06-06-2009, 01:59 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Economy wrecking spells?
Wherein we list spells that would or at least should alter a medievalish fantasy world into something decidedly different. And potential ways to keep them in check.
The cubic yards of metal Earth to stone was given in Grimoire is a pretty well cited one. My own solution is to classify the metal transmutation as a tech based spell and put it with the tecnology to undercut the magical metal's price. You can do it, but you aren't going to be unspeakably rich from doing it. How about Seek Earth, with the ability to locate ores? The fix is pretty simple; "Ore" is too vague to work with the spell, you have to have specific means to identify a type of Earth with the senses you have in order to identify the earth you seek. It's easy for an artist to find earths to mke paints with. They are discernable by color fo rthe most part. Harder to find copper ore. Indeed hyou could walk over gold of of the non-quartz variety following the spell's directions to 'quartz with metalic gold veins'. Ideas?
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06-06-2009, 04:37 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: The deep dark haunted woods
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Re: Economy wrecking spells?
You want an economy-wrecking spell? What about Create Food? What are you going to do with all those unemployed farmers (who at TL 4 and under make up ninety percent or more of the population)?
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"When you talk about damage radius, even atomic weapons pale before that of an unfettered idiot in a position of power." - Sam Starfall from the webcomic Freefall |
06-06-2009, 06:47 AM | #3 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Economy wrecking spells?
Hire them to provide FP.
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06-06-2009, 06:53 AM | #4 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Economy wrecking spells?
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06-06-2009, 07:25 AM | #5 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Economy wrecking spells?
So? Do it many times. It's still some bucks per day for basically doing nothin (but feeling tired). Hey, I would sell a FP per day for $1, as long as the wizard near my home (same street, more or less). It would be equivalent to having free rides all month (probably more if the wizard works every day, no holidays, no rest on weekends).
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06-06-2009, 08:39 AM | #6 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Re: Economy wrecking spells?
Any spell letting you create something from nothing is going to cause an issue. If the economic effects bug you that bad, do what I do in serious fantasy campaigns (well, more serious than Dungeon Fantasy) -- ban anything that creates ex nihilo.
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06-06-2009, 08:54 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Apr 2006
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Re: Economy wrecking spells?
I'll go one further than that: any spell that does something that can't be done just as quickly and cheaply by existing tech is going to cause a problem.
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06-06-2009, 09:13 AM | #8 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Economy wrecking spells?
If it requires lots of FP, it will still provide jobs to peasants, though. Not so with the elite crafters . . .
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06-06-2009, 09:16 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho
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Re: Economy wrecking spells?
The whole "create metal spell ruins the medieval economy" meme doesn't ring true to me. The price of metal is set by its rarity and what demand there is for it use. As soon as there is a larger supply, the demand will drop and so will the price. The idea that with more supply there will be more uses found may or may not work in a medieval economy. With the metal becoming readily available, the next pinch-point in the process is the availability of metal smiths. With a few years of training, the number of metal smiths would increase, but you still end up with the question of who will buy the metal goods all these smiths are making.
-Dan |
06-06-2009, 09:27 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Economy wrecking spells?
Quote:
You know how badly screwed people without instantaneous communications are when competing aginst people who do have them? War, politics, business, pretty much anything. Virtually any spell that has any tangible and useful result could wreck the medieval economy. Even ones that cause one peasant to fall in love with another. Or how about those spells that make cow's milk go bad? If that's reliable and repeatable that could wreck the whole,dairy business. We'd be busy discussing bovine defense measures. Magic that does anything except con money from rubes will change things. If it was ususually successful; at _that_ it might change things too.
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Fred Brackin |
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Tags |
game economy, magic |
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