Goonhub
09-12-2016, 07:25 AM
Most of the current setup would remain the same, but I suppose I can give an example.
So, most of the current Art Lab would exist, as current. To make things smoother, I would add an effect to multi-tools to measure Artifact Charge.
So, as an artifact scientist, you might start off with a couple artifacts. Lets say both are Eldritch to start (gives a bit more meat to the starting research).
You decide to experiment on one of them a bit, and after hitting it with things and burning it you discover that its charge goes up when exposed to fire, but it is pretty slow.
That is pretty threatening, powerful artifacts can cause a lot of damage. You throw it in the fire in toxins to let it charge, and work on the other one more instead.
You discover it charges when you wash it with water, and pretty fast too. You poke it and electrifies you, but its pretty weak so you get up quickly. You make some notes.
Eldrich: Chemical -> Power. Absorbing-> Targets user. Chemical Emit = Emits Power
That means the thing in the other room doesn't target you directly, at least. Good odds it targets somewhere far away then.
You drag it back to the lab and poke it. Nothing seems to happen. Almost 20 squares away, people start complaining about this giant wall that is blocking off the hallway. You investigate a bit, and discover you can deploy them by poking the artifact (most active use is by poking it), and it will deploy in the direction you are facing.
This thing is pretty juiced, the barriers are lasting a couple minutes, and after playing around with it a bit, you discover the artifact turned off - out of power.
Some guy incinerated Toxins, so you aren't using the fire to recharge this. Screw this, your other artifact just shocks you. You drag your shocker-artifact in front of the PTL, and ask the engineers to crank it up for a second. The artifact becomes slag.
You use a crowbar on the wreck, and get a Power Core. After walking back to your long range wall-maker, you jam the core in it (no tools required!). You splash some water on it to test, success, this thing is now super easy to charge.
The walls now last 10 seconds, but you figure its worth it because it runs on water.
Alternatively:
If that was an acid or some other form of 'Absorbing' effect, the second half might have gone like this:
That means this thing that just finished charging in toxins? It is going to target the user. After thinking about it a bit, you drag it out into the hallway and pay an assistant to poke it for you.
If this was a harm effect, he would probably explode, but instead he gets a glowing shield around him. This looks like its a force-wall style effect, and he runs off thinking he is immortal (it will wear off sooner or later).
You make a note: Eldritch: Thermal -> Barriers.
You sell this to security, and tell them they will need to recharge it by using wielders on it a ton, or bringing it back to science so you can throw it into the fire.
Now, in practice, that shocking effect might have also recharged gear on you (just shocking a target direct is a bit lame), but that scientist never really investigated. They now know the targeting for Eldritch artifacts, and can (somewhat) safely test them. Both are the sort that needs to be used to be activated, so the entire line is safe. They will also have some good guesses about what cold/chemical charging artifacts will do, if they are Eldritch.
Was that clear enough?
So, most of the current Art Lab would exist, as current. To make things smoother, I would add an effect to multi-tools to measure Artifact Charge.
So, as an artifact scientist, you might start off with a couple artifacts. Lets say both are Eldritch to start (gives a bit more meat to the starting research).
You decide to experiment on one of them a bit, and after hitting it with things and burning it you discover that its charge goes up when exposed to fire, but it is pretty slow.
That is pretty threatening, powerful artifacts can cause a lot of damage. You throw it in the fire in toxins to let it charge, and work on the other one more instead.
You discover it charges when you wash it with water, and pretty fast too. You poke it and electrifies you, but its pretty weak so you get up quickly. You make some notes.
Eldrich: Chemical -> Power. Absorbing-> Targets user. Chemical Emit = Emits Power
That means the thing in the other room doesn't target you directly, at least. Good odds it targets somewhere far away then.
You drag it back to the lab and poke it. Nothing seems to happen. Almost 20 squares away, people start complaining about this giant wall that is blocking off the hallway. You investigate a bit, and discover you can deploy them by poking the artifact (most active use is by poking it), and it will deploy in the direction you are facing.
This thing is pretty juiced, the barriers are lasting a couple minutes, and after playing around with it a bit, you discover the artifact turned off - out of power.
Some guy incinerated Toxins, so you aren't using the fire to recharge this. Screw this, your other artifact just shocks you. You drag your shocker-artifact in front of the PTL, and ask the engineers to crank it up for a second. The artifact becomes slag.
You use a crowbar on the wreck, and get a Power Core. After walking back to your long range wall-maker, you jam the core in it (no tools required!). You splash some water on it to test, success, this thing is now super easy to charge.
The walls now last 10 seconds, but you figure its worth it because it runs on water.
Alternatively:
If that was an acid or some other form of 'Absorbing' effect, the second half might have gone like this:
That means this thing that just finished charging in toxins? It is going to target the user. After thinking about it a bit, you drag it out into the hallway and pay an assistant to poke it for you.
If this was a harm effect, he would probably explode, but instead he gets a glowing shield around him. This looks like its a force-wall style effect, and he runs off thinking he is immortal (it will wear off sooner or later).
You make a note: Eldritch: Thermal -> Barriers.
You sell this to security, and tell them they will need to recharge it by using wielders on it a ton, or bringing it back to science so you can throw it into the fire.
Now, in practice, that shocking effect might have also recharged gear on you (just shocking a target direct is a bit lame), but that scientist never really investigated. They now know the targeting for Eldritch artifacts, and can (somewhat) safely test them. Both are the sort that needs to be used to be activated, so the entire line is safe. They will also have some good guesses about what cold/chemical charging artifacts will do, if they are Eldritch.
Was that clear enough?