FP Problems

[ericbsmith]

Originally Posted by FredrikJ

Energy Reserve (Source) from GURPS Powers p. 119.

It also shows up in several other books after the general idea was introduced in Powers, including Thaumatology p. 50, Dungeon Fantasy 3 p. 38-39, and likely several other places. Energy Reserve has become a staple advantage that would likely be incorporated into the base rules in a new edition.

[Plane]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I'm not certain what you mean by "only recover via the Source," but that's not what Special Recharge -70% does. Rather, it makes it so your ER doesn't recover over time but only from singular events that would restore FP - it explicitly mentions DR with Absorption, Leech, and the Steal Energy spell. I would allow Lend Energy to work as well. It's up to the GM if paut would work.

Paut sounds like a good idea given how much work it takes to make them and how there's daily limits and stuff.

Basically those "Alternate Power Stores" in Thaumatology (T52) or anything classified as "External Energy" (the "can't use" limitation on T23 or "External Sources Only" on T24) sounds like a good bet for that.

Lend Energy is an interesting thing since there's actually nothing I can find preventing you from self-casting it as a rapid-regeneration hack, or of building out-of-body energy stores that can return to you later via Hang Spell and similar. It's way easier to use than Steal Energy that's for sure.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by RGTraynor

70 point campaign, 22 spells? Yikes. You can't afford to have 22 spells.

If I were going to build a mage on 70 pts -- which is pretty damn painful, 4th edition -- you can neither afford 22 spells nor some of the other options people are suggesting, like putting points into melee skills.

(SNIP)

In 4th Edition, 70 points doesn't make anybody an "adventurer." They're basically working schmucks who go to regular jobs, every day. A journeyman (*not* a master) blacksmith who spends most of his time making horseshoes, nails, fasteners and buckles; a yeoman farmer with rights to enough land that he can feed a family and owes his lord one day of labor per week; a young peasant woman with a couple of kids who tends a garden, spins fibers into yarn and once a month or so brews up a barrel of ale and has a "tavern" night where she trades drinks for eggs and such.

A 70-point campaign is "small town local heroes" at best where the whole town turns out to fight a half-dozen orcs, and the arrival of a boat-load of vikings is cause for blind, screaming terror.

For my Facets campaign that ended a couple of years back, I wanted characters equivalent to those in the pilot episode of an action-adventure TV show -- the ones who didn't get killed off to demonstrate the danger of the situation in which they unexpectedly found themselves.

At about 125 points, modern-day characters can be pretty good at their current jobs, and have either military experience, university educations or oddball hobbies (but probably only one of those three options) that give them a survival edge.

So, I went with that point total, and then I dropped Magery 0 on each character by GM fiat after the first couple of game sessions, since that was the point of the whole campaign.

In a more traditional fantasy setting, 125 points means a man-at-arms with some decent martial skills (enough to not get turned into chutney on the battle-field, and likely to prevail in a bar-fight), and maybe a decent chain hauberk over his leather armor; an archer/ranger who can actually make a living as a huntsman for a noble; a decent spy/second-story man; or a mage who makes a decent living brewing potions and casting minor enchantments, while also able to roast somebody if he or she absolutely must.

Four or five such characters might be able to take out a half-dozen combat-optimized orcs with lots of ST and HT, high-pain thresholds, decent armor and good weapon skills; and seven or so might be able to defend a village of peasants against a couple dozen 70-90 point bandits -- if they come up with a good plan and have enough time to make preparations.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by RGTraynor

In the end, I'd really try to talk the GM into a more reasonable point total for the campaign. 70 would have been damn onerous in 3rd edition, and it's damn near impossible for 4th. I've been starting parties at 135 in recent years.

I haven't found that to be the case. My lowest point campaign had a base of 75 points. That was a test run of my setting Worminghall (available as a supplement) in which all the player characters were magic students at a medieval university; I allowed them up to 37 points in disadvantages. Of course, they weren't going out and fighting monsters or having adventures, at least not frequently! Some of them started out with no spells, and learned some in the course of play; some of them had from 1 to 4 points in spells at start. My players seemed to enjoy the campaign!

