Draw Power and Lightning/Electricity

[Raekai]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I think I'd just round up to 1000gp per stone (which seems like a reasonable cost compared to other Wondrous Items of similar utility). I'm not sure how much they weigh. It can't be that much since a rail car needs be able to carry one per 5ft of length. On the other the railways probably use ones that can't be easily stolen. Maybe they weigh 5 lbs, but the installed ones are cemented into place or something?

Of course there is a problem with converting gp to GURPS $.

Well... Does $1000 sound right? The details don't matter too much. The GM and I are just ball-parking it. He's always been pretty lenient.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Raekai

Well... Does $1000 sound right?

No. $1 GURPS definitely doesn't convert to 1 gp. Compare the prices of other goods and services. $1 is closer to a silver piece.

[Raekai]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

No. $1 GURPS definitely doesn't convert to 1 gp. Compare the prices of other goods and services. $1 is closer to a silver piece.

The economy is weak with this one. *points at self* So... Closer to $10000? I'd say that's pretty fair. Time to go steal one and turn it into a Powerstone! Haha.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Raekai

The economy is weak with this one. *points at self* So... Closer to $10000? I'd say that's pretty fair.

Well maybe, like I said it's actually kind of hard to do. The D&D prices seem based on utility more than anything. Try it yourself! Make a list of GURPS items and the D&D equivalents and try to come up with a reliable exchange rate.

Time to go steal one and turn it into a Powerstone! Haha.

Well like I said, they can't be all that easy to steal because then people would be stealing them. Also I don't think I'd allow anything to work like a powerstone in Eberron, it seems like something that Eberron shards do. Of course like I said, I wouldn't use the regular magic system anyway.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Raekai

Well... Does $1000 sound right? The details don't matter too much. The GM and I are just ball-parking it. He's always been pretty lenient.

In D&D 3.5, a gold piece is 1/50 of a pound, suggesting a value of up to $400 per coin (based on Low Tech's $20k/lb benchmark). However, 1 gp is supposed to represent the average daily income of a skilled artisan; assuming TL4 and a Comfortable wealth level, that puts the value at around $53. This suggests a lower price for gold (LT cites a price as low as $7000 per pound) and/or lower purity coinage. For example, if gold is worth $10k/lb, a coin made 25% of gold and the rest of a base metal would be roughly $50.

Something else to look at is the relative price of goods in D&D. Using $50 per gp, a dagger or spear is $100, a handaxe is $300, a longsword is $750. These seem close enough to the GURPS values (considering the ahistoric nature of the D&D equipment list) that I'd call it fine. Then again, that gives a price of $10k for a breastplate, whereas a Heavy Plate Cuirass is just $4k in GURPS, so maybe most weapons are just priced low in D&D?

All in all, if you want one of these enchanted stones to be equivalently priced in GURPS as it was in D&D, you're looking at something like $20k - $50k instead of $1000. I wouldn't have any problem with tossing out the D&D numbers though, and just pricing it based on what you feel it's worth.

[William]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Interesting spell. The energy provided by the lightning strike is pretty random though. What happens if it's not sufficient to cast the readied spell? Does it just fizzle? Or can the mage "tweak" it during casting, adjusting its magnitude (Area, dice of damage, etc) to match the available energy?

Not sufficient to pay base cost means a fizzle, but generally a mage can decide quite a few things at the instant the dice are rolled (see the Magic FAQ, 4.1.6) and with this spell I'd definitely think it's more like Hang Spell in that you can roll the dice on the target spell as the energy comes in. Otherwise, you'd be right that it would be problematic to take advantage of the power. So, "you roll the dice on the target spell as the energy comes in, and can decide the usual details of its effect knowing how much energy you have available."

Originally Posted by Raekai

Also, I'd like to request a second spell. Maybe something like Store Energy where I can take the fatigue drawn from this spell and it can be contained in some sort of object. Of course, it wouldn't stay like Manastone, but would rapidly deteriorate. Maybe it would lose 1FP/Minute. I dunno. That idea is pretty unbalanced, but if you could make something like that work, I'd love to see it!

Have the target spell be Lend Power, and have a machine available to use the energy to flash-charge batteries (this is RAW, and even suggested in Lend Power). Steal Power can then be used to access the batteries. Five D batteries store about 1 FP, so 625 D batteries will store the 125 FP you might get at max from the spell (pay the actual cost of Lend Power on your own), and you can presumably peel off an array of smaller size to tote around. Of course, Steal Power has low efficiency, but even at the low end of 10% off of a 45FP bolt you're still looking at about a 4 or 5 FP "manastone," pretty compatible with the real Manastone given the time you have to spend wandering around on hilltops waiting to get struck by lightning. :^)

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Can you guess less randomly?

No, because it would require usable published economic information about Eberron, and as far as I know none exist. If we assume 1 = $1, at 5 sp per mile, lightning rail would be basically unused.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Something else to look at is the relative price of goods in D&D. Using $50 per gp, a dagger or spear is $100, a handaxe is $300, a longsword is $750. These seem close enough to the GURPS values (considering the ahistoric nature of the D&D equipment list) that I'd call it fine. Then again, that gives a price of $10k for a breastplate, whereas a Heavy Plate Cuirass is just $4k in GURPS, so maybe most weapons are just priced low in D&D?

What about assuming that the weapons in D&D are Cheap (with Masterwork being good weapons)?

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

What about assuming that the weapons in D&D are Cheap (with Masterwork being good weapons)?

We could do that, and drop the value of 1 gp down to $10 as suggested up-thread. Of course, that means that gold and silver coins must be extremely low purity (~5%, assuming $10k per pound) or these precious metals are severely debased in value. Probably a mix of both. It also means that a skilled craftsman is earning a pittance at $10 a day, on the low end of the Struggling Wealth level.

I'll see if I can find prices for various commodities in D&D, to serve as a benchmark for evaluation. I suspect however that we'll find no logical connections in the pricing.

[Anthony]

There's plenty of evidence for gold being grossly cheap in D&D. And yes, commodity prices in D&D are completely random.