Re: Skill Costs.

[Steve Ames <steve@ns1.cioe.com>]

> Its one of the inherent flaws of getting just flat xp pool and spending
> from there type game.  Even if you drop it too 1K xp per game, its
> still gonna be only 4 weeks to get lightning bolt, assuming the
> air mage starts with rank 3 air magics, or 6 weeks if none.

I view 6 as better than 2. *shrug*

> I still think the real problem comes not from xp or skills, but from spell
> buying.  Spells are treated simply as skills, but you get a bit more
> power and versatility for xp spent on spells than on xp spent on skills.
> Granted you don't get the unlimited use you do with skills, but still,
> you get a lot of versatility.  Being able to throw a 70mph went, breath
> under water, deal 6 dice of damage over 60' range no RC, or deal
> 6 dice of damage over 120' range RC for half is a bit more versatile than
> rank 6 in long sword.

No way. The same 6300 eeps you spend on the lightning bolt (1 bolt/day)
for a warrior means:

rank 6 long sword (guarenteed two swings each and every round)

or

rank 5 long sword (pretty good) and 3 points of mod.

Who's your killa?

> Magic while fairly hamstrung, is still a better bang for your buck investment
> by the by.  

Umm... actually the numbers say otherwise. Magic is self limiting because
you can't do it everyround. Lets take the same example above and put it
into DP:

1 lightning bolt. 6-36 spread, 21 average, 10 after save

2 longsword swings (if you hit): 2-20 spread, 11 average... no save (DV)

So the 2 swings averages better even in 1 round of combat. Assuming
one opponent, you could make the argument that a lightning bolt can get
more than one.. quite possibly. But the sword gets swung again next
round.

> Hmmm...What about this:
> Rank 1 = 10mo -1/point of int/cse over 14.
> Rank 2 to 6 = study on own.
> Rank 7+  = you need a master to help you with it, or you pay more
> 		because it is advanced knowledge, and just harder to
> 		pickup without a master to assist you.
> 		i.e. it should cost some amount more to learn above
> 		7 if you aren't under instruction.

Wow, about backward from the book. The book says to learn a skill
someone must teach you. That person must be 4 ranks higher than you.
If you don't have a teacher, you are 'researching' and it costs
triple (or is it five times). Actually the book doesn't babble on
what happens without a teacher I'm extrapolating from spell research.
At higher levels you really must study on your own because no one
is the requisite 4 ranks above you to teach you. That person could
command his own price because he'd make learning easier. 

So... it has always been our belief that at around rank 12 you
have to start teaching yourself so the price should go up (and it
does... it costs more eeps)

						-Steve