Items of Quality

[Ovarwa]

@Hammer 'n' Godsmite

I disagree with the assertion that Hermetic magic doesn't work that way. Better things take longer for magi, too. I mean, sure, a character with a Lab Total of 50 can produce better things at a quicker rate than, say, somebody with Lab Total 25, but that's a very large gap; in any case, a magus making any enchantment with a level over half their Lab Total will require longer than the normal season for it. To extend the analogy, if magi were skilled artisans, they'd prefer a strong enchantment that takes two or three seasons to complete to weaker ones that they can produce multiple of per season.

(Whether that's efficient or not in the grand scheme of things depends on the magus, their resources, and the current situation, of course.)

I said "C&G discusses how artisans with better skill prefer to produce better items slower rather than more items faster. Hermetic Magic does not work this way at all; a magus with a higher lab total can produce better items faster."

A magus might well prefer to use his higher skill to produce more stuff faster. This is the feature that makes one-shot Verditius items so awesome: Spend a season and get 1 nuke per magnitude of lab total, where a newbie would get fewer. This is the feature that allows more powerful magi to invent things in a single season that would take a newbie many seasons. He can even teach his apprentice faster; he spends the same season as a lesser magus and his apprentice learns more spells.

By contrast, C&G talks about how having greater skill does not allow faster production, but simply unlocks advanced and slower ways to do things. Of course, I refer to C&G fluff, and actual game mechanics might allow loopholes.

[maine75man]

@Kuiti Itijin

I'm pretty liberal when it comes to the definition of "using". Our canon example is a king "using" a scepter (let's ignore the fact that there isn't a shape/form bonus for Scepters), which is a symbolic use since he does not actually wield it in any way.

A Scepter is basically a wand/staff the terms are synonymous. So it could be given a bonus for controlling at a distance. A very kingly type activity.

Thus, I would allow a belt to apply if it is part of a uniform, holds the scabbard, or holds up an armor piece. This rewards a creative player, which I am always in favor of.

It's not just the player being creative IMO. Belts and specifically Girdles (I.E. Big wide belts that go around your midsection not the women's undergarment) come by their mythological association with strength (and thus the S&M bonus) quite naturally. As far as I know the "weight lifting belt" isn't a modern invention. People doing a lot of strenuous lifting have been wrapping stuff around their midsection for millennia. Not only do such "belts" help prevent and compensate for injury and by bracing joints and muscles they make people measurably stronger.

So as far as I can see a nice wide belt/girdle around one's midsection is an actual tool used by many professions. Basically I'm thinking just about any job that requires copious core strength and performs plenty of heft and carry work like longshoremen, woodsman, roustabouts, wrestlers, courtesans, teamsters, porters, and yes warriors.

[silveroak]

Actually city and guild does indicate how artisans with high skill can make higher quality items faster. The speed increase is more marginal than the quality increase, but it is in there. It is artes and Acadame which indicates that higher level of ability means slower production.