[Magic] Rebuilding Diamonds

[RGTraynor]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

'Exotic" is for things usually called "unobtainium" or soem simialr term.

"Exotic" is for anything I damn well want to decide it is, and likely it's a zeitgeist thing anyway. Up until pretty recently, in the grand scheme of things, aluminum would've been categorized as a pretty "exotic" material.

But Pursuivant nailed it, in that laundry list. I'd figured out a long time ago that if I could know just one spell out of Magic, it'd be Clean. I'd be the premier art restorer in the world.

Originally Posted by malloyd

I'd also note than many spells in Grimoire have had a reputation as unbalanced, poorly thought out messes ever since the book came out, so arguing "it's there for a reason" isn't going to fly with most long time GURPS players. Maybe there was a reason that made sense in the context of whoever's campaign the spell first appeared in, but it may not have been rethought since.

Yep, exactly. I was on the BBS for the discussions, some of the spells that went in were mine, and there was absolutely, positively no rhyme or reason to the selection. (Nearly thirty years on, I'm still pi$$ed that it took until The Least of Spells for a birth control spell to be included, and retain dark thoughts as to why that was.) It was a bunch of people suggesting their own favorites, and we were working out mechanics rather than giving much of any thought to whether any one spell would disorder society.

The way I handle this at my own table is straightforward. Yeah, there are a number of spells that can break an economy. They are otherwise illegal, or tightly controlled, taught only to mages who take stern magical oaths against misuse, and policed by the College of Mages, which does NOT want howling mobs tearing mages to pieces. With the armies of monarchs not stopping the mobs because they're leading the mobs.