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Old 05-08-2019, 02:29 PM   #11
TippetsTX
 
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

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Originally Posted by RobW View Post
OK, so in that case, to go back to hcobb's original question, wouldn't the 720 ST stone require "only" 72 days of work (with apprentices) instead of 288 weeks?
I tend to think that the '720' thing was more of a narrative element than an actual mechanical limitation.

That said, I am implementing rules that require gems of increasing size and perfection to store higher amounts of ST. At some point, it will become size and cost-prohibitive to aquire stones able to store more than 50 ST or so that a wizard can actually carry around (that's just in my game, however).
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Old 05-08-2019, 02:33 PM   #12
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

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Originally Posted by TippetsTX View Post
That said, I am implementing rules that require gems of increasing size and perfection to store higher amounts of ST. At some point, it will become size and cost-prohibitive to aquire stones able to store more than 50 ST or so that a wizard can actually carry around (that's just in my game, however).
(It's also how it works in GURPS Magic, FWIW.)
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Old 05-08-2019, 02:34 PM   #13
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

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(It's also how it works in GURPS Magic, FWIW.)
Great minds...
;)
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Old 05-08-2019, 04:50 PM   #14
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

I concur that 720 (also OIL upside down) is a story element.

I am also going to put limits on the size of gems, as GURPS does. I like the 1 mana/1 karat rule. But any gemstone will do, even the 12pound chunk of Imperial Jade.

Large gems are targets for theft, big chucks of semi-precious stones are large chunks of semi-precious stones.
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Old 05-09-2019, 01:42 AM   #15
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

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Originally Posted by TippetsTX View Post
… I am implementing rules that require gems of increasing size and perfection to store higher amounts of ST. …
Does the type of stone matter, or just the cost? For example, would a button-sized Ruby work the same as, or better than a softball-sized Garnet? (Or however big the Garnet would need to be, to have value equal to the Ruby. You get the idea.)
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Old 05-09-2019, 07:29 AM   #16
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

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Does the type of stone matter, or just the cost? For example, would a button-sized Ruby work the same as, or better than a softball-sized Garnet? (Or however big the Garnet would need to be, to have value equal to the Ruby. You get the idea.)
Yes (sort of), although my version of Cidri (being artificial) doesn't have 'precious gemstones' in the traditional sense. They are not naturally occurring, but are rather artifacts of Mnoren technology. They still come in various sizes and quality, however, which is what is relevant here.
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Old 05-09-2019, 08:11 AM   #17
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

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Originally Posted by TippetsTX View Post
Yes (sort of), although my version of Cidri (being artificial) doesn't have 'precious gemstones' in the traditional sense. They are not naturally occurring, but are rather artifacts of Mnoren technology. They still come in various sizes and quality, however, which is what is relevant here.
Then what are the dwarves digging for? Tradition?
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Old 05-09-2019, 08:15 AM   #18
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

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Then what are the dwarves digging for? Tradition?
Oh, there is plenty to dig for... Cidri isn't built out of chicken wire and plaster, after all.
;)
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Old 05-10-2019, 10:52 AM   #19
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

There's a problem with most calculations relating to powerstones and gemstones: The costs are not linear. In fact, according to the Lumera website, they are exponential: https://www.lumeradiamonds.com/diamo...d-carat-weight

If a 1 carat stone costs $1000, then a 100 carat stone would not cost $100,000 but $10,000,000 (a 50 carat stone would cost $2,500,000) so the cost of mana per carat goes up.

One option is to assign the mana capacity based on value rather than size. This has its own problems since value varies with locale and circumstances

Another option would be to increase the mana capacity using a geometric series: the first carat can hold 1 mana, the second, 2, the third three, etc. This way a 10 carat stone, costing $100,000 would hold 55 mana, a 15 carat stone, costing $225,000 would hold 120 mana.

Note that anything above 3 carats is unwieldy in a ring and anything above 1 carat is REALLY gaudy, evident, and almost unhidable.

This avoids many wizards having gemstones the size of chicken eggs which is larger than almost any known stone on earth today. The Cullinan I diamond is only 530 carats. The Golden Jubilee Diamond (the largest cut diamond) is 545 carats. The Bahia emerald (uncut) is 1,900,000 carats which might make a really interesting backdrop to an Emperor's or Emperor Lich's throne.
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Old 05-10-2019, 11:48 AM   #20
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Default Re: Limits on powerstones

From some outlooks, that's not so much a problem as a very nice rational reality-based limiting factor for high-ST powerstones, especially if a crit fail destroys the gem.
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