Bloody brilliant. I have to wonder though at the culture that routinely enchants common currency. The image of vast clouds of glittering coins zooming from one end of the kingdom to another is mind-bendingly cool, but that is a LOT of wizards to employ at the royal mint. Still, what better way to emphasize the wealth and grandeur of a city than to show it all, swirling just out of reach?
Go to Comment
But here's a puzzler: if the coins avoid obstacles, why would flying be dangerous? Shouldn't they just part around the flying object and go on their merry way?
Cheka Man actually aroused just one bit of worry for me:
A) You noted that this coin is royal currency - how much is it worth? Say I had a debt of 1000 gold or whatever the standard currency is. Will one coin fit the bill?
B) If it doesn't, how can I send them en-masse. Throw them all in a bag, and hope they all get to the right target?
C) I hope that this coin prompts a mage to make "Gloves of snatching" which can momentarily dis-spell the coin so one could swipe it from the air, while riding say, a broom stick. =p
Overall though, I really do like the concept. In my opinion the only tweak it needs is how it deals with the transport of hundreds of these coins. Sending a cloud of copper or gold or whatever they are made of, seems just a bit...silly. Otherwise, you get lots of points for creativity. I don't think I've ever heard of something like this before.
This is a really good idea, and I'm pleased to see that some people have come up with adventures for it. I love items that are infinately practical but still unique. These would add great flavor to a very wealthy kingdom. I understand what you mean by avoiding obstacles. It avoids stationary obstacles, things that when the sender thinks of the person would be in the path, but living things can move into its predetermined path.
I love the concept. I would imagine that the Falcon coin could avoid Magpies as easily as any other obstacle, but maybe the creator hated Magpie. Here is an intriguing thought: could someone put a contact poison on a Falcon coin to poison the recipient? Could a recipient put poison on a coin without accepting it so that it would return to and poison the sender?
I could see this being the "underground" way to make purchases-the "blood diamond" if you will. The authorities could build elaborate traps to try to discover the identify of the sender (build a long tunnel that is in the typical flight path of the coins and then close both exits when the coin passes through).
This is a great idea on a number of levels. I enjoy any scenario where the players will encounter the true depth of the game when they take a moment to go beyond minimal thought player responses. Those who would approach this situation carefully would be rewarded with a character that can provide useful information and potential plot hooks. I also think that associating so much history with the reward of plot progress and development is essentially conditioning that encourages your players to explore. Being able to fit all this into one character is pretty awesome.
I'm not crazy about his appearance or the explanation for his condition, but the first is a matter of personal taste and the second would probably make more sense if I had a better understanding of the magic at work here.
Is it a Register or Obeilisk? Wasn't sure if you were talking about two different things. "dismiss the Register as a natural creation" sort of tells me that it is dismissed as a natural creation which I am not sure your intent? Are you suggesting it is natural?
All said...I am just simply confused by what it is and what is supposed to do. The Truth Mage part threw me all off as it seems another unexplained tangent. I need to be slowly spoonfed this as I can't readily follow it. Sorry.
So - a register with obelisks as terminals, and they perform all sorts of privacy violations, store personal information and are willing to hand it to third parties, perhaps? So prone to abuse!
At least the obelisks do not perform cavity searches.
All in all, this has great potential, but really needs a more thorough write-up.