The Magical Economy

    For a realm with an economy based on magic, you would think that the Aysle sourcebook would have said something about how much it would cost to get a magician to cast a spell for you, or what he would charge to make a magic item for you that wasn't in the short list of such items in the Equipment chapter of the sourcebook.
    But it doesn't. All we're told is that a "standardized" conjuration magic/magic spell with a duration of one hour is worth 600 trades and that magic items with spells focused into them cost twice as much as it would cost to learn the spell that made the item.
   Starting with that small bit of information, I've come up with the following system for determining the value of magic spells and what magicians will charge to cast them or to make magic items with them. It hasn't been playtested at all, so buyer beware!
 

Step One: Determine Base Cost

    The base cost of a spell is determined by the magic skill and arcane knowledge required to cast it. The values given in the table are in Ayslish trades and are based on the value given in the Aysle sourcebook for the standardized conjuration magic/magic spell that serves as the basis of the Ayslish economy. If this economic value should change during the course of a campaign, the values in the table will need to be adjusted accordingly.
    The abbreviations along the top row of the table are for the four magic skills: conjuration magic, alteration magic, apportation magic and divination magic. The leftmost column contains the five categories of arcane knowledges.
 
 
 

Con. Alt. App. Div.
Essence 1000 600 400 250
Principle 600 400 250 150
Mixed 400 250 150 100
Kindred/
Element		 250 150 100 60
Optional rule: For simplicity's sake I've set all AKs within each category as being equal, but  for added variety some AKs could be more or less expensive than the base cost given in the table. For example, since Magic is singled out as the AK that Aysle's economy is based upon, the other two Principles might have slighty lower base costs because there's not as "vital" to the economy.

Step Two: Determine Actual Cost

    Not all spells are created equal, so they shouldn't have equal value either. The base costs derived from the above table are for spells at the standardized skill requirement value of 14. Spells which have a different skill requirement value will cost more or less than the standardized spell of the same type. To determine the actual cost of a spell, follow these three steps:
 
  1. Using the Torg Value Chart, find the value of the base cost determined in Step One. For example, if our base cost is 250, that has a Torg value of 12 on the Value Chart. This is the base cost value.
  2. Divide the difference between the skill requirement value of the spell being priced and the standardized value of 14 by two (rounding down) and then add or subtract as appropriate from the base cost value. For example, our spell has a skill requirement of 10, which is four less than 14. We therefore subtract two from the base cost value to get the actual cost value. Our base cost is 12 so our actual cost value is 10. (An alternate method would be to run the difference through the Power Push Table, which will return slightly different results.)
  3. Convert the value back into a measure. This is the actual cost of the spell in question. The measure of 10 is 100 so our spell has an actual cost of 100 trades.

Using the Actual Cost

    The actual cost of a spell is what a magician will charge someone else to copy said spell from his grimoire. Most magicians will charge more than the actual cost of a spell if they are asked to cast it for someone else. Think of the actual cost as the wholesale cost of a spell and what the magician charges to cast it as its retail cost. It's cheaper to buy from the wholesaler (i.e., learn/cast the spell yourself) but sometimes you have to buy retail (get someone else to cast the spell for you.)

Directly Cast Spells

    Spells which are cast directly are the cheapest to buy. Add +1 to the actual cost value of the spell and convert that into a measure. For example, our spell from the examples above has an actual cost value of 10. If hired to cast it for someone else, a magician would charge an actual cost value of 11, which is a measure of 150 so the cost is 150 trades. (You can also just multiply the actual cost by 1.5 instead of using the Value Chart.)
    If a directly casted spell has a lengthy duration, a magician may charge extra since the spell is connected to him and will only work if he remains within range of the target. The more time a magician has to spend tending to the operation of this one particular spell, the less time he will have for other jobs, so he'll make up for lost income by charging more for this lengthy spell. How much more a magician charges will vary from situation to situation and from magician to magician so there are no set modifiers.

Focused Spells

  Spells which are focused into an object or another person have the advantage over directly cast spells that the magician does not have to remain within range of the target to keep the spell in operation. While it would then seem that a magician would charge less for focused spells since they are less of an inconvenience for him, in fact most magicians will charge more for focused spells than for directly cast spells because focused spells are also more convenient for the person paying for the spell.
    As suggested by the Aysle sourcebook, getting a magician to cast a focused spell costs twice as much as the actual cost of the spell itself. The simplest method is then to just multiply the actual cost by two. An alternate method, which will return slightly higher (2.5 times higher) prices, is to add +2 to the actual cost value of the spell and convert that into a measure.

Warding Spells

   Wards are usually priced the same as focused spells, though wards with detection values higher than the skill requirement value of the spell are typically priced higher than normal. If the detection value is higher, divide the difference by two (rounding down) and add that to the actual cost value, then add in the +2 modifier for focused spells.

Impressed Spells

    Spells which a magician has impressed into his own mind can usually be priced as if they were directly cast or focused spells based on the final effect of the spell. Spells which a magician impresses into an object or another person are a different matter though. These spells require using special state paths during their creation, and because of the great convenience they provide to the person paying for the spell, magicians will charge much more than the actual cost of the spell.
    The actual cost value of for a spell impressed into an object or another person is increased by +3 (four times the actual cost.) If a spell is being impressed multiple times into an object (i.e., charges), the number of charges is read as a measure on the Torg value chart and the value is added to the actual cost value of the spell in addition to the +3 modifier for impressed spells.
    For example, an impressed spell is being placed into an enchanted staff four times to create three charges. A measure of four is a value of 3 on the Value Chart, so the actual cost value is modified by a total of +6 to arrive at the price the magician charges for his services.

