As I start creating custom magic items, I'm tempted to have my players come across something spectacular. I've had a thought that Hope could serve as a sort of Mana to power, and to limit the use of, magical effects of a particularly powerful wondrous item. For me, this takes the non-canon 'spellcasting' element out of the equation and helps scale the effects:
> Spend 1 point of Hope to create a minor effect, like an Elf creating a Magical Success using Hope.
> Spend 2 points of Hope to cause a wider effect, like swinging a mattock or great axe into the ground/floor and causing all in a given radius to lose their footing.
> Spend 3 points of Hope to invoke a major effect, like Gandalf's flash of lightning when brought before the Great Goblin in The Hobbit.
Certainly, it may not be to every LM's taste to allow players to wield the sort of magic that normally only Istari can. Setting that aside, I'm curious what others think of this Hope-driven magic use.