Casting time of missile spell scrolls

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Kromm

just assume that such scrolls are available in versions from 1d to 18d but always take two seconds to read.

This is surprising to me, is this something that should have been clear from the text?

Charged, wizardly, 13d: $650; 13d after two seconds of reading and 0 FP; requires Magery.

Noting that from here on scrolls are better than you can cast yourself.

[ArchonShiva]

They are. But if an expendable item costing $500 let me shave a second off casting time (with some additional restrictions regarding free hands), I wouldn’t exactly spam it all day.

That said, I’m seriously surprised by Kromm’s call on this. It’s impressively consistent (I’m not sure any other solution quite works), but rather out of left field. The man knows his GURPS!

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by ArchonShiva

That said, I’m seriously surprised by Kromm’s call on this. It’s impressively consistent (I’m not sure any other solution quite works), but rather out of left field. The man knows his GURPS!

I don't know, I think "charged scrolls provide energy for casting only, up to 6d" was more consistent, but YMMV.

[Tom H.]

Originally Posted by Kromm

The time to cast any Missile spell is one second, . . .

This is an important definition that really helps to resolve my issues. The completion of missile spell casting is no longer ambiguous.

Thank you Kromm for commenting on this topic.

[Tom H.]

P.S. And thanks everybody else here for contributing to the discussion. It took some back and forth to clarify the issues.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Noting that from here on scrolls are better than you can cast yourself.

Arguably, all charged scrolls are, owing to the little detail about costing no energy. Okay, strictly speaking, somebody with skill 15, 20, 25, etc. has a slight edge at the low end . . .

But I'm not worried about $650 items being better than native potential. A $650 katana is considerably better than fists – more damage, better damage type, more reach – and it works infinite times. At some point, artifacts let people outdo unassisted rivals in any field of endeavor.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Kromm

At some point, artifacts let people outdo unassisted rivals in any field of endeavor.

A tool using species has overrun this planet, after all :)

[sir_pudding]

To be clear, I wasn't complaining, just pointing it out.