07-07-2018, 05:21 PM | #21 | |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: The Problem With Magic
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07-07-2018, 05:45 PM | #22 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: The Problem With Magic
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07-07-2018, 05:57 PM | #23 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: The Problem With Magic
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07-07-2018, 06:35 PM | #24 | ||
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: The Problem With Magic
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That said, certainly many sections of published GURPS material address how magic integrates with economics, so it's certainly not a 'don't look behind the curtain' subject.
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07-08-2018, 12:03 AM | #25 | |
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Central Texas, north of Austin
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Re: The Problem With Magic
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An important if simple metaphysical component is the concept of mana: a defined and necessary energy source that must be tapped to provide the wondrous effects. This implies a form of conservation of energy so that magic isn't purely "magical." Also, spells drain energy from casters or other sources. This is a metaphysical imposition not found in D&D. Of course, I understand that the desire in this thread was for an even more sophisticated model. * I decided to compare with my D&D 3.5 book on the economic dilemma of shaping earth considered above. It appears to me that this is less of a problem in D&D as the spells seem to mostly adhere to temporary durations. |
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07-08-2018, 12:28 AM | #26 | |
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Re: The Problem With Magic
More like... a simple reading of both 3e and 4e show this to be false.
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They weren't her only spells, but considering that because of them our haul for that mission was doubled (and none of her offensive spells ever managed to do anything) the Food spells were very impressive. |
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07-08-2018, 04:08 AM | #27 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: The Problem With Magic
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In contrast, D&D magic gives you a list of spells focused on adventuring and encourages you not to think about how low-level spells affect the world ... some recent editions even remove the practical spells like Tenser's Floating Disk or Create Food from the normal magic rules. In D&D, dream-castles are build by archmages in a few days, not by a dozen journeymen over several months.
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07-08-2018, 05:44 AM | #28 | ||
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: The Problem With Magic
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Many low level GURPS spells are great for a small party traveling in a wilderness. Spells like Shape Earth and Earth to Stone can be the salvation of a small party of adventurers. Quote:
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07-08-2018, 05:55 AM | #29 | |||
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sumter, SC
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Re: The Problem With Magic
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The first thing an army needs to even remotely function is supplies. The ability to replenish units in terms of health and spell power between battles means potions...lots and lots of potions. Sure they may be rare in the average town but they have to be common enough to be used in the average war or tourney going on. One of the more famous articles back from the old days of Dragon magazine was "Gandalf was only a Fifth Level Magic-User!" (Dragon #5 March 1977) showed just how quickly things went pearshaped with D&D in terms of magical power. Clerics in many respects were worse. Last edited by maximara; 07-08-2018 at 09:08 AM. |
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07-08-2018, 08:34 AM | #30 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: The Problem With Magic
Paradoxically, the rarer the magic, the wealthier the mage (OTHC). In a low mana world, a mage with Continual Light-21 (which would be Continual Light-16 after mana penalties) would end up providing high quality light for the nobility and would likely earn a Very Wealth income. In a rare magic world, a mage with Continual Light-16 would end up providing high quality light for royalty and would also likely earn a Very Wealthy income.
My main problem with highly skilled wizards having Average income is that it would not reflect economic reality. Average income should be the province of wizards with a utility spell at skill 12, Comfortable income should be the province of wizards with a utility spell at skill 14, and Wealthy income should be the province of wizards with a utility spell at skill 16. Apprentice wizards (skill 10) should earn Struggling income as should ceremonial assistants. The job of ceremonial assistant would be suitable for children, disabled people, elderly people, etc. I could imagine a fantasy society with few beggars, for example, because the majority of the people who would have been beggars make a better living being a ceremonial assistant than they would as a beggar. You could have traveling magical bazaars, consisting of a group of five mages with skill-16 and one hundred ceremonial assistants. With that many ceremonial assistants, a mage could cast Instant Regeneration without any effort, though the cost to the recipient would probably be $200 (two weeks' salary for a TL4 serf). I imagine that a Manor lord would actually pay the bill though, as a serf with two arms (or two legs) would be much more productive than a crippled serf. The most common working would be Shape Earth though, as every locality could probably benefit enough from the movement of massive amounts of earth or stone for the local elites to pick up the tab (around $120,000 a month or $8,000 a day [assuming one day of travel and rest between each locality]). One-half of the tab would be going to pay the salaries of the mages and their assistants while one-half of the tab would be going to pay for the support staff (cleaners, cooks, drivers, guards, prostitutes, etc). Adventurers could attach themselves as guards for such a travel bazaar and earn a living defending them from bandits and the like. |
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