Low Tech Draw Power

[whswhs]

In any case, the 4/e version of GURPS Magic has 360 kW equated to 1 FP/second. That seems to be the current RAW.

Since sustained work output for an adult human is on the order of 100 W, 1 FP/second is equivalent to the work output of 3600 adult humans. Or to 480 horsepower (though a horsepower is more power than a typical horse is capable of).

Or, looked at another way, 1 FP is comparable to the work of an adult human sustained over an hour.

[dcarson]

Now I'm thinking about a setting where that happens in reverse. Magic that has 1 FP spells that can do the work of 1000-3500 men (conversion losses).

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by dcarson

Now I'm thinking about a setting where that happens in reverse. Magic that has 1 FP spells that can do the work of 1000-3500 men (conversion losses).

I suspect there are already some that can. GURPS spells don't push into ridiculous levels of energy as obviously as many magic systems, but if you consider the energy actually involved in something like the changes you can get out of Shape Earth, and then divide that by the few seconds it takes, the power level isn't trivial.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by dcarson

Now I'm thinking about a setting where that happens in reverse. Magic that has 1 FP spells that can do the work of 1000-3500 men (conversion losses).

That would be if it costs 1 FP per second - if the effect costs 1 FP per minute, it would do the work of something like 20 to 50 men, or if it costs 1 FP per hour, it would do the work of a single ST 5 to ST 9 man. But it certainly would be interesting (if perhaps a bit tedious) to define magic energy to have a set amount of energy it corresponds to. Spells that permanently created objects would have a prodigious cost (e=mc^2, after all), although I wonder what would be an appropriate cost for temporarily creating an object.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Varyon

That would be if it costs 1 FP per second - if the effect costs 1 FP per minute, it would do the work of something like 20 to 50 men, or if it costs 1 FP per hour, it would do the work of a single ST 5 to ST 9 man. But it certainly would be interesting (if perhaps a bit tedious) to define magic energy to have a set amount of energy it corresponds to. Spells that permanently created objects would have a prodigious cost (e=mc^2, after all), although I wonder what would be an appropriate cost for temporarily creating an object.

That's certainly true if you materialize the objects out of nothingness. If you assemble them from available atoms of matter the cost is less, especially if you have to use atoms of the correct elements and isotopes.