10 Items and Equipment

In Apprentices, mundane gear is incredibly useful in the early stages of a loop, but because the characters are mages, true power comes from their spells and mana. Mundane weapons and armor are abstracted rather than rigidly simulated.

General Rule: If a mundane item breaks, is confiscated, or left behind during a loop, it is gone forever (until the loop resets, at which point you wake up with whatever you originally possessed on Day 1).

Acquiring Gear

To acquire a piece of equipment during the loop, you must reach the appropriate Funds Level (see Economy & Funds) and spend a Time Slot to go shopping or black-market dealing in the city.

Weapons

Mundane weapons add a static modifier to the base damage a character inflicts when they successfully strike a target using Melee Combat or Ranged Combat. If they hit, the target takes damage equal to the weapon's Base Damage rating.

Modifier: Masterwork Quality

A weapon purchased at the Wealthy Funds level or higher is perfectly balanced. It grants +1 die to the attack roll (but does not increase Base Damage). This does not carry over between loops unless Soul-bound.

Armor

Instead of increasing a defense number or target threshold, mundane armor in this system provides a buffer of Temporary Physical Health Boxes, absorbing damage before it hits the character's real health pool. Because this damage is absorbed by the armor and not your flesh, it does not inflict Wound Penalties.

Armor Rules:

1. A character can only wear one layer of armor effectively at a time.
2. When the armor takes more damage than it has Temporary Boxes, it is considered "Shattered" or "Ruined" and provides no further benefit until repaired or replaced (requiring a Time Slot and Funds).
3. Temporary Health Boxes from armor do not heal magically or through rest; the armor must be physically repaired or replaced.

Stealth Penalties

While a thick layer of chainmail or a riot shield provides excellent temporary health, the GM should assess a -1 to -3 dice penalty when a character attempts to roll Stealth or Mobility while wearing Heavy Armor.

Consumables and Magic Focus

As mages, the characters in The Loop will constantly need external magical aids, healing supplies, and raw power to survive the grueling repetition of the month.

Acquiring Magic Items

Mundane weapons are easy to buy in Cyoria. Alchemical ingredients, illegal potions, and refined crystalized mana are heavily regulated by the Imperial Guard and the Academy.

Acquiring anything magical beyond standard "student supplies" generally requires:

1. Reaching the required Funds Level.
2. Spending a Time Slot actively searching the black market or smuggling rings.
3. Passing a Streetwise or Academics roll to find a reliable supplier.

Alchemical Consumables

These are single-use items that are destroyed (or consumed) upon activation. If a character knows the Alchemy skill, they can spend a Time Slot and significantly lower the Required Funds (by 1 or 2 levels) to brew these themselves, assuming they have access to a lab.

Spell Formula Items

These are pre-inscribed magical items powered by a Spell Formula. They can be activated almost instantly (a free action) but cost double the usual mana to fuel. Unlike alchemy, these items are rarely consumed, serving as reliable but inefficient backup magic.

Magical Focus

A magical focus is a tool (wand, staff, ring, specific gem) designed to stabilize and enhance the shaping of specific spells.

Rules for Focus:

• A character may only actively utilize one Focus at a time.
• A Focus is tied to a specific Core School (e.g., a "Wand of Evocation" or a "Seer's Orb").
• While holding the Focus, the caster gains +1 die to all spellcasting rolls for that specific School.
• If a Botch (Critical Failure) is rolled while casting through a Focus, the GM may rule that the Focus cracks or shatters instead of (or in addition to) the spell backfiring onto the caster.

Raw Power Sources (Crystalized Mana)

Because the Time Loop limits a character's internal Mana Capacity to their baseline derived stat, gaining extra mana requires external batteries.

See the dedicated file for Crystalized Mana for detailed mechanical rules on how it works.