I have an idea for an ice themed magus. As part of this theme, I like the idea of the magus having a talisman that is a staff made of ice. Now the logistics of such a silly item I can fix with magic, like stopping it melting, shattering, and being slippery.
But ice can melt and this could be quite cool (pun intended). If a talisman made of ice were to melt into a puddle of water, would it necessarily be disenchanted as if destroyed? Could the item contain an effect to turn it into water and then reform back again later? I like the idea of this character storing his talisman as water in a waterskin to avoid suspicion and get it past nosy guards.
Further more, what kind of bonuses would ice get as a material bonus? Is there much in the way of material bonuses relating to ice or cold from any item? I thought about doing potent magic with this character but couldn't find any suitable bonuses.
We do that all the time with our talismans. Swords, staffs, shields, armor, fancy clothing, even a ship talisman are regularly transformed to rings earrings, broaches, cloaks, boots... and other inconspicuous items. I cannot see why your talisman could not be turned to water. In fact I cannot see why you cannot have a pond as a talisman in the first place
Seems fine from a technical point of view to me. If the talisman is meant to be melted, then it isn't destroyed by melting. If the talisman isn't meant to be melted, then it would be destroyed by melting. Ultimately, whether it can be melted or not is just a design decision for the character (/ the player) to make.
Potentially, some practical issues to think about. For example:
If it turns to water and then gets poured into a lake what happens? Is it destroyed via dillution? Or does the taliman "water" maintain its integrity?
What if half of the water is poured into each of two different mugs? Does this destroy the talisman? If it doesn't, which mug is the talisman in?
What happens if somebody drinks the talisman?
What happens if the talisman water is boiled and turned into vapour/steam?
Any answer to these sorts of questions is OK, but it is probably wise to think through the answer before it arises in play.
Yeah, those were exactly some of the questions I was thinking about.
I figured that many of them would be the same for a wooden staff. If someone broke it in half and put both halves into separate bags, would it still work? Clearly not. Therefore separating the water into two halves or dividing it in anyway would also destroy this talisman. An effect to keep the water together might well be handy, or making sure the owner is very care about turning it into water.
Still struggling to work out material bonuses for ice. I figure certainly something to do with ice and cold, but beyond that I can't think of any mythic resonances with ice.
Considering how unique and powerful is a talisman magic, I would be tempted to rule that if it melts, unless special care and enough effort is put into it, it won't "dissolve" in water. It will remain a kind of cohessive liquid mass and it will not divide according to the natural laws of physic.
When tried to be poured into two different glasses, the smaller part will follow/stay close to the larger part and merge at the first occasion. It will behave unnaturally.
Of course, if somebody is insisting in dividing it, with the same effort as breaking a staff or hammering an amulet, he will succeed - no unnatural resistance.
You're giving a talisman made of ice a lot of powers not available in other talismans. If you want a talisman to do all this to protect it, which is entirely reasonable, by the way, then you need to enchant it, IMO. If I make a staff talisman to use as a weapon, you can be sure I'm going to make it hard as iron with Thaumaturgical Transformation of Plants to Iron. It's not perfect, but it is something.