Magical Birth Control

[AlexanderHowl]

Originally Posted by hal

By the by? Thanks for bringing this topic up. I'm running an Atlantis: Second Age campaign for my two players, and they're about to enter an Abandoned First Age Atlantean City. That "chapter" is called "And a Gold Crown short", soon to be followed by "For the sins of their mothers". Normally, I wouldn't bother putting in spells from GURPS BIOTECH in this campaign, but it would fit the "Lost lore" concept that I'm currently running.

You are welcome. I believe that even in a 'medieval' setting, the majority of families would be willing to pay the equivalent of $25 to prevent the wife from having children after the fourth child. Even if the husband is not so considerate, most women will not want more than four children, and would be afraid that an attempt for a fifth would mean that they would not live to take care of the other four. In addition, courtesans and prostitutes would probably love to avoid having children.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

In GURPs, we have two examples of magical birth control. The first, Strike Barren (Magic, p. 41), is a Body/Necromancy spell that permanently sterilizes the target, takes 30 seconds to casts, cost 5 energy points and possesses a prerequisite count of 7 (making it moderately difficult to cast with Ritual Magic). The second, Sterility (Thaumatology, p. 150) is a Path/Book ritual that temporarily prevents conception during its duration. Of the two, Strike Barren is probably marginally more useful, though its relatively high prerequisite count is annoying.

At least many of the prerequisite spells are useful themselves.

How much this costs depends on TL, what mages expect as a wealth level, and how busy a mage able to cast this and other spells expect to be. Assuming they're fully employed, at average wealth and TL3 (Magic's default assumptions for enchanters), a mage's time is worth about $4/hour, and this spell is worth $2 if the mage has Recover Energy-15 (and most will as it's just off the chain to Strike Barren).

If the mage is at TL8, and expects a wealthy income their time is worth about $74/hour, and the spell will cost around $40.

Of course, in both cases if the mage is part of some medical clinic, guild, or other business, all the various overheads, etc., will bump the price up considerably. In a modern state with state-funded medical care or common medical insurance the price to the consumer could be low or nothing (directly), too.

[AlexanderHowl]

Given the difficulty of being a mage in most setting (IQ 12+, Magery 0+, a dozen skills at 12+), I think that the value of a mage's time is much higher than suggested. In a normal mana setting, I think that professional mages should have Wealth (Comfortable). In a low mana setting, I think that professional mages should have Wealth (Wealthy).

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

I believe that even in a 'medieval' setting, the majority of families would be willing to pay the equivalent of $25 to prevent the wife from having children after the fourth child.

Only if there were just as inexpensive magics to keep those first 2-4 children alive into adulthood. Indeed, they'd probably stop at 2 kids if they could be kept healthy and well into adulthood. Most medieval families were not in quiver cults.

Otherwise no, medieval peasants would not be using contraceptives, simply because most children don't even make to their adolescent years.

In addition, courtesans and prostitutes would probably love to avoid having children.

This however is undeniable.

[AlexanderHowl]

Most of the estimates for child mortality that I have found place it at 30% for rural areas, though it may have reached 50% in urban areas (where only 10% of the population lived). Now, when child mortality was included, most people died before they reproduced because marriage was forbidden if the husband did not have a way of taking care of a prospective wife and children, meaning that men would have to wait until they were in their 30s or 40s before they could marry and reproduce. Even in farming communities, men had to wait until land became available, either through gifts or inheritance, to marry and have children. More children who survived meant more unmarried sons and unmarried daughters, as there was only so much land to go around.

[hal]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Given the difficulty of being a mage in most setting (IQ 12+, Magery 0+, a dozen skills at 12+), I think that the value of a mage's time is much higher than suggested. In a normal mana setting, I think that professional mages should have Wealth (Comfortable). In a low mana setting, I think that professional mages should have Wealth (Wealthy).

One of the things that has me scratching my head as far as "economics" go and GURPS MAGIC is this:

Status 0 is deemed to be the default level for player characters. Wages for a status 0 individual tend to be higher than those of lower status individuals. None the less - Status 0 incomes tend to be double that of the normal run of the mill jobs, which the bulk of people will tend to hold as far as percentages of population etc.

It has always been at the back of my mind that just as some practitioners of a given job might not be as well favored income wise simply because the demand is lacking, so too should certain aspects of mage casting be less likely to be "high cost".

Which brings me to the other issue that has always been at the back of my head...

Who gets paid more - the mage who saves lives and makes life easier, or the mage who deals with public sewers with his earth spells? If the Seek spell or Trace spell tend to be relatively rare, then a mage who studies that spell could probably earn a bigger wage than one who dabbles in the use of only a few spells, and is deemed to be so "common" that the spell caster is barely making more then a "struggling wage" as it were.

So, for example? A mage who casts spells worth half a dollar per fatigue point, could cast a total of 8 fatigue in spells per day, and earn the same amount of money that a status zero individual could earn working for the full day. At roughly $4 per day income (at TL 3), he'd earn a total of 40 hours per week x 4 or 160 per week, times 4 again, for a total of $640 per month (not too far from the standard of $700 per month and within the rules given for GURPS JOBS).

In many instances? It is my suspicion that the spell cost values are too HIGH for any given society.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Only if there were just as inexpensive magics to keep those first 2-4 children alive into adulthood. Indeed, they'd probably stop at 2 kids if they could be kept healthy and well into adulthood. Most medieval families were not in quiver cults.

Otherwise no, medieval peasants would not be using contraceptives, simply because most children don't even make to their adolescent years.


This however is undeniable.

I assumed most of the childhood deaths were in early infancy, not speaking ages. Disease sucks, but it wouldn't be too silly to invoke magical inoculations to shove that unpleasant fact of real history under the rug.

[AlexanderHowl]

Why should a mage only make $700 a month? A soldier with three useful skills make more than that, so a mage should make a lot more money with 12 useful skills. For example, a magical healer should be much wealthier than a soldier because a magical healer with Minor Healing and Major Healing can replace a three weeks of healing with just two hours of work.

[RyanW]

I seem to be in a minority in that I like the complexities of pre-modern life to be present in my fantasy settings.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by RyanW

I seem to be in a minority in that I like the complexities of pre-modern life to be present in my fantasy settings.

For me it depends on the 'genre' I'm going for. The closer to 'survival' being full in the game title, the more I hew towards 'realistic history' and the further from 'it's modern day with a medieval aesthetic'.