01-12-2019, 09:13 PM | #11 | ||
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
Quote:
Quote:
The real issue with S&S, however, is that every mage involved must be there for each day of work. That makes long S&S projects very vulnerable to disruption or outright cancellation by sickness or misadventure.
__________________
Rupert Boleyn "A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history." Last edited by Rupert; 01-12-2019 at 09:20 PM. |
||
01-12-2019, 10:15 PM | #12 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
Quote:
Oh, you want more details? Simply, I allow other mages to take over*. By working as a team a group of mages (and apprentices) can work on a project, switching in and out. The project might not ever take a break, but if the mages can switch in and out, it eliminates all the problems the guy in the other thread had with the idea of "spending 6 years on enchanting". * As long as they understand the project, have the requisite spells, and worked on the project prior to to the break takers leaving it. This only applied to "Lead Enchanters", I didn't have any such requirements for the apprentices†. † I had other rules for the apprentices, but i don't have them on hand at the moment. |
|
01-12-2019, 11:14 PM | #13 | |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
Quote:
Under Enchantment it says it uses the rules for Ceremonial magic (Magic, p. 12). The Ceremonial casting says once the spell is cast you can swap out assistants. and under S&S it says "All of the caster’s assistants must be present every day. If a day’s work is skipped or interrupted, it takes two days to make it up. Loss of a mage ends the project!" So if you interpret (or change) the enchanting process to be more of a maintenance or each day is a separate but partial casting (ie building the enchantment brick by brick) you can swap out assistants as needed as long as they have the requisite skills. To require the exact same group for long enchantments makes this work require more skills and advantages than any other project it makes it extremely vulnerable to attack or interference, much less simple accidents. So it seems reasonable, unless you want magic items to be extremely rare or low power. I also allow mages to contribute up to their levels in Magery per day. Higher power mages can get paid more since they effectively count as multiple people.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more! My GURPS fan contribution and blog: REFPLace GURPS Landing Page My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items) My GURPS Wiki entries |
|
01-12-2019, 11:42 PM | #14 | |
Join Date: Mar 2014
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
Quote:
|
|
01-13-2019, 12:19 AM | #15 | |||||
Join Date: Mar 2013
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
|||||
01-13-2019, 01:12 AM | #16 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
One of the issues that came into being with the newer edition of GURPS MAGIC that was not present with GURPS MAGIC 2nd edition was that you could double the time to produce the item, and gain a +4 bonus to your effective skill. Or more.
The changing in wording was subtle, but 4e did make the change unfortunately. GURPS CLASSIC MAGIC pg 21 sidebar has this to say... "It should be noted that, even if the campaign is using total economic realism, it is easy to justify changes in the prices of some (or all) items. The price of a particular item can easily be halved if a local Circle has a lead enchanter of extraordinary skill. Or it could double if no local enchanter can make it without trading time and energy for skill." page 15 says this: "Extra energy gives a skill bonus as follows: +1 for 20% of extra energy, +2 for 40%, +3 for 60%, +4 for 100%, and an additional +1 for each additional 100% of the required energy. This method can also be used to make magical items (see Chapter 2) of increased Power." In fact? This is the only way a mage with Enchantment 12 can make a magic item with power 15. If the item takes 20 days to make under normal circumstances, he'd have to spend 32 days Slow and Sure in order to have a power 15 item. With the fact that they left those bits from Classic Magic out of Magic for 4e - it changed the whole complexion of the process. In my opinion, for the worse. As for my own thoughts on the matter and allowing house rules to pervade the process? Mages may take up to Magery-1 days off from the process without penalty. Mages who go beyond that point, roll against enchantment skill at a penalty equal to the days beyond the safe point. If successful, they resume enchantment. Fail, and they have lost double the time they went over (including the safe time). Crit fail, and they lose double the double, or 4x. Frankly? The idea that a mage can spend 2,000 days non-stop on enchantments is largely bogus. Take a hard look at the people in your life and ask "Could you count on more than one finger, how many people have worked 2 years without calling in sick or being sick" The answer is likely no. That's only 700 some days, let alone 2,000. In the end - the game is yours to do with as you see fit. If you don't like how long it takes for an item to be enchanted properly - either change the required energy (the author who wrote the book PROBABLY created those numbers by fiat). You could even go so far as to say that a mage can put in as many mage days as Magery-1. This way, a Mage with Magery 2 can enchant an item, but it takes the normal time to enchant. A mage with Magery 3 can do the same enchantment in half the time. A mage with Magery 4 could do the same enchantment in 1/3rd the time. So - have fun, experiment, and know that if the players wish they could continue to play with the house rule, you probably did something right for them. Now, I'd best not bring up a pet peeve of mine where it comes to quirked powerstones... ;) |
01-13-2019, 01:23 AM | #17 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
Quote:
Fast forward a few centuries, and replace chief with King. Replace custom with laws (penalty of death kind of laws) where the King has a total monopoly on spell casters. Any mage who seeks to escape slavery in a neighboring kingdom may find itself invaded by the king who has mages as his personal slaves. or, go one different route and imagine a society in which all children are forced to undergo a baptismal process in which the local population present at the child's baptism, are all supplying energy for a Greater Geas. The geas? To obey priests of a given social power or higher. There are many ways to shape society differently if you assume magic as postulated in GURPS MAGIC (either of Classic or 4e version). Half the fun is deciding which spells are available and when. If writing hasn't been invented yet, then spells are only passed down orally. It also means that it is very difficult to research new spells. The Research rules in GURPS 4e make it impossible to create new spells without an enchanted library. This is definitely different than what was present in 3e. So - never be afraid to go back an edition or two of GURPS MAGIC - you might find it suits your campaign better. |
|
01-13-2019, 02:33 AM | #18 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
My preferred situation is "Here's the price of a magic item. There is no more need for detailed enchantment rules than any other sort of crafting."
|
01-13-2019, 08:28 AM | #19 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
Do you have a reference for this? I can only find rules for Low Mana (M17), which apparently doesn't affect your skill when determining the power of an item made in a Low Mana zone. Which makes sense because otherwise you'd be getting penalised twice.
__________________
Rupert Boleyn "A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history." |
01-13-2019, 08:55 AM | #20 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
|
Re: How to Finance Slow and Sure Enchanting
Quote:
__________________
Rupert Boleyn "A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history." |
|
|
|