as spirits always
have CHA and POW, and sometimes INT), while a binding
enchantment for an elemental requires at least 3 points of
POW (elementals always have SIZ, STR, and POW)

However, the example on p251 is explicit 

Quote

Example: Yanioth, now a priestess of Ernalda, wishes to enchant
an Earth elemental binding enchantment into a jade bracelet

 

2 hours ago, tnli said:

Obviously case 1 is a lot more restrictive than case 2

I wouldn't say a lot more restrictive.  I'd suggest, as creating a binding enchantment costs permanent POW, you would be *mad* to create the enchantment, on the off chance you might meet something bindable which you then have the right control spells to stuff in.  Surely you'd summon and control whatever you wanted as soon as you created the enchantment?  In which case, it doesn't matter that it has to be sepecific.

It would mean, later on, you couldn't change you mind and swap, for example, a healing spirit for a general spirit.  But then, given its permanent POW, I'd probably be quite certain I wanted whatever it was I was binding.

[Lordabdul]

On 11/24/2020 at 9:21 AM, Stephen L said:

It would mean, later on, you couldn't change you mind and swap, for example, a healing spirit for a general spirit.  But then, given its permanent POW, I'd probably be quite certain I wanted whatever it was I was binding.

It could still be useful if you somehow lost control of the spirit, or someone let it free, or whatever. In that case you could bind a new spirit right away (using a spirit command spell to order it inside the enchanted item), compared to having to re-do the enchantment in addition to the binding.

The other useful case is that few PCs would have a Binding Enchantment spell (they are limited to Rune Lords/Priests), so they can't get a bound spirit unless someone can enchant an item for them.  This is somewhat supported by the published material: there are a couple of NPCs in Clearwine who have bound spirits but no Binding Enchantment... but arguably, they might have used Spell Trade for that (especially since one of those NPCs is Sora).

For me, it's either option 2 (someone can enchant the item and then sell it to you to bind or rebind something in it), or another option: that the Binding Enchantment has to be cast at the same time as the binding itself (and possibly by the same person only, given the wording of the rules), and so a lot fewer people have bound spirits.

Edited November 25, 2020 by lordabdul

[icebrand]

In rq3 (book 2, pg57) under "binding enchantment" it clearly says:

"Binding enchantments are species specific so an enchantment created to capture one species of creature cannot be used to capture another species"

 

RQG (pg249) under "binding enchantment"

The item to serve as the binding enchantment must be enchanted 
with 1 point of POW per characteristic possessed by the creature.

Thus, a typical spirit binding enchantment requires a sacrifice of at least 2 points of POW (as spirits always have CHA and POW, and sometimes INT), while a binding 
enchantment for an elemental requires at least 3 points of POW (elementals always have SIZ, STR, and POW).