V9: Enchantments

This page is part of the Official Amtgard V9 Alpha-Playtest Rulebook.

• The Amtwiki is the official home and primary source for Amtgard V9 Rules as of February 25, 2023.
• These rules are currently in Open Alpha Playtest. See the Playtest Disclaimer for more details.
• To learn more about Amtgard V9 Development, please visit Amtgard.com.
• To view the current Amtgard V8 ruleset, please see the Amtgard V8 Rulebook.

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Enchantments

Enchantments are boons given to another player or oneself.

Enchantment Basics

1. All enchantment abilities are non-offensive.


2. Enchantments are always placed on players. A player with an enchantment is referred to as the 'bearer' of that enchantment. Some enchantments may affect equipment used by that player, but the enchantment is always on the player, not the equipment.
   • For example, the Harden enchantment can make the bearer's wielded shield immune to destruction. If a player bearing Harden gives their shield to a friend and picks up a new one, their new shield will be protected by Harden and the old one (now carried by their friend) will not.
   
   
3. Each player can bear up to two enchantments, however only one can come from another player.


4. Players cannot bear multiple enchantments with the same name.


5. While a player is dead, any enchantments on them become inactive and do not bestow any effects.
   • If the bearer is revived, their enchantments will become active again.
   • If they choose to respawn, their enchantments will be removed as per respawn.
   
   
6. Abilities and effects granted by enchantments behave as they would if the player had those abilities or effects naturally. except where noted below:
   • Enchantment-granted abilities are not modified or restored by archetypes. For example, an enchantment that grants Shake It Off 1/Refresh ♻10 cannot be restored by the Guardian or Juggernaut archetypes.
   • If the class already has access to these abilities, the enchantment-granted versions do not share any symbols or tags, such as ⬗ or 🛡️. For example, a Paladin has Shake It Off 🛡️ but if they receive a Gift of Water, that version of Shake It Off will not have 🛡️.

Enchantment Indicator Strips
Each enchantment requires a unique material component: a visible indicator strip that must remain on the bearer until they respawn or willingly discard the enchantment. If a player is bearing two enchantments that use the same color indicator strip, they must have two strips, one for each enchantment. For example, if a player is bearing both Adaptive Blessing and Barkskin they must have two white strips. The color of the indicator strip will give a clue as to the effect of the enchantment:

• Aquamarine strips represent enchantments that grant full resistances. A player bearing an aquamarine strip will be able to resist any single strike or ability. This includes Blessing Against Harm, Decoy, and Stoneskin.

• White strips represent limited resistances. A player bearing a white strip will have a specific resistance to an attack or effect, as determined by the enchantment. This includes Adaptive Blessing, Barkskin, Blessing Against Projectiles, Blessing Against Wounds, Blood and Thunder, and Inspired Soul. White strips are also used to indicate players with Natural Armor.

• Blue strips represent defensive effects for equipment, including shields, weapons, and armor. Generally, a player bearing a blue strip will have a piece of equipment that is immune to certain attacks or effects. This includes Aegis, Ancestral Armor, Harden, Imbue Shield, Runic Armor, Temper Armor, and Ward.

• Red strips represent offensive effects for melee weapons. A player bearing a red strip will have one or more of Armor Breaking, Shield Crushing, or Wounds Kill. This includes Berserk, Giant Strength, Contagion, Flame Blade, Poison Weapon, and Vorpal Blades.

• Yellow strips represent extra abilities and special effects. Generally, a player bearing a yellow strip will have an additional ability granted by the enchantment that they can use as they wish. This includes Amplify, Choreograph, Gifts of Air, Earth, Fire, Light, & Water, Silver Tongue, and Undead Minion.
  
  

Removing Enchantments
Respawning always removes all enchantments from the player. In addition, a player may discard an enchantment from themselves at any time simply by declaring and removing the indicator strip, at which point the enchantment effects are ended. There are a few enchantments that prevent a player from discarding their enchantments this way but the vast majority can be removed freely at any time.
V8 Transition Note: Enchantments cannot be removed by enemies (ie. there’s no dispel magic).


Replacing Enchantments
If a player wishes to replace an enchantment they are bearing with another enchantment that uses the same indicator strip, they do not need to remove the old strip. They can simply receive the new enchantment and declare that the old one has been replaced. If the new enchantment uses different strips, the old strips must be removed before the new ones can be put on.


Enchantment Declarations
Enchantments effects on a player are open information but the nature of live-action combat can make this information difficult to discern at a glance, even when indicator strips are used. As such, players must do their best to declare any enchantments they bear (or a summary of their effects) to their opponents before engaging in combat, when reasonable, and repeat this declaration periodically throughout the engagement to help keep their opponents aware of their enchantment-altered state.

• Modal effects (enchantments with a choice) must declare the chosen choice or a summary of its effects. For example, “Adaptive Blessing” is not a sufficient declaration. “Adaptive Blessing Stopped” or “Resistant to Stopped” would be sufficient.

• Players that are trying to be stealthy are not required to reveal themselves to declare enchantment information but should be ready to do so when their target becomes clearly aware of their presence.

• Enchantment declarations may be requested by other players under reasonable circumstances. See ‘Declarations|Declarations’.

• Players making declarations should try to prioritize the most relevant enchantments to the situation. When in doubt, start with enchantments that came from other players before declaring enchantments that were cast by yourself. For example, if you are approaching a Warrior, it would be more important to declare the enchantment granting you Armor Breaking than to declare the one giving you resistance to Stopped.

• Like all declarations, both sides must handle these interactions in good faith and not seek to deliberately obstruct or delay information to gain gameplay advantages.
  
  

Enchantments as Traits
There are instances where enchantments may be granted to a player “as a trait”. When this is the case, the ability type becomes “Trait” and the enchantment effect becomes a trait effect instead. The ability ceases to follow enchantment rules and instead follows all the rules for traits.