Cars and Powerstones

[Whitewings]

My car (I measured) is long enough and wide enough to hold six Powerstones. If the car were fitted with them, and the stones were Exclusive, meaning up to 18 FP per day, what enchantments might you put those points towards powering?

[smurf]

iirc, from 3e, air elemental engine.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Whitewings

My car (I measured) is long enough and wide enough to hold six Powerstones. If the car were fitted with them, and the stones were Exclusive, meaning up to 18 FP per day, what enchantments might you put those points towards powering?

Well, you can't have more than one exclusive powerstone in a single item (that's what exclusive means), though it could have six different items each with its own exclusive stone.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Whitewings

My car (I measured) is long enough and wide enough to hold six Powerstones. If the car were fitted with them, and the stones were Exclusive, meaning up to 18 FP per day, what enchantments might you put those points towards powering?

Originally Posted by Anthony

Well, you can't have more than one exclusive powerstone in a single item (that's what exclusive means), though it could have six different items each with its own exclusive stone.

Did you (Whitewings) perhaps mean Dedicated, rather than Exclusive?

[Whitewings]

I did not. Here's the exact text, please note the (s):

“Exclusive” Powerstones
An item can also be made with a built-in Powerstone, in such a way that only its integral Powerstone(s) can power it. This is done exactly as for dedicated Powerstones, but the energy of an exclusive Powerstone is three times as efficient – i.e., a one-point exclusive Powerstone delivers three points of energy, but then the item is useless until the stone recharges.

[Anthony]

Huh. Interesting. I think the intent was that only the largest (un-recharged) stone counts, but it does sound like you could use multiple (though you can still only use a single powerstone for a single spell).

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Huh. Interesting. I think the intent was that only the largest (un-recharged) stone counts, but it does sound like you could use multiple (though you can still only use a single powerstone for a single spell).

You might be thinking of the way all Powerstones recharge: "A Powerstone does not recharge if it is within six feet of a larger Powerstone." (Magic 69).

Speaking of recharging there is this annoying aspect of powerstones: "Stones of the same size split the available mana and recharge at slower speed."

So a car with six powerstones is, odds are, going to recharge slower (assuming all the powerstones are the same "size" then one with five and that would have to be a huge car (6' front and back and a stone in the center)

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by maximara

You might be thinking of the way all Powerstones recharge: "A Powerstone does not recharge if it is within six feet of a larger Powerstone." (Magic 69).

)

When the OP said that "he'd measured his car" I understood that to mean that it was over 6 ft wide and 12 ft wide. That would have been how he came up with 6 as the number of usable stones.

This would have to be 6 separate devices each powered by one of those non-overlapping Exclusive stones. So it's not 18 it's 6 x 3.

[ericthered]

The way I read magic page 70, "Exclusive" means that the device may only be powered by those stones, not that only one stone may power the device.

However, I don't think you can draw power from more than one stone at a time. So if you could cast a spell for 3 mana and maintain it for 2 mana every 10 minutes, you'd have 60 minutes of effect.

Between SM cost increases, the limit of 3 mana on casting times, and the need to make spells on cars run for more than 1 minutes, I'm a little lost as to what enchantment I give the car. I think I can only really cast on the driver: the car is too big to be effected by any of the powerstones.

EDIT: some of the seeking spells are both useful and in the right cost range. Seek Gate feels like a good spell for a car in the right setting.

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by ericthered

The way I read magic page 70, "Exclusive" means that the device may only be powered by those stones, not that only one stone may power the device.

This definitely looks like it's the case:

An item can also be made with a built-in Powerstone, in such a way that only its integral Powerstone(s) can power it.

Note the "Powerstone(s)" which indicates the possibility for more Powerstones to be attached than just one.

The note about only using 1 at a time is also correct.