From: Your cranky editor (bell@cs.unc.edu)
Date: Tue 10 Jan 1989 - 09:56:33 EET
Last issue, among other things Doug Crabill writes:
>500 5 point magic crystal - useless once the 5 points are used
>1200 5 point magic crystal - can be recharged at 1 pt per 2 pts used
>2000 5 point magic crystal - can be recharged at 1 pt per point used
My gaming group generally sets the value of 1 point of power to be at least 1000 pennies, so I would evaluate the latter crystal at about 5000. The price of the non-reusable version is too high if only one quarter the cost of the infinitely reusable one, but at one tenth the cost, it's about right. Meanwhile, the one that requires more magic points to be recharged is not that inferior to the 1:1 version; I'd price it at about 4000. (Note that these are merchant prices; PCs looking to make a quick sale will get less than full value.)
>700 Exploding crystal - explodes if magically charged
How are you meaning for it to be charged; are these points put in it at the time of use? (I would suggest this is the best method, otherwise one can just pump magic points into it in advance.) I would suggest damage should be D4 + 1/point, armor affects.
Exploding crystals might also have an upper limit on how many points can be put in, beyond which they explode instantly. This can be made even more hazardous by giving each such crystal a *random* upper limit (say a 6D6 limit...)
>1300 Crystal lens - gives magnification of 2^N power
If this is a magnifying lens with a short field of vision, it could also add +5% to search skill per point put into it. If it works over long range, it should affect scan as per the farsee spell.
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Doug also writes about the shapechange spell:
[PLEASE NOTE: Doug is asking about the system for the *shapechange* spell only, which says the intensity of the spell must be greater than the target's MAGIC POINTS. It is the only spell so written.]
When Stafford and co. designed the shapechange spell (which is the only spell that works in this fashion), they seem to have only been thinking of it being cast on non-willing recipients. I suggest changing the spell so that the intensity of the spell must be greater than or equal to the *size* of the target.
Note, however, that a size 13 eagle is probably too large to fly. (Mythical beasts fly with a little help from magic.) Thus such a spell should be combined with diminish size or with a fly spell of sufficient intensity to lift the person/eagle.
>While I'm on the subject, have others interpreted the shapechange spell
>to only effect living tissue (i.e, arms and armor don't shapechange also
>if they were being worn at the time the spell was cast)?
I have ruled that this is the case. The only valid target for the spell is living beings, and they can only be transformed into living beings.
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