For what it is worth, in my campaign worlds - Quirked stones are relatively non-existent providing one has access to Divination. While GURPS outlaws Divination, as the one who pointed out that possibility on GURPSNET lifetimes ago, and having the very next GURPS MAGIC edition outlaw divinations - I still use it for my own game universes. I also use a simple linear cost for the gemstones for one primary reason - it is the labor that goes into the gemstone that makes the powerstone what it is. The original limitation of how many power stone enchantments one can imbue a given stone with (its carat size) was useful. Now? With GURPS Magic for 4e, there aren't any limitations on how large the powerstone can be. Frankly? Gemstone costs are to me, down right inelegant.
So, to recap: Gemstones should have a linear cost not unlike they do in most games where the gemstones aren't used for enchantments. I find it hard to believe that a mundane Noble will value Moonstones in the same fashion as a mage, and I can't imagine someone looking closely at their customer and charging $5 per carat for Moonstone if they are mundane, and $1,000,000 for the gemstone because they think they're selling it to a mage/enchanter. Gemstones should have a rarity factor involved to explain why a single gemstone of 200 carats might be relatively more rare than 4 50 carat gemstones. In one old time article regarding gemstones, the author had a "quality" rating for the gemstone that indicated its flawlessness - and that larger gemstones were more likely to have flaws. GURPS could have used that concept easily, making flawless gemstones worth more than flawed, and that larger gemstones were more likely to contain flaws than not. But, that's the road not taken (no biggie actually). In the long run? The cost of any given item should equal the following: Cost of materials when purchased by the artisan in question Cost of the Labor required to produce the product in question General "demand" factor that takes into account how rare the object is relative to what people are willing to pay for it. Case in point: If you have a magic item that takes 10,000 mandays to enchant, at $25 per manday of labor, its cost for labor alone would be $250,000. Would YOU work for 27 years, 4 months, 3 weeks 3 days non-stop, trying to make this item in the hopes that someone would buy it when you were finished? In any event - the original reason for keeping powerstones quirked in the early days of GURPS was to (based on private conversations with Sean back in the bad old days) limit the amount of energy that mages had access to in game play - all as a means of play balance. Now, with GURPS 4e? People routinely talk about being able to use ritual magic taking people off the street, thrusting candles in their hands, and routinely working miracles. When I mentioned this to Sean not too awful long ago, the idea would have been that those people who participate in such rituals should be treated by the GM as an "ally group" if they are reliable and the Mage character has constant access to them. But - that's another issue entirely. Net result however, is that the old school of keeping mages starved for energy is a lost cause with the new rules, and the old Quirking rules seem to be about as useful as an inflamed appendix. ;) -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Eric Funk (antispam) Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 8:12 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [gurps] Re: Powerstone Values > The grass root concern as I was factoring in changes in Wealth assumptions for Enchanters was the fact that discounting the total value of a quirked Powerstone led to an absolute overall financial loss due to the relatively larger gemstone value (compared with labor value). Meaning going into business as a Powerstone maker is a bad idea if one devalues a quirked Powerstone based on the total gemstone plus labor value, rather than the labor cost alone: The cost for non-quirked stones can be estimated, but the quirked costs are completely subjective. > Vic the Mage, IQ14 and Magery 3, recent Mage Academy grad, with Mathematics (VH) IQ-2 [1]-12, set down his quill and vellum. A professional PS enchanter needs only IQ 12 M2, and invest 8 points on a career skill. (Most careers need only skill 12, and enchantment is skill 15). A lead enchanter needs +1 to skill per person in the circle. That's why he has a Comfortable wage. > That being said, Alaconius' comment on worthless items being used as Powerstones for quadruple energy is also a good point. I did have an email with Sean Punch that technically any item of SM+0 or less can be enchanted for the same energy... (There's a use for 3'x3'x12' stone pillars...) _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
