This curious item consists of two small mirrors, each about the size of an average human palm. It is activated by speaking two command words, one of which is engraved on the back of each mirror. It may be deactivated by touching both mirrors at once and speaking the command words again.
When activated, a small two-way portal is opened between the two mirrors. Light, sound, air, water, and small objects may pass through from both sides. Differences in air or water pressure will cause gases or liquids to flow from the side of greater pressure to the side of lesser. Naturally, the rate of flow increases with pressure difference; water will gush through a portal on the bottom of a deep lake much faster than through one lying in a puddle.
The two mirrors must remain on the same plane of existence for the portal to function.
I like it! Be intriguing to find a single mirror as the source of a small waterfall or at the bottom of a dungeon pool and have to consult bards and sages to find what lake the other one was lost in!
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ReplyDeleteI don't see too much potential for abuse, myself. Party chucks one mirror in a lake, and must then carry the other one to the dungeon, gushing water all the way. Filling up even a single dungeon room large enough to hold a dragon will take many hours (imagine trying to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool with several garden hoses.) Filling an entire dungeon would take days, if not weeks, and that's assuming it has no outlet for water to drain away. In most cases, the monsters will have plenty of time to vacate the premises. Then, whether it works or not, the party is going to have to recover the mirror from the bottom of the lake, which isn't a guaranteed success even with water breathing magic. It might have sunk into the mud at the bottom, been swept far away by deep currents, swallowed by a big fish or lake monster, or found by a tribe of mermen...
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ReplyDeleteI think we have different ideas of what constitutes "gaming the system." By my standards, it would have to be an exploit which can be predictably repeated, and with few or no side effects. I see too many variables in the flood-the-dungeon plan for it to qualify in my mind. To me, it looks like the sort of zany scheme that can be very powerful in the right circumstances, but that's more complicated than it first appears, may or may not work, and has all kinds of potential for things to go sideways in entertaining fashion. (How do you loot a dungeon that floods because it has no drainage?) Sounds like a good time to me, no matter how awesome I thought that dragon battle was going to be.
DeleteOf course, your mileage may vary, and I certainly would have no objection if you wanted to apply a time limit or a set number of charges to the item. I just wouldn't do so myself.
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ReplyDeleteNo worries. It made me think about what I would and would not consider a game-breaking exploit, and why. Started writing a post on it too.
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ReplyDeleteThat's one to add to the list. It's something I've always just played by ear, which practically begs for some actual analysis. I'll let that rattle around in my head for a while and see what comes out.
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