Make Runes Completely OOC Items

[metaquad4]

Currently, runes are "IC items, but it is metagaming to trade them once they are marked". Imo, this is a really convulted way to go about handling runes. Not to mention, it works to raise queries, such as:

ICly, what is the purpose of the rune to our characters? If the location is known in our heads and not on the rune, what does the rune do?

ICly, how does the rune suddenly become none-tradable? What happens to it after mark rune is cast onto it?

Why isn't the leaf holder tradable? You pick a leaf/piece of the plant off the plant, and put it into the little bag, and preserve it with the "Mark Plant" cantrip. What else is going on ICly that makes it none-tradable?

So, here is my proposal:

Make a feat called "Mark Location". This feat will generate a rune in one round, then in the following round it will mark the rune with the current location (like how the channeled spells work). The feat can cost the combined gold of the "mark rune" spell and buying a rune, if such is desired. The rune would be weightless. The rune and the feat could both have a disclaimer, letting the user know that this action is OOC and represents memorizing the location that will later be used to teleport to.

A seperate feat could be made for plants, something like "Mark Plant". It would work the same way as the proposed "Mark Location".

Thoughts?

Poll:
--Yes, runes/leaf holders should be made into 100% OOC items (The proposed idea above/something along the same lines).
--No, runes/leaf holders should remain partial OOC items (Things stay as they are, unmarked runes are IC items and tradable, marked runes are OOC items and none tradable as it would be MGing).
--No, runes/leaf holders should be made into 100% IC items (Runes are made tradable, even when marked and are considered fully IC items).

[NegInfinity]

Voted yes, because having 0.3 weight on runes gave trouble to some of my lowstr characters. If it is OOC, it can be weightless.

I think it would be better if those were created by Mark Rune spell itself, and worked like something akin to Blood Mage's draughts. Instead of wasting separate feat, I'd prefer this functionality to be integrated into mark rune spell.

[Selande]

We already eschew gold weight and spell components...

0.3 weight isn't a huge concession. Just deal with it.

[NegInfinity]

0.3 weight isn't a huge concession. Just deal with it.

It is, for an item with OOC purpose on character with 8 str and hundred scrolls in inventory..

As for spell components...

Spell Component Pouch: This small, watertight leather belt
pouch has many compartments. A spellcaster with a spell compo-
nent pouch is assumed to have all the material components and
focuses needed for spellcasting, except for those components that
have a specific cost, divine focuses, and focuses that wouldn’t fit in a
pouch (such as the natural pool that a druid needs to look into to
cast scrying)

[NeOmega]

I think they should be IC items. I don't know how it could be determined if the caster has been to, or can visualize the area well. Maybe it is just assumed the caster should be a good couple of levels above the CR.

I was really disappointed when I found a Sshamath rune once, and later found out they are OOC items. I thought it could make a great RP prop.

[Selande]

0.3 weight isn't a huge concession. Just deal with it.

It is, for an item with OOC purpose on character with 8 str and hundred scrolls in inventory..

As for spell components...

Spell Component Pouch: This small, watertight leather belt
pouch has many compartments. A spellcaster with a spell compo-
nent pouch is assumed to have all the material components and
focuses needed for spellcasting, except for those components that
have a specific cost, divine focuses, and focuses that wouldn’t fit in a
pouch (such as the natural pool that a druid needs to look into to
cast scrying)

I bet it weighs more than 0.3.

If you have trouble with weight, try having more than 8 str.

[Selande]

Spell component pouch weighs 2lbs. Spellbook weighs 3lbs.

I say we make those actual items too.

[NeOmega]

We already eschew gold weight and spell components...

0.3 weight isn't a huge concession. Just deal with it.

why cant it be 0.0?

[NegInfinity]

If you have trouble with weight, try having more than 8 str.

There's no reason to be hostile.

Try explaining your logic instead. Why OOC item must have weight, when PnP teleportation mechanic did not require runes to begin with.

Right now you're not exactly making a good argument.

----

If the runes have weight, they must be IC and tradeable. If they cannot be traded, then they're OOC items, like DFMI widget and PvP rulebook. Therefore they should not have weight.

[Selande]

It seems pretty logical to me.

Runes have weight because they're an item. You use them to help remember the area you've marked. However, if you've never been to that area, you can't just trade those memories to another person...

I'm not trying to be hostile. Curt, maybe, but not hostile. This is like the eleventh time this topic has come up and it's always the same complaint for no reason other than "I can't carry MAOR STUFF on my negative-Str-Mod character."

[NegInfinity]

It seems pretty logical to me.

Runes have weight because they're an item. You use them to help remember the area you've marked. However, if you've never been to that area, you can't just trade those memories to another person...

Would've made sense if the teleportation didn't require a rune as target for the spell, and i location could be marked using some other items as well. If it needs memories of the place, it should not require runes. If it require runes, then it needs something other than memories and that info is stored stored in the rune. In which case runes should be tradeablle.

Current situation seems pretty illlogical to me, beause there's OOC item with weight that takes inventory slots as well.

[Steve]

Runes exist as a purely technical, mechanical requirement for Teleportation, as implemented on BGTSCC. You all do remember a time when it DIDNT exist on BGTSCC, right?

In addition, runes where supposed to be recoded so one could not trade/barter them between PCs.

I guess one could consider a Rune/Leaf to be an object with a memory scribed/ascribed to it. And one cannot trade a memory.

Though it may be a pity that Runes can't stack, and that they have weight, it might be an argument in futility, because both are required mechanically with this game engine.