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Old 03-11-2019, 04:26 PM   #9
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: Worth of Programmable Matter

Quote:
Originally Posted by khorboth View Post
I misunderstood. I thought you were talking about 10% of the value of the crystals, not of the finished good.
Well, they're sort of the same thing. That $19,800 sword requires Shards with a nominal value of $19,800 after all (although buying said Shards on the market, you'd spend roughly twice that).

Quote:
Originally Posted by khorboth View Post
The value of goods is too variable since material v. labor is all over the board.
I'm basically working under the assumption that the generic prices in GURPS Low Tech and its companions (and other places) are correct. I'm debating having the Shards treat certain materials as being worth more or less than you could typically purchase them for - for example, water might be treated as more expensive than it usually is in town, while platinum and aluminum are treated as cheaper than they would be for a TL4 society to produce. Anybody have any advice on other materials this treatment might be appropriate for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
You can essentially view this as a special type of currency: from the point of view of a customer, giving a craftsman a bunch of shards and getting back a finished item is no different from giving a craftsman a bunch of silver and getting back a finished item, so the real benefit is that it lets you do production much faster.
Indeed, that is part of the idea. There's also the benefit that it allows you to upgrade existing items (in theory, you could have a character start with a Cheap weapon and keep upgrading it via Shards until it's some Very Fine Balanced Ornate powerhouse with a slew of enchantments thrown on).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
A 100% 'rush job' surcharge isn't horrible as an approximation (note that, if you gave a craftsman shards to produce an item he already has in inventory, he probably pockets the shards and gives you the item from inventory).
That would require some rather impressive slight of hand, as the normal custom with Shardcrafting is for the craftsman to produce the desired product right there in front of the client. If all you have to pay with are Shards, he'd probably sell you the item at a slight markup to account for him needing to go (or send an assistant) elsewhere to sell them for actual money (most craftsmen don't keep Shards around, as they're too tempting for thieves).
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