tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post8977884101294818221..comments2024-03-18T12:51:33.660-04:00Comments on Dungeon Fantastic: DF Session 33, Felltower 24Peter Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-92163262425741965652013-09-16T16:10:07.987-04:002013-09-16T16:10:07.987-04:00And I just did the math - a spellstone of Great Ha...And I just did the math - a spellstone of Great Haste, for a Size Modifier 0 or smaller guy, is 5 energy to cast. The stone is 450, the spell 100, for $550. If you round it up to 20xenergy its 2450, which is possibly too pricey. I get 5400 for one with doubled energy for SM+1, though. And the nice bit is you can try it cast it on a (nearby) friend, if you have to. Add that to Delver's Webbing and the appropriate Fast Draw and it's a great choice.<br /><br />Assuming my players roll well enough on the special equipment availability roll, that is. Combines two tough spells so even now it's for sale by special order or on a 9 or less. :)Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-14086218158541846912013-09-16T15:41:16.564-04:002013-09-16T15:41:16.564-04:00You have to have a one-use mindset. If you spend X...You have to have a one-use mindset. If you spend X to earn X+Y treasure, and X also means you win a fight you'd otherwise lose (or cost you more than X), you're good. If it's expensive, well, keep holding on to it until you need it.<br /><br />My players have some faults, but they've been really good about spending money to make money. Spellstones are a good case for those - sometimes you just need to Awaken someone, say, and the dollar cost isn't the issue. Needing a new PC is.<br /><br />Then again I think you told me your group doesn't buy potions, because of the cost-to-benefit ratio. Mine buy them in such quantities it affects their encumbrance, they buy extra potion belts, and I have to have rules about what the market will supply . . . spellstones are just more of the same - turning money into battlefield victory.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-91973354162453557752013-09-16T15:04:44.419-04:002013-09-16T15:04:44.419-04:00The player's in Nate's online group should...The player's in Nate's online group should definitely start buying Great Haste spellstones. Though those are stupid expensive for a one use item.<br /><br />Some of the cost shifting nonsense is also why I want to move to Threshold Mana: you get 40 FP a day, and all the weird games in the world aren't going to change that (and alternately what I don't like about RPM in that context). Delay and Hang Spell still have uses for getting off spells with long casting times in a hurry.Mark Langsdorfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00301984145275679568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-41893477713684165792013-09-16T12:20:16.398-04:002013-09-16T12:20:16.398-04:00Both are true. It's the "pay a lot to cas...Both are true. It's the "pay a lot to cast, pay 3 for Delay, recover it all, go fight" thing that adds up quickly, even with FP shifting with multiple spellcasters and Lend Energy.<br /><br />The Great Haste thing is interesting. It's more expensive but probably more effective to get it as a spell stone since it's not going to risk removal with Dispel Magic or NMZs on the way.<br /><br />This kind of stuff is why I slammed the door so hard on a lot of Grimoire-era Meta spells - Hang Spell and Maintain Spell, especially. It gets to be a game of "pay now, recover now, do amazing stuff later" and not a tradeoff between resources and extra costs ahead of time vs. right now. Delay acts very similarly to Hang Spell, but it's like Wait - you need to define the trigger ahead of time, not just decide on the fly when to activate a spell or not.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-59161693581478202722013-09-16T12:09:32.612-04:002013-09-16T12:09:32.612-04:00With a 2 hour duration and an effectively 2 FP to ...With a 2 hour duration and an effectively 2 FP to maintain, you're looking at 5 minutes rest/hour to maintain it. That's pretty affordable, especially since it means you can do things like cast a 5 hex radius Grease spell ahead of time (Banish would be really tempting, but requires too much research. Still, Delayed Banish is probably the most realistic way of casting Banish. Hmmm.)<br /><br />I'm somewhat fond of the possibilities for shifting fatigue costs and casting times in GURPS Magic; this seems like a great trick but it does need some work.<br /><br />Alternately, getting Delay and using it to set up some Great Hastes on the fighting types would be totally worthwhile.Mark Langsdorfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00301984145275679568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-36237145344463612572013-09-16T09:35:07.258-04:002013-09-16T09:35:07.258-04:00They petitioned, but they failed - I don't see...They petitioned, but they failed - I don't see why caltrops are missiles, they're just small muscle-powered melee weapons. They aren't really breakable/fragile like an arrow, either, so I'd essentially be okaying the idea that you can put one-shot puissance on a routinely re-usable weapon. I can see the hell that ruling will net me in additional "but if I can put one-shot puissance on caltrops can't I . . . " questions.<br /><br />Delay would be pretty smart, though, but it's a demon lord they're after - they know he's strong against resisted magic and against elemental magic. Still, basically turning caltrops into magical mines for use against other monsters ins't a bad idea at all. You really only have a short window to use them (assuming cast, recover the FP, and then head to the fight - that'll eat up a lot of the 2 hour duration, especially at 3 to maintain). But it should work.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-30853806964573281562013-09-16T08:55:53.711-04:002013-09-16T08:55:53.711-04:00Clearly, Dryst needs to learn Delay as his next sp...Clearly, Dryst needs to learn Delay as his next spell (he should meet the prerequisites) and create some booby-trapped rocks with a suitably useful spell (Burning Touch? Fire Cloud? Flame Jet?). That'd be a lot cheaper and more reusable than the caltrops.<br /><br />Alternately, they should petition you to treat the caltrops as a single use missile weapon, reducing the enchantment cost from an unreasonable $5000 to a highly affordable $25.<br /><br />Actually, they should do both. Puissant caltrops linked to an explosive fireball would be a nice opener for a combat.Mark Langsdorfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00301984145275679568noreply@blogger.com