The impact of Youth [Magic/Thaumatology]

[AlexanderHowl]

Yes, though it is a common house rule that a scroll may contain the energy (especially useful for Resurrection), though I would require a different spell to make an energized scroll. For example:

Energized Scroll (VH)
Enchantment
Description: As for Scroll except that practitioners may invest energy equal to the base cost of the spell (if Power 15-19), equal to twice base cost of the spell (if Power 20-24), etc. The scroll does not disappear until the entire energy content is used, though its energy content may not be recharged. Double the cost of the scroll if Power 15-19, triple if Power 20-24, etc. In addition, nonmages may use energized scrolls, though they may not use their own FP to power the spell.
Time to Cast: As for Scroll
Duration: As for Scroll
Prerequisites: Magery 2, a Native written comprehension in the language the scroll is to be written in, and Scroll. Mages may not write energized scrolls for spells that they do not know.

Another useful spell related to Scroll might be the following:

Enduring Scroll (VH)
Enchantment
Description: As for Scroll except that the scroll gains Endurance equal to its power, with it losing one Endurance every time that it is cast, and the effective skill of the spell being equal to its Endurance. When Endurance drops below 10, the scroll disappears. Double the cost of the scroll if Power 15-19, triple if Power 20-24, etc.
Time to Cast: As for Scroll
Duration: As for Scroll
Prerequisites: Magery 3, a Native written comprehension in the language the scroll is to be written in, and Energized Scroll. Mages may not write enduring scrolls for spells that they do not know.

[Tyneras]

Originally Posted by Taneli

Do you imply here that a scroll has no energy cost when used?

Magic p57:
"Reading a scroll requires twice the normal casting time for the spell; the mage reading the scroll pays the normal energy cost."

(Emphasis mine.)

Yeah, I'd forgotten that the GURPS version of the scroll is a waste of page space. I'd gotten used to the version of scroll that makes sense.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Tyneras

Yeah, I'd forgotten that the GURPS version of the scroll is a waste of page space. I'd gotten used to the version of scroll that makes sense.

I prefer to houserule it so that it's useful for more than just giving (or selling) to people who don't know the spell... which may involve shortening the time required to create the scroll from days to hours. It depends on the sort of world you want. Scroll as written seems to be one of those spells that they didn't look closely-enough at before rushing GURPS Magic out the door. As it is, I wonder why a mage would spend days that they could better spend doing other things creating scrolls, unless maybe they have some rather restrictive form of Limited Magery, like Magic Items Only.

[Micah Davis]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Youth is a VH spell from the Healing College that costs 100 FP and may only be cast on a specific subject once per month. It reduces the age of the target by one year and, while it has a steep cost, it is within the range of one mage and one hundred mudane assistants, so it should be commercially available in any setting where it exists.

I think the real stickler here is that I don't think Youth would be bought or sold unless it came very late in technological development. My general assumption would be that, first of all, halt aging will be used much more often and that those that possessed the ability to cast it would not sell it but provide it as a benefit to them and theirs. So, if the network effects of magery are strong I would assume that colleges of immortal wizards would rule cities and this ruling class wouldn't need patrons and wouldn't sell their eternal youth (after all, they can happily provide their citizens with all other material comforts through magic). If they're weak, I would assume that individual high mages would create cloistered societies of their friends/neighbors that they render immortal.

In either case, by the time a mage notches a few centuries, they'll have mastered more skills than Batman. Their society will be much closer to the society of the Soulless from Fantasy II (if, maybe, less nihilistic) or mythical faerie kings than anything we have. They won't need money or patrons.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Scroll as written seems to be one of those spells that they didn't look closely-enough at before rushing GURPS Magic out the door.

Scroll goes back unchanged to Gurps Fantasy 1e and the birth of the default Magic system in 1986. It dates tot he era when PC Mages were made on 145 pts and no more.

Scroll existed then to make it possible for those oh so limited mages to cast Spells they hadn't learned and that was pretty much it. They were only produced by NPCs for that purpose.

You want charged scrolls? Merge Scroll and Manastone. You can fix two non-useful Spells that way.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

It's okay with me if Necromancy is an inferior college. People will become Necromancers so they can wear black and so forth. The spells don't need to be overwhelmingly useful.

You are really making me want to create a perky necromancer that really wishes they had nature magic. But you got to work with the hand you're dealt.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

You are really making me want to create a perky necromancer that really wishes they had nature magic. But you got to work with the hand you're dealt.

Maybe you coukld pull it off and maybe you'd annoy me and a cow would fall out of a clear blue sky onto your character. Compulsive contrarians do tend to annoy me.

[Flyndaran]

I don't see how it's being contrarian in game though. It's playing a character that as a character wishes they had different abilities than I chose. It's not really any different, IMO, than a character having to build items using sub-optimal materials.

[benz72]

I tend to think of mages who have access to youth restoring magic as needing no other explanation for Extended Lifespan and Unaging if their race does not already have it. Other than that, PCs have more important things to do... if they want to stay in town and become rich by keeping aging duchesses young then that PC can retire to do so, but so far I've been disinclined to make an adventure around that kind of magi-merchant PC.
For NPCs, everything has a price, so if a player wants Youth in a magical setting he can buy it.
There might be a plot hook in there somewhere for a court intrigue, but I haven't used it yet.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by benz72

I tend to think of mages who have access to youth restoring magic as needing no other explanation for Extended Lifespan and Unaging if their race does not already have it. in

PCs don't need to buy those if they know Halt Aging or Youth. Neither do ones who buy and anti-agathic drugs. They're both in-universe things. Buying Advantages with character pts is a meta-game thing.