GURPS Magic - Enchanting and the Scroll spell

wmervine4 · 11-16-2015, 09:29 AM

I may be misunderstanding something about how the enchantment rules work, but it seems to me that the Scroll spell is uneconomical due to the fact that it takes an entire day per energy cost of the spell being scribed and the assumption is the scroll is worth $33/day. This seems consistent with the pricing for Slow and Sure enchantment at $33/day; however, it also assumes the scroll is being written per the Slow and Sure method. Is there no Quick and Dirty option for scrolls?

From a world building perspective, it makes me question the value of any enchanter that would try to make a living by scribing scrolls as opposed to enchanting items. If there was no incentive for scribing scrolls, why would the first mage ever have even created the Scroll spell to begin with?

The issue I can see is that even a lone enchanter that doesn't know Recover Energy can invest 30 energy points into a magic item everyday using Quick and Dirty enchantment, which seems superior to Slow and Sure enchantment. If I had to choose between enchanting a piece of jewelry with the Alarm spell for 60 energy points over the course of two days, or scribing a scroll with the Find Direction spell which costs 2 FP to cast over those same two days, why would I ever choose the scroll? If we assume magic items cost $33/energy point, the Alarm-enchanted jewelry item would be worth $1,980 while the Find Direction scroll would be worth a paltry $66.

I feel like I'm missing something obvious here. Does anyone have any ideas?

11-16-2015, 09:29 AM	#1
wmervine4 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Noblesville, Indiana, USA	GURPS Magic - Enchanting and the Scroll spell I may be misunderstanding something about how the enchantment rules work, but it seems to me that the Scroll spell is uneconomical due to the fact that it takes an entire day per energy cost of the spell being scribed and the assumption is the scroll is worth $33/day. This seems consistent with the pricing for Slow and Sure enchantment at $33/day; however, it also assumes the scroll is being written per the Slow and Sure method. Is there no Quick and Dirty option for scrolls? From a world building perspective, it makes me question the value of any enchanter that would try to make a living by scribing scrolls as opposed to enchanting items. If there was no incentive for scribing scrolls, why would the first mage ever have even created the Scroll spell to begin with? The issue I can see is that even a lone enchanter that doesn't know Recover Energy can invest 30 energy points into a magic item everyday using Quick and Dirty enchantment, which seems superior to Slow and Sure enchantment. If I had to choose between enchanting a piece of jewelry with the Alarm spell for 60 energy points over the course of two days, or scribing a scroll with the Find Direction spell which costs 2 FP to cast over those same two days, why would I ever choose the scroll? If we assume magic items cost $33/energy point, the Alarm-enchanted jewelry item would be worth $1,980 while the Find Direction scroll would be worth a paltry $66. I feel like I'm missing something obvious here. Does anyone have any ideas?