Impressed and Focused Spells

    Spells impressed into the magician's own mind that release focused effects are priced as if they were focused spells, as mentioned above. Spells that are impressed into objects or other people that release focused effects have a +4 modifier applied to the actual cost value (six times the actual cost.)

Permanent Magic

    In addition to any of the modifiers given above, if any directly cast or focused spell is being cast so that it is permanent, there is an additional +5 modifier to the actual cost value (ten times the actual cost.) Permanent wards and impressed spells need to be cast twice to be made permanent (once for pattern, second time for process) so the additional modifier is instead +7.
    Also, because of the increased danger of backlash a magician faces for attempting permanent magic, many magicians will also add on an additional Backlash fee (see below.)

Casting on the Fly

    Sometimes a person will want a spell effect and a magician won't know a spell that provides that effect. If enough money is waved around, or if the magician is skilled enough, he might be willing to try casting it on the fly. Because so many skill rolls are involved, and because of the danger the magician faces from casting on the fly, a minimum actual cost value modifier of +4 should be applied on top of any other modifiers for the type of spell being created on the fly. (Of course this assumes that the magician has all four magic skills, otherwise he cannot attempt to cast on the fly.)

Other Cost Modifiers

    The above modifiers are all based on the spell itself. Each magician is likely to further modify the amount he charges to cast a spell based on his own skills and circumstances. One magician-based modifier has already been mentioned, an extra charge for directly cast spells with lengthy durations. Magicians with a lot of business will need to make up for lost income if they have to spend all day tending to one spell. On the other hand, it may not make any difference to magicians in areas where business is slow and they usually only cast one spell a day anyway. And if a spell has a very short duration, it may be possible to charge less since it doesn't cut into his other business as much.
    The casting time of a spell can be a similar consideration for a magician. If a spell has a lengthy casting time, as many impressed spells do, that also can cut into the amount of time he has for other business. Similarly, spells that can be cast quickly would have the opposite effect and a price break might be in order.
    Backlash from a spell can be an important consideration for a magician. Any spell which as a Backlash value higher than the magician's Mind attribute, and certainly any spell that has a Backlash value higher than the magician's magic skill value, runs the risk of causing injury. If KO conditions and Wounds are likely to occur, most magicians will apply a hefty surcharge to cover the risks they take casting the spell. (Remember that KO and Wound damage has additional mental effects on magicians that can seriously affect their ability to cast spells for the next 24 hours, even assuming that it doesn't also hospitalize them!)
    Honorable magicians in Aysle will typically only demand payment after they have successfully cast a spell for someone. If they fail to beat a spell's Difficulty, there is no charge for the attempt.
    Corrupt magicians on the other hand usually insist on full payment in advance. They do not refund any money if they fail to beat the Difficulty of a spell. If you want them to try again, you have to cough up more money.
    Most magicians will fall somewhere between these extremes, half in advance and half upon successful casting of the spell. Spells with dangerous levels of Backlash may push a magician to demand full payment in advance while easy spells that pose little danger to the magician may not require any advance payment.
    Spells of the entity arcane knowledge will almost always cost significantly more than a similar spell of a different arcane knowledge; the entity knowledge is considered unclean by the Ayslish, and anyone known to practice entity magic is scorned. Most people will never have need to purchase the casting of an entity spell but when they do, a magician who can provide that service will be able to demand a hefty fee for the service. Corrupt magicians may even try to blackmail anyone who comes to them needing entity magic, demanding additional payments to keep the fact a secret.
    Finally, magicians may charge more or less depending on their relative ranking against other magicians. A highly skilled mage with a well-known reputation can command much higher prices for a spell than an amateur hedge magician who has no reputation could for the same spell. How the Ayslish rank their magicians is described on the next page.

Designing New Spells

    Sometimes a customer will want a spell or a spell effect that the magician cannot provide, but if enough money is involved and if the customer can wait, a magician could design a new spell for the customer. If the customer cannot wait, then casting on the fly might be an option as outlined above. (This of course assumes that the magician has all four magic skills, otherwise he's not capable of designing new spells.)
    Designing a new spell doesn't necessarily mean designing a spell that's unlike anything in the published game material; few magicians will have access to even a fraction of all the spells that have been published for Torg so a "new" spell may simply be something that is new to the magician. If an existing spell provides the desired effect, it can be used as a model for the new version the magician will create.
    Because of the time involved in applying theorems (one week minimum per theorem), most spell designing probably takes at least a month if not longer (unless it's a very simple spell that won't require any theorems.) Because a magician must put a great amount of concentration and effort into the spell design process, he will have to give up any other magical business he might normally conduct during that period of time. Therefore, he is likely to charge a high fee for the task of designing a new spell.
    How much he charges would be based on his particular circumstances; a magician whose business typically involves only casting one spell a day or so would charge less for spell design than a magician whose business normally involves casting several expensive spells a day. This would all be on top of the cost for the final product, the spell itself.


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page created 6/13/2000, most recently modified 7/18/2000