I’ve been working my way through Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archives. I just finished Edgerunner. I don’t know that the Cosmere is my favoirte fantasy world; I like my fantasy a bit more mysterious and dark. That said, it’s very engaging and great TTRPG fuel.
There is already a companion TTRPG, The Stormlight Handbook to the series. I also know that a lot of time players are hesitant to learn new systems. I haven’t looked into the Cosmere system much, but one thing I really like is the magic system. Often I find the magic system in D&D to be a little to prescriptive and limiting. Cosmere encourages players to improvise their own use of the magic powers available to them.
Probably one of the most interesting magic items in the Stormlight Archives is Shardplate. Shardplate is magic plate armor. It enhances its wearers strength and speed. Shardplate has a feel a lot like the power armor from the Fallout game series. As depicted in the books, the armor seems gamebreaking (although not as gamebreaking as Shardblades. Even a skilled combatant has no chance against a person in shardplate. Even so, some characters get the armor very early in the story. How do we balance the player’s desire to have cool toys with the needs of a cohesive story?
Stormlight Archive Provides the Solution
I think that Sanderson provides the solution in his Stormlight Archive books, even if he doesn’t seem to make much use of it. Shardplate requires a power source. Stormlight-infused gems are fitted inside the armor to provide it with the magical energy it needs to operate. In the books I’ve read so far this only becomes and issues in combat. The armor wears out over time and the user must struggle with their failing armor.
What if the user had a hard time getting gems to power the armor in the first place? The characters who use the armor in the book never have an issue accessing the gems they need. They are mostly nobility, or in the employ of nobility. In a D&D campaign, that doesn’t need to be the case. The players may have to collect the gems to power the armor, just as they have to prepare in other ways to fight the Big Bad.
I’m going to work on putting together a 5e version of Shardplate and a few other items from The Stormlight Archive. Be back with that soon with more. In the meantime, check out some other great magic items from D&D!
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