Powerstones

[Jerander]

Now that everyone's agreed to disagree...

There's always a chance of a catastrophic meteor strike (to the individual or the planet). Does that mean everyone is *always* "in danger" of being hit by a meteor? Does that mean everyone is *always* "in danger" at *all times* for purposes of a Bless spell?

[Langy]

Of course, if a wizard instead spent his, what, nine points in order to get the Luck and Skill 16+ Charge Powerstone, on Fatigue or Energy Reserve he'd have +3 total fatigue at all times. That seems to be a better deal than being able to recharge a powerstone with three extra points of energy.

[Polaris]

Originally Posted by Jerander

Now that everyone's agreed to disagree...

There's always a chance of a catastrophic meteor strike (to the individual or the planet). Does that mean everyone is *always* "in danger" of being hit by a meteor? Does that mean everyone is *always* "in danger" at *all times* for purposes of a Bless spell?

I've already given the criteria. If it would be prudent to protect yourself (guards, defenses, etc) and if you feel you have to act carefully, then you are in danger. OTOH, if you would feel comfortable going to sleep or deciding not to be aware, then you probably are not.

BTW, it's the same criteria most militaries use around the world.

Originally Posted by Langy

Of course, if a wizard instead spent his, what, nine points in order to get the Luck and Skill 16+ Charge Powerstone, on Fatigue or Energy Reserve he'd have +3 total fatigue at all times. That seems to be a better deal than being able to recharge a powerstone with three extra points of energy.

No it's not. To get the first values which I showed are pretty damned good, you'd only need to spend 4 points for a spell that's pretty darned useful (and not just for powering up your powerstone). Also you can buy luck for money at least in most fantasy settings (Tyche elixers). Mind you, I am a fan of Energy Reserve as well, but powerstones when used with this spell are good sources of reserve energy. [Cheap Manastones aren't bad either for the price and they are also easy to make...but that's another topic.]

-Polaris

[Langy]

If it would be prudent to protect yourself (guards, defenses, etc) and if you feel you have to act carefully, then you are in danger. OTOH, if you would feel comfortable going to sleep or deciding not to be aware, then you probably are not.

And that's why what you're talking about is only the perception of danger and not danger in and of itself. *sigh* Nevermind, back on topic.

Also you can buy luck for money at least in most fantasy settings (Tyche elixers).

How much does one of these elixers cost? I'd think it would be pretty expensive, though I don't have my books with me to check.

[Polaris]

Originally Posted by Langy

How much does one of these elixers cost? I'd think it would be pretty expensive, though I don't have my books with me to check.

A tyche elixir costs $1300 retail in a mana-normal+ world, or $200 in materials + 6 weeks of work (as an Alechemy -2 Hard Manuever). [See GURPS Magic page 216]

That's pretty expensive granted for wizards with nomalish wealth, but less so for those that are rolling in money.

Depending on the size of the powerstone, however, the decrease in risk because of luck can definately make it worth it.

-Polaris

[Langy]

How long does such an elixer last? You'd really need a really high-price stone for that to be worth more than just buying a Manastone, wouldn't you? I mean, how big of a Manastone can you get for $1300 bucks?

EDIT: You can buy a Capacity 8 Powerstone for $1300 bucks, and that would be pre-charged.

Let's see... the Elixer lasts for about seven hours. $1300 in order to reduce the charging time for a powerstone by two or three days seems like a hell of a bad deal.

[hal]

Originally Posted by Langy

How much does one of these elixers cost? I'd think it would be pretty expensive, though I don't have my books with me to check.

$1300 to $2300 - or, for a TL 3 campaign, roughly 2 month's income for a status zero worker.

Contrast this with the Healing potion, which, when consumed by a person who has no injuries, but has fatigue loss - will replace 1d6 fatigue. All for the low low price of $120 to $250.

In any event - the argument that it is a good idea to utilize the recharge powerstone spell as written, is just begging for the player character to quirk their stone. Getting a Bless spell placed on a character will cost money unless you have a pet Holy-man or a pet Mage with Bless. Per the spell itself, it may not be cast upon an individual casting it upon himself, but must be cast by another onto the subject of the bless spell. Either way, it will be an expensive proposition.

In a nutshell, Recharge Powerstone is really only relatively safe for a mage who happens to know the spell at 15+, and has the luck advantage to deal with the need to re-roll any failures or crit-failures. Only mages with a High Skill in charge powerstone will be wise to try to recharge powerstones for use in campaign play - absent the luck or reroll capabilities, and our hypothetical mage is playing with fire.

[Polaris]

Originally Posted by Langy

How long does such an elixer last? You'd really need a really high-price stone for that to be worth more than just buying a Manastone, wouldn't you? I mean, how big of a Manastone can you get for $1300 bucks?

EDIT: You can buy a Capacity 8 Powerstone for $1300 bucks, and that would be pre-charged.

Let's see... the Elixer lasts for about seven hours. $1300 in order to reduce the charging time for a powerstone by two or three days seems like a hell of a bad deal.

I agree. For a size 8 powerstone, a tyche potion is a hell of a bad deal. A Tyche Potion lasts 2d6 hours which is more than enough to completly recharge the stone (possibly many times over). Remember that the cost of a powerstone increases quadratically (as P^2) so while it might seem like a bad deal (and is) for a power 8 stone, it's probably a good deal for a power 30 stone which is much more expensive.

Again, it's a scaling issue.

As for Manastones, the problem with Manastones is they don't recharge at all. However, with mundane manastones, you can get one-time power for dirt cheap prices since you pay the enchanting price only (and not the carat cost for the gem) making the cost increase linearly rather than quadratically.

-Polaris

[Langy]

I don't see anything in Magic that says how much a Manastone of certain size costs. If it's truly linearlly, and a capacity 1 Manastone cost 70 bucks (the same as a Powerstone), then a Manastone that cost the same as a Tyche elixer would hold 18 fatigue points. Since Manastone is a fifth of the power point cost of Powerstone, though, it seems likely that it would cost 1/5 the price - so that Manastone would actually hold 92 fatigue points.

Still doesn't seem like a great deal to get that Tyche elixer.

[Polaris]

Originally Posted by hal

In any event - the argument that it is a good idea to utilize the recharge powerstone spell as written, is just begging for the player character to quirk their stone. Getting a Bless spell placed on a character will cost money unless you have a pet Holy-man or a pet Mage with Bless. Per the spell itself, it may not be cast upon an individual casting it upon himself, but must be cast by another onto the subject of the bless spell. Either way, it will be an expensive proposition.

I beg your pardon but I showed mathematically that this was false. The the risk even without the use of bless or luck is very low even for just quirking the stone. Please review my numbers again. It's hardly "playing with fire".

While it's true you can't bless yourself, it's also true that bless is dirt cheap (only $10 for Bless one) to get cast on you. Also it's worth noting you CAN bless an item that you have and then wear your own item. Bless can be cast as an enchantment even if it's not one.

In a nutshell, Recharge Powerstone is really only relatively safe for a mage who happens to know the spell at 15+, and has the luck advantage to deal with the need to re-roll any failures or crit-failures. Only mages with a High Skill in charge powerstone will be wise to try to recharge powerstones for use in campaign play - absent the luck or reroll capabilities, and our hypothetical mage is playing with fire.

Again, I've proved it's relatively safe WITHOUT the luck advantage and very safe with it. As for knowing the spell at 15+, if you have the powerstone (and manastone) spell at all, that's almost a given because of the very low prerequisite count for Charge Powerstone.

-Polaris