There's an App for That...

Okay, here's the situation: the party are in a downed airship, needing to conduct repairs. In particular, the item that most needs repairs is the elemental binding ring that powers the ship. So, they have two options - work really slowly while the ring remains intact, or free the bound elemental temporarily so they can work more quickly.

Of course, if they take the latter course, they then need to find a way to keep the elemental trapped for eight hours or so while they work, without allowing it to escape, banishing it, or killing it - any of which will leave them without any means to re-power the ship.

So, under 3.5e rules, allowing the use of the PHB, DMG, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Spell Compendium, and Magic Item Compendium (oh, and the Eberron books), how do you do it?

The answer is: I don't know. Somewhere in there, there is probably a way to do this. But it will be dependent on knowing the right spell/power, or having the right item to hand, or else it can't be done. And, of course, it's a sufficiently obscure situation that most groups won't have considered the possibility, so won't be able even to start.

What is really wanted is for Mondo Jiwa (the Artificer) to McGuyver up some sort of Ghostbuster-style trap for the elemental, while Avon (the Wizard) performs some sort of abjuration ritual thingy, and Jag and Garret keep the creature distracted so it can be trapped. That could be a fun and exciting game scene - Mondo has to keep the trap stable, Avon has to impose his will on the elemental, Jag and Garret have to fight on against a vastly superior foe...

But the 3.5e rules don't really allow for that sort of thing. And although the 4e rules do include ritual magic, it's entirely dependent on specific pre-written rituals, that the Wizard must have on a scroll ahead of time. So, again, unless the party somehow predicted this situation, they're screwed.

What I'm groping towards, although it's all still very much in the dark, is that the game should have some sort of Artifice and Ritual skills (or talents, or whatever), allowing the PCs to put together single-use rituals and items to perform various effects.

And so, Avon would have access to a relatively small number of fixed spells, generally short-duration combat effects, plus a number of talents associated with metamagic and the different sorts of rituals (conjuration, abjuration, scrying, etc...). Mondo would have access to a relatively small number of fixed devices (which could be switched out on a per-adventure basis), plus talents associated with improvised artifice of various sorts. (Oh, and both would have talents associated with their 'helpers' - Avon's familiar and Mondo's homonculi.)

Which is starting to look a lot like the magic system from "Mage: the Ascension", now that I think about it...