Economy wrecking spells?

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Jasonft

Forgery combined with Inspired Creation means that damn near everything official would have to have a magical 'seal' affixed to the paper or it would not be trusted. "Gee Sven, this order to execute your father sure looked legitimate to us."

Inspired Creation was never intended to be a common spell. More like the secret spell used by the greatest sword-maker in the kingdom that nobody else knows.

[weby]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Inspired Creation was never intended to be a common spell. More like the secret spell used by the greatest sword-maker in the kingdom that nobody else knows.

Given that the paragraph just above the spell is:
"The College of Making and Breaking is most popular among wizards whose primary vocation is nonmagical; smiths with a touch of Magery often learn Making and Breaking."

The book seems to disagree.. seeming to indicate that smiths that know some magic know it.. as do mages who primary work as something else(like smiths)

And nowhere does it say that Inspired Creation is in any way differen from other spells or specially restricted, it being Very hard mostly just modifies effective skill.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by weby

Given that the paragraph just above the spell is:
"The College of Making and Breaking is most popular among wizards whose primary vocation is nonmagical; smiths with a touch of Magery often learn Making and Breaking."

The book seems to disagree.. seeming to indicate that smiths that know some magic know it.. as do mages who primary work as something else(like smiths)

And nowhere does it say that Inspired Creation is in any way differen from other spells or specially restricted, it being Very hard mostly just modifies effective skill.

How does saying that most smiths who know magic know Making and Breaking (which is a no-brainer) in any way indicate that they know that particular spell? And yes, a spell being Very Hard is supposed to indicate that very few people know it.

[weby]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

How does saying that most smiths who know magic know Making and Breaking (which is a no-brainer) in any way indicate that they know that particular spell?

Because that statement sets a "general rule" and if we do not have a specific rule to oppose then the general should be in effect.

And yes, a spell being Very Hard is supposed to indicate that very few people know it.

Hmm.. where does it say that? (must have missed that in the book)

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by weby

Because that statement sets a "general rule" and if we do not have a specific rule to oppose then the general should be in effect.

Said general rule being "Most smiths who know magic, know some Making and Breaking". In no way does that general rule suggest that "Most smiths who know magic know every Making and Breaking spell". And what did you think Very Hard indicated?

[weby]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Said general rule being "Most smiths who know magic, know some Making and Breaking". In no way does that general rule suggest that "Most smiths who know magic know every Making and Breaking spell".

No ofcourse not. But given that the spell in question does not have any prerequirisites and is very usefull, so that combination combined with the statement seems to make it a likely candidate as one of the first spells to get.

And what did you think Very Hard indicated?

Well, Very hard by it's nature in GURPS means -1 to skill compared to Hard. Requiring more points to get same skill level. It does not say anything about rarity(things like magery prerequrisite and requires trained by master do that)

[Diomedes]

Originally Posted by weby

No ofcourse not. But given that the spell in question does not have any prerequirisites and is very usefull, so that combination combined with the statement seems to make it a likely candidate as one of the first spells to get.

Maybe. But since it has only one other M&B spell on its prerequisite tree,you can't really use it to advance to far in the college.

Incidentally, if you have one-spell Magery (Making and Breaking), it's one of only two spells you can get. It makes sense that a lot of such people would become craftsmen rather than magicians.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by weby

Well, Very hard by it's nature in GURPS means -1 to skill compared to Hard. Requiring more points to get same skill level. It does not say anything about rarity(things like magery prerequrisite and requires trained by master do that)

Read the description of Very Hard in Characters.

Very Hard skills have prodigious scope, or are alien, counterintuitive, or deliberately shrouded in secrecy. The most fundamental of sciences, and many potent magic spells and secret martial-arts techniques are Very Hard.

A Very Hard skill is not supposed to be something generally available to all and sundry. The reason why it doesn't have a prereq chain is because it was ported from GURPS Japan and never fully integrated into the magic system.

[weby]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Read the description of Very Hard in Characters.

A Very Hard skill is not supposed to be something generally available to all and sundry. The reason why it doesn't have a prereq chain is because it was ported from GURPS Japan and never fully integrated into the magic system.

Well that says that it might be secret or it might just large in scope. I mean Biology and Physics are not that secret skills, they just involve learning a lot..

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by weby

Well that says that it might be secret or it might just large in scope. I mean Biology and Physics are not that secret skills, they just involve learning a lot..

And this is just a single spell no more flexible than many other spells. (In fact quite a bit less than many other spells.) Personally I regard Very Hard on a spell as the equivalent of Hero's stop sign. "Think twice before letting any PC have a chance to learn this one."