RPM economy

Snaps · 07-04-2015, 05:33 PM

A society where Ritual Path Magic is commonplace is either going to be an undreamed of utopia, or a nightmarish hell on earth. Probably the latter.

Some things to consider:

-Such a society will have spread across the galaxy:

A gate that lasts a year, to any point in our galaxy costs less than 500 energy. This might sound like a lot, but it really isn't. Five decent casters, working together, with the best equipment, grimoires, etc., on a place of power can gather this no problem.

They'd also spread across dimensions:

A Gate to an alternate earth is only 10 energy. They'd have explored far more quantoms than Infinity Inc.

-They'll probably destroy themselves:

The way Working Together works just promotes disasters. You get your full skill roll for the gathering energy, then at the end the leader makes a roll to complete the ritual. What happens when one idiot gets 100 people together and tells them he's going to change the world. They'll quickly gather 1000 energy or more (probably a lot more) then the leader will critically fail the final roll (due to his -100 penalty). BOOM.

-Warfare will be insane:

Take 5 decent casters (14 skill), give them a great place of power (+5 skill), the best tools (+2 or more), Great trappings (-25% to energy cost), and the best grimoire the military can afford (+10 skill).

This gives them a final skill of 31. The Quick and dirty chart gives them a safe threshold of 175. So with their trappings, that means they can each gather about 437 energy by only exceeding twice their threshold. That's 2185 energy that these 5, decent mages can play around with.

Mana Bomb
Spell Effects: Greater Create Energy.
Inherent Modifiers: Damage, External Burning Explosive.
Greater Effects: 1 (x3).
A simple fire charm, that explodes when broken.
Typical Casting: Greater Create Energy (6) + Damage, Exter-
nal Burning Explosive 350d (696). 2106 energy (6×3).

A pretty simple spell, that will cause a 700 yard explosion. Honestly though, you'd probably be safe with up to fifteen or more of these decent mages working together, giving you a 1000d spell.

So many horrors...:

Now imagine they take the energy from the Mana Bomb, and instead summon a demon... or an elemental... or Cthulhu. Summoning a 2,000 point horror to attack your enemies might be more effective than a bomb.

They will be Supermen:

Let's go with 6000 energy being the upper limit of what a millionaire can afford. Total perfection is then possible. A +10 IQ charm, that lasts a century won't even cost 1,000 energy. Same with one for DX. HT and ST are obviously cheaper, and you can build Belts of Strength that are literally powerful enough for someone to destroy the earth with one punch. Super Strength 55 is going to be pretty close to that 6,000 energy mark. Not to mention Armor of Injury Tolerance.

Even if you think my examples are extreme (maybe they are). Even using much less energy you're going to get some big results.

Five casters with even little training should be able to muster up 50 energy each with the right tools. That's 250 energy. That allows quite a number of cool effects. +3 IQ pills might be more common than viagra.

Just some things to think about. My players have been pulling some whoppers on me with RPM. Which is fine. It's a powerful magic system. Much more like Mage: The Ascension then GURPS: Magic IMO.

07-04-2015, 05:33 PM	#20
Snaps Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Provo, UT	Re: RPM economy A society where Ritual Path Magic is commonplace is either going to be an undreamed of utopia, or a nightmarish hell on earth. Probably the latter. Some things to consider: -Such a society will have spread across the galaxy: A gate that lasts a year, to any point in our galaxy costs less than 500 energy. This might sound like a lot, but it really isn't. Five decent casters, working together, with the best equipment, grimoires, etc., on a place of power can gather this no problem. They'd also spread across dimensions: A Gate to an alternate earth is only 10 energy. They'd have explored far more quantoms than Infinity Inc. -They'll probably destroy themselves: The way Working Together works just promotes disasters. You get your full skill roll for the gathering energy, then at the end the leader makes a roll to complete the ritual. What happens when one idiot gets 100 people together and tells them he's going to change the world. They'll quickly gather 1000 energy or more (probably a lot more) then the leader will critically fail the final roll (due to his -100 penalty). BOOM. -Warfare will be insane: Take 5 decent casters (14 skill), give them a great place of power (+5 skill), the best tools (+2 or more), Great trappings (-25% to energy cost), and the best grimoire the military can afford (+10 skill). This gives them a final skill of 31. The Quick and dirty chart gives them a safe threshold of 175. So with their trappings, that means they can each gather about 437 energy by only exceeding twice their threshold. That's 2185 energy that these 5, decent mages can play around with. Mana Bomb Spell Effects: Greater Create Energy. Inherent Modifiers: Damage, External Burning Explosive. Greater Effects: 1 (x3). A simple fire charm, that explodes when broken. Typical Casting: Greater Create Energy (6) + Damage, Exter- nal Burning Explosive 350d (696). 2106 energy (6×3). A pretty simple spell, that will cause a 700 yard explosion. Honestly though, you'd probably be safe with up to fifteen or more of these decent mages working together, giving you a 1000d spell. So many horrors...: Now imagine they take the energy from the Mana Bomb, and instead summon a demon... or an elemental... or Cthulhu. Summoning a 2,000 point horror to attack your enemies might be more effective than a bomb. They will be Supermen: Let's go with 6000 energy being the upper limit of what a millionaire can afford. Total perfection is then possible. A +10 IQ charm, that lasts a century won't even cost 1,000 energy. Same with one for DX. HT and ST are obviously cheaper, and you can build Belts of Strength that are literally powerful enough for someone to destroy the earth with one punch. Super Strength 55 is going to be pretty close to that 6,000 energy mark. Not to mention Armor of Injury Tolerance. Even if you think my examples are extreme (maybe they are). Even using much less energy you're going to get some big results. Five casters with even little training should be able to muster up 50 energy each with the right tools. That's 250 energy. That allows quite a number of cool effects. +3 IQ pills might be more common than viagra. Just some things to think about. My players have been pulling some whoppers on me with RPM. Which is fine. It's a powerful magic system. Much more like Mage: The Ascension then GURPS: Magic IMO.