FP Problems

[Fini]

Do you guys know how to get more FP? I'm playing as a pure Mage and after using a simple Shape Earth or casting 2 Lighting my FP ends.

I have a 13pt Powerstone, Magery 3, 10 FP and my IQ is 11.


Is there a skill or something similar to help me?

[Rolando]

13 uses you mean 13 energy or 13 uses, how many energy per use? normally powerstones hold energy for spell casting, a 13 powerstone allows you to use up to 13 energy from it in a single casting or multiple as you sees fit, recovering such energy slowly according to mana level.

You may want to look at the Energy Reserve advantage, or ask your GM if you can get extra fatigue (maybe with the limitation of only for spell casting). The energy reserve may be even in "objects of power" similar to powerstones but depending on how you build the energy reserve it can be more flexible, it is basically gadget energy reserve.

[whswhs]

Having the powerstone gives you 13 FP. But you also have inherent FP equal to your HT; if you have HT 10, for example, you have a total of 23 FP. Are you taking that into account?

With IQ 11 and Magery 3, you get spells at -12 for 1 character point. But if you have a spell that's really worthwhile, you might buy it up to -15 for a total of 8 character points. That reduces the energy cost to cast it by 1 point. So, for example, Shape Earth would cost 1 to cast and 0 to maintain. It's not cheap but it's worth considering.

[Fini]

Originally Posted by Rolando

13 uses you mean 13 energy or 13 uses, how many energy per use? normally powerstones hold energy for spell casting, a 13 powerstone allows you to use up to 13 energy from it in a single casting or multiple as you sees fit, recovering such energy slowly according to mana level.

You may want to look at the Energy Reserve advantage, or ask your GM if you can get extra fatigue (maybe with the limitation of only for spell casting). The energy reserve may be even in "objects of power" similar to powerstones but depending on how you build the energy reserve it can be more flexible, it is basically gadget energy reserve.

Here on my CGS it says ''13 pt Powerstone'' So I don't know,I'm using it as if it were extra FP, but even so it still ends very quickly and after 2-3 turns I can no longer cast spells.

[Fini]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Having the powerstone gives you 13 FP. But you also have inherent FP equal to your HT; if you have HT 10, for example, you have a total of 23 FP. Are you taking that into account?

With IQ 11 and Magery 3, you get spells at -12 for 1 character point. But if you have a spell that's really worthwhile, you might buy it up to -15 for a total of 8 character points. That reduces the energy cost to cast it by 1 point. So, for example, Shape Earth would cost 1 to cast and 0 to maintain. It's not cheap but it's worth considering.

Yes, I'm doing this calculation, I'm using the Powerstone as if it were an extra FP, but even so after 2-3 turns I already run out of FP

[RGTraynor]

Beyond the other advice -- buy FP, purchase more Powerstones, etc. -- you may just want to cultivate more efficiency in your gameplay. What exactly are you doing that you're flattening yourself to the tune of 23 FP in just a couple rounds? You ought not need to cast a 9d Lightning each and every engagement. You ought not need to cast a giant area Shape Earth each and every engagement. (And if you do, these need to be boss fights, not casual random encounter-type action that come up four times a session.)

Most mages don't rely on flattening their Powerstones each and every time; for one thing, they take too damn long to recharge. It's more that they're casting out of their personal fatigue and saving the Powerstones for must-cast situations. If you're genuinely having to toss around magic that much, that often, something's a bit hinky. We need to know a bit more: what's your spell list, at what levels, and what kind of opposition (and how often) is your GM throwing at you?

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Fini

I have a 13pt Powerstone, Magery 3, 10 FP and my IQ is 11.

Is there a skill or something similar to help me?

The Recover Energy spell (p. 248 in the Basic Set) will help you recover FP you spend on magic faster. If you have it at skill 15, you recover 1FP every five minutes. Buying it up to that level will cost you 8 character points.

Buying up your skill with spells will reduce the cost to cast them: If you have skill 15 in a spell, the energy cost to cast it is reduced by 1, as described on pp. B236-37.

Becoming a truly skilful magician will require buying up your IQ and/or Magery. If the total of those is 17, you get skill 15 (and thus -1 to casting cost) for most spells for a cost of only a single character point per spell.

[Varyon]

GURPS Thaumatology explores this fairly in depth in "Energy Sources," starting on page 50. Probably the most immediately-available option there for your character (assuming you don't want to spend character points on things like Energy Reserve) is paut, which is essentially a mana potion. Thaumatology restricts you to drinking 1 ounce - restoring 1 FP per ounce - each second, but some other sources, such as the Dungeon Fantasy line (and later DFRPG) instead have 4 FP vials of paut that you can consume in one go, and I think there are indications that larger doses are possible. You'll need to ask your GM how they intend to handle paut - or if indeed it's even available.

[the_matrix_walker]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Becoming a truly skilful magician will require buying up your IQ and/or Magery. If the total of those is 17, you get skill 15 (and thus -1 to casting cost) for most spells for a cost of only a single character point per spell.

This is the way.

If IQ+Magery-2 isn't 15, you're looking at a glorified dabbler at best, and if it isn't 12, you'll need multiple points in a spell for it to count as a prerequisite and you likely shouldn't bother at all.

More FP is a losing battle, high skill leads to free maintenance and the path to true power!

[Fini]

Originally Posted by RGTraynor

Beyond the other advice -- buy FP, purchase more Powerstones, etc. -- you may just want to cultivate more efficiency in your gameplay. What exactly are you doing that you're flattening yourself to the tune of 23 FP in just a couple rounds? You ought not need to cast a 9d Lightning each and every engagement. You ought not need to cast a giant area Shape Earth each and every engagement. (And if you do, these need to be boss fights, not casual random encounter-type action that come up four times a session.)

Most mages don't rely on flattening their Powerstones each and every time; for one thing, they take too damn long to recharge. It's more that they're casting out of their personal fatigue and saving the Powerstones for must-cast situations. If you're genuinely having to toss around magic that much, that often, something's a bit hinky. We need to know a bit more: what's your spell list, at what levels, and what kind of opposition (and how often) is your GM throwing at you?

Well, My GCS is currently:

IQ = 11 (Other stats are at 10)
48 Points in Advantages, -26 in Disadvantages.

6 pts in Skills (among them: Thaumatology and Research)
22 Spells. Having the function of helping me with the FP problem are only Charge Powerstone and Steal Energy.
What is killing my FP the most is my use of Shape Earth which I normally use to Bury enemies into the ground.
One detail that after reading some answers I realized is that all my spells are at 12, which should explain why I always run out of FP, with the example of Shape earth, which being at 12, in a fight against a horde After burying 3-4 enemies it simply consumes almost all of my FP to use and I can keep it for a maximum of 2 turns to damage enemies by suffocation.