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Old 12-14-2020, 07:45 PM   #11
Say, it isn't that bad!
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Default Re: [Magic] Rare Permanent Enchantment, Common Elixirs and Scrolls

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Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
The default cost of magical items is too cheap for the rarity of enchanters and for the dedication required to become enchanters (even Q&D items). With the default cost of magical items, an individual would be better off becoming a blacksmith, as they would receive Wealth (Comfortable) and Status 1 for having skill 15 in a single A skill. Of course, scrolls and elixirs would be less expensive because they are easier to make than enchanted items.

Of course, one advantage of increasing the cost of enchanted items by 20x is that even the most basic magical item becomes a handsome reward. A Ring of Ignite Fire would be worth a minimum of $2050 while a Staff of Fireballs would be worth a minimum of $528,400. Some magical items would be worth a king's ransom and rumors of their existence could lead to war.
I think two pertinent questions are, "Is a Ring of Ignite Fire equal in worth to anything else you might spend $2,050 on?", and "Is a a Staff of Fireballs equal in worth to anything else you might spend $528,400 on?" If enchanted items cost too much compared to their effect, enchanted items will basically be priced mostly out of existence; even compared to the rarity set for this thread.

Edit: Also, I wonder if there might not have been an assumption that most characters with Magery, also have 11+ IQs, when setting the ratio of mages? Because the caveats in the OP seem logical to me, in setting a very low number of enchanters. But if Magery is more likely to show up with higher IQ, then Enchanters may reach the numbers the books tend to assume.
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Old 12-14-2020, 07:47 PM   #12
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: [Magic] Rare Permanent Enchantment, Common Elixirs and Scrolls

I was just pointing out that people will not generally spend twenty years to develop a skill set that will give them Wealth (Average) and Status 0 when the less effort would allow them to develop a skill set that would give them Wealth (Very Wealthy) and Status 3. Just on the economics arguments alone, making enchantments rare makes sense, as no one in their right mind would become an enchanter under the default system.
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Old 12-14-2020, 09:25 PM   #13
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Default Re: [Magic] Rare Permanent Enchantment, Common Elixirs and Scrolls

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Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
I was just pointing out that people will not generally spend twenty years to develop a skill set that will give them Wealth (Average) and Status 0 when the less effort would allow them to develop a skill set that would give them Wealth (Very Wealthy) and Status 3. Just on the economics arguments alone, making enchantments rare makes sense, as no one in their right mind would become an enchanter under the default system.
Apologies; I wasn't objecting to your post; just pinning a note to it. :)
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Old 12-14-2020, 09:43 PM   #14
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: [Magic] Rare Permanent Enchantment, Common Elixirs and Scrolls

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Meanwhile, you only need Magery 1 and literacy to make a Scroll, al?
Yes, but if you are going into the (entirely dubious) Scroll-making business what are you making Scrolls of if you don't want to learn a large number of spells?

Soemthing esle to remebr about the demographics of active magic-users is that many of them will not die of old age. So you don't jsut have a pyramidal pattern of powerful amgs. You have a tower-shape on top of the pyramid-form and the tower gets higher ever generation.

So if your great city produced one master enchanter per generation after ten generations you have ten master enchanters isntead of just one.
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Old 12-14-2020, 10:22 PM   #15
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Default Re: [Magic] Rare Permanent Enchantment, Common Elixirs and Scrolls

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Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
So if your great city produced one master enchanter per generation after ten generations you have ten master enchanters isntead of just one.
Err... you will lose some unknown number of them to "incidentals". I remember some stataticians did the math on how long a human would have generally lived, if we didn't die of old age, and it averaged around 500 years for most of human history that we have enough data for (largely the small part with cities).

Although, that still indicates that you'd probably at most have lost one out of those ten.
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Old 12-14-2020, 10:50 PM   #16
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: [Magic] Rare Permanent Enchantment, Common Elixirs and Scrolls

Why would mages not die of old age? There is nothing inherently life extending about being a mage.
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Old 12-15-2020, 12:40 AM   #17
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Default Re: [Magic] Rare Permanent Enchantment, Common Elixirs and Scrolls

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Why would mages not die of old age? There is nothing inherently life extending about being a mage.
Not mages in general; the sort of mages who make the 1-2 per continent per generation "master enchanters" and the like, with high IQ and Magery 3 - which means they either know the Youth spell, or they have religious, cultural, or personal beliefs against immortality; or they're aiming for a different version of immortality.

Edit: Or Magery 2 and Halt Aging.
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In which I post about a TL9-10 solar system

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=169674

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Old 12-15-2020, 06:36 AM   #18
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: [Magic] Rare Permanent Enchantment, Common Elixirs and Scrolls

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Originally Posted by Say, it isn't that bad! View Post
Not mages in general; the sort of mages who make the 1-2 per continent per generation "master enchanters" and the like, with high IQ and Magery 3 - which means they either know the Youth spell, or they have religious, cultural, or personal beliefs against immortality; or they're aiming for a different version of immortality.

Edit: Or Magery 2 and Halt Aging.
Well, that depends on the capabilities of the individual mage and the availability of those spells. If a mage possess Magery 2 or 3 (Enchantment Only, -40%), they are incapable of using either spell. If a mage possesses IQ 10, they are highly unlikely to have either at 15+, which is what is required for a ceremonial casting in normal or better casting at in normal mana regions. If they do have either at 15+ though, it makes more economic sense to spend their time casting those spells on other people than to waste it on enchanting items.

Of course, this depends on the spells being easily available for them to learn. If they are thiugh, they are probably better off purchasing Halt Aging or Youth from another mage, though the economics of those spells suggest a cost of $5,000 or $20,000 per year. An enchanter would need to make enough money to afford such a treatment though.
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