06-19-2019, 03:05 PM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2010
|
[Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
I've been thinking about the impact Shape Earth and Earth to Stone would have on a setting, and I'm realizing a great deal about the spells is left unclear. Many of the most important questions involve fusing things together. For example, can Shape Earth fuse to pieces of stone together? Or even transform a rubble pile into a single continuous block? Similarly, if you pack a hole in a wall with dirt, and cast Earth to Stone, will the resulting stone be chemically bonded to the wall, or will it at best form a tight plug?
If the answer to these questions is "yes", it could help explain how bronze age (or even stone age) civilizations are able to build massive temples that in some ways resemble gothic cathedrals more than anything historically accomplished at that tech level. But Magic is extremely vague on what exactly these spells do. |
06-19-2019, 03:16 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
|
Re: [Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
Even if shape earth and earth to stone can't form chunks that are attached to existing stone, you can do plenty with large shaped chunks of stone that aren't attached. to each other, just placed against one another.
|
06-19-2019, 03:27 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: New Zealand.
|
Re: [Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
I've had similar questions come up with regards to shape earth on the smaller scale, can shape earth remove flaws from gems or combine smaller gems into larger ones.
My approach was to have the answer as part of the game world. In this particular world it works this way, but in another world it works the other way. I just consider the likely implications of each option and choose what I think is most appropriate to the setting.
__________________
Waiting for inspiration to strike...... And spending too much time thinking about farming for RPGs Contributor to Citadel at Nordvörn |
06-19-2019, 03:31 PM | #4 | ||
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
|
Re: [Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
Quote:
Quote:
Good questions for the Magic Spells: Earth book
__________________
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 |
||
06-19-2019, 04:32 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Jan 2015
|
Re: [Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
Related question: How can power-based Shape Earth be improved to match the skill-based one?
Skill-based Shape Earth is based on dimensions, 1 fp per cubic yard with minimum cost 2. 2 cubic yards of stone, assuming 2.7 g/cc, weights 9072 lbs. To control the same amount of stone with Control, it would take 9072/10=907.2 levels (around 18,140 points)! |
06-19-2019, 04:52 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
|
Re: [Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
Quote:
|
|
06-19-2019, 05:38 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: May 2010
|
Re: [Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
Quote:
Oh, another question about Shape Earth: once you've cast it once on some stone, does the stone now count as "worked", raising the cost of re-casting it on the same chunk of stone? |
|
06-19-2019, 05:50 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
|
Re: [Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
Quote:
Make simple changes to the shape of the object(s) or move it at a Move of 1 for 1 FP. Complex shapes may require a penalty or another skill and weight is limited to 10 lbs. or 1 hex, but can be increased at Ą2 for each +1 FP (spending up to Magery squared). At the lower end its cheaper to cast but the high end makes it potentially industrial in power. Though that would likely require ceremonial magic.
__________________
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 |
|
06-19-2019, 05:55 PM | #9 | ||
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
|
Re: [Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
Quote:
Quote:
If you just want what workers can do, well, Dancing Object on a pick and shovel would cost you 8 fp for an hour (4 fp per extra hour) and lets you move 90 cf per hour, but that's way less convenient than being able to shape it. Last edited by Anthony; 06-19-2019 at 06:01 PM. |
||
06-19-2019, 07:50 PM | #10 | |
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
|
Re: [Magic] Using Shape Earth and Earth to Stone in construction
Quote:
If if the GM ruled the rocks can't be fused together via Shape Earth, it's not much of a limitation. Simple dovetail joints, finger joints, pegs, joists, arches, and various basic techniques could create massive structures from many parts. Also, a clever player could simply fuse molten rocks together with the Fire college-at least with the Heat spell at skill 15. |
|
|
|