Thaumatology RPM: THANK YOU!

[MrKay]

Le awesome.

Now, how to alter it to fit the runic theme of the Vikings campaign I may or may not start... Hmmm.

[PK]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Were grimoires to good in MH1?

In a word, yes. Especially if the GM allowed higher levels of Wealth -- which is less of an issue in a constrained setting like Monster Hunters, but a major one when making these rules universal. One of the most consistent bits of feedback I got from Monster Hunters groups was that grimoires, especially the weak (+2 to +4) ones, were too cheap. So RPM fixes that problem. If you prefer the costs from MH1, you can continue to use them, of course -- but I recommend using the new ones.

[PK]

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

So basic Energy Reserve is not really worth it with this system, unless you have a Magery cap.

Yup, and I sincerely recommend against a Magery cap -- there's no need for it. RPM does not break with Magery 10, 20, 30, whatever. Originally, I didn't even include that little box on Energy Reserve . . . but then I was asked about ER so often that I decided it was worth including it just to avoid that FAQ. :)

What are interesting Limitations for Energy Reserve which make it worthwhile again?

Any of the limitations from GURPS Powers could fit. As well, one of the few times ER makes more sense than Magery is if you limit it to only provide energy for a certain type of magic; e.g., "Mind Rituals Only, -30%."

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by PK

In a word, yes. Especially if the GM allowed higher levels of Wealth -- which is less of an issue in a constrained setting like Monster Hunters, but a major one when making these rules universal. One of the most consistent bits of feedback I got from Monster Hunters groups was that grimoires, especially the weak (+2 to +4) ones, were too cheap. So RPM fixes that problem. If you prefer the costs from MH1, you can continue to use them, of course -- but I recommend using the new ones.

Speaking of budgets, linking costs to Monthly Pay seems very un-GURPSy. Why the decision?

[PK]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Speaking of budgets, linking costs to Monthly Pay seems very un-GURPSy. Why the decision?

It does? I must admit I don't see anything "unGURPSy" about it. There are two ways in GURPS to plug in a TL and get a dollar amount: starting wealth and typical monthly pay. It's best to link things to starting wealth if their value is supposed to vary by the society's overall affluence, while it's better to link things to monthly pay if their value relative to the average person's ability to buy it remains fairly consistent across time. As I see it, the world's available technology isn't going to make a huge difference on the value of handcrafted grimoires (or most magical gear, really) -- though it does drastically affect how fast you can get one, as shown in the rules -- so I went for the more consistent option.

[Lamech]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Speaking of budgets, linking costs to Monthly Pay seems very un-GURPSy. Why the decision?

It makes sense if books don't get easier to make as tech marches on. If putting together a book has roughly the same costs, and effort requirements no matter the TL costs will rise. A highly paid person in TL1 land is making less than minimum wage in TL12 land. But in both cases the writer will want to be highly paid.

Now arguably, in a world where magic is researched, educational frameworks improve and the like books will become easier to produce, and therefore cheaper. Of course, in such a world that will be the least of your worries when it comes to making changes. It takes one ritual with a thousand donors of fatigue to really mess up a setting.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by PK

It does? I must admit I don't see anything "unGURPSy" about it. There are two ways in GURPS to plug in a TL and get a dollar amount: starting wealth and typical monthly pay. It's best to link things to starting wealth if their value is supposed to vary by the society's overall affluence, while it's better to link things to monthly pay if their value relative to the average person's ability to buy it remains fairly consistent across time. As I see it, the world's available technology isn't going to make a huge difference on the value of handcrafted grimoires (or most magical gear, really) -- though it does drastically affect how fast you can get one, as shown in the rules -- so I went for the more consistent option.

Hmm. I was thinking grimoires (books, papyruses, whatever) would be more expensive relative to average wealth in low-tech, and less relatively expensive in high-tech (thus having a fixed G$ cost). I suppose if the vendors just keep racking up the prices this won't happen, but it wasn't my personal assumption.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

What are interesting Limitations for Energy Reserve which make it worthwhile again?

D&Desque campaigns might have 1/day (unfortunately I am away from my books and on't know what that would reduce it to.) Any other suggestions on how to reduce the cost to 2 or CP per level?

The screamingly obvious one to me is "special recharge" - of course, I assume "loose" ER for RPM would already want for Path of Magic to refill, just like the reserve bundled in Magery. However, you could add on things like needing to be in sacred space, or needing to go whole hog with Traditional Trappings and such, or only being able to refill it for a couple of hours after sunrise (or sun set, or high noon, or after Venus crests the horizon, or whatever).

[Kalzazz]

Kuroshima - unfortunately, I can't remember what you have wrote exactly other than the Mystic Knight article, but the Mystic Knight article is definitely awesome, I have used it as a baseline for characters before, and it is far and away godogma's favorite part of GURPS

It would be very cool if there was a way on e23 to show what articles someone wrote instead of just what pyramid they are in, so I could actually remember which articles were yours