(By the time the campaign ended they had an average of 29 points from experience and 10 points from training.)

But I do agree with the narrower point that adventurer-grade characters should be built on about twice as many points as the OP mentions.

[Outlaw]

Originally Posted by Fini

The enemies we are facing are like zombies that are slow and have no reasoning, so the GM allows me to make a hole in the ground and cover it up, burying and suffocating them. My group currently has 5 players, 1 of which is a Ranger who uses a bow, a fighter who uses a little magic, a Knight, a Dwarf who fights with an ax and I who am the only one totally focused on pure magic.

IIRC, zombies don't breathe so you can't suffocate them. Burying them will do the trick though, not necessarily forever.

"Totally focused on pure magic" will be a very tough row to hoe with a 70pt character. A staff is a reasonable weapon if you use the 2 yard reach and techniques (ie, take down) to your advantage. Additionally, it has +2 to parry. Don't try and kill everything with magic.

It sounds like your GM might be an old school D&D player. I wonder if he still has has Basic Set gear.

--Outlaw

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Outlaw

IIRC, zombies don't breathe so you can't suffocate them. Burying them will do the trick though, not necessarily forever.

(SNIP)

--Outlaw

I did a demonstration one-shot with 75-point normals against a horde of zombies who attacked a parking garage where an illegal "Fight Club" meeting was taking place.

That worked out okay, but the characters weren't there to try to fight all the zombies. They had to get to their vehicles, ram them through the horde without losing control, and knock off any zombies who got good holds on the cars.

The players had a good time because the situation was (barely) manageable, and everybody understood the goal was to escape, not to take out all the zombies.

[FredrikJ]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I'm not certain what you mean by "only recover via the Source," but that's not what Special Recharge -70% does. Rather, it makes it so your ER doesn't recover over time but only from singular events that would restore FP - it explicitly mentions DR with Absorption, Leech, and the Steal Energy spell. I would allow Lend Energy to work as well. It's up to the GM if paut would work.

I read that "Skills connected to the ER’s source can help replenish it. For
instance, the Recover Energy spell (p. B248) improves the recharge rate
of ER (Magic). Abilities of that source can also help." means that skills and abilities of a specific source can be used to regain ER points of the same source.

In the case of Special Recharge and Recover Energy you are correct. No recovery 'over time', is still no recovery 'over time' even if the time ticks are dropped from 10 to 5 or 2...

[Tinman]

To the OP, it sounds like you might be using a "bad" spell for attacking the undead. It has a high fp cost. Try using a spell that might be more efficient.
Try using stone missile, for 2fp you can do 2d+2cr damage.

[Culture20]

If you want an Energy Reserve at a discount, you can also try gadget limitations to make a quasi-powerstone. It'll recharge in parallel with your FP and any innate ER, which can be handy, and much faster than powerstones. Another thing to consider is a few more small powerstones. A common trick is to give other PCs a powerstone each so that they charge in parellel, and the mage can put two powerstones at each end of a six foot staff to make them both charge in parallel to. Several 2-3 point powerstones are the fuel a mage uses for day to day work, because they'll get topped out quickly. Save your 13 point stone for big spells.

Ask your GM if sacrifices for mana are allowed in your magic system, especially financial sacrifices if your game's society is squeamish. Losing your gold ring might be worth it to cast a lifesaving spell for your group.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Tinman

To the OP, it sounds like you might be using a "bad" spell for attacking the undead. It has a high fp cost. Try using a spell that might be more efficient.
Try using stone missile, for 2fp you can do 2d+2cr damage.

Using the spell differently may also help. Burying the zombies only waist-deep - so long as they're buried rather than just dropping into a waist-deep hole (that is, they'll have to shift the dirt around to actually get out) - should cost roughly half as much and will likely immobilize them long enough for your allies to deal with their buddies, and those who fail to climb out on their own before their buddies are done for are primed to have their exposed skulls bashed in.