(TFT) Magical vs Non-Magical Lights

[ErolB1@aol.com]

Magic vs non-magic lighting

For me, one of the big markers of "industrial disease" is the common use of 
magical light sources to replace mundane torches, candles, and lamps in 
everyday applications. To combat this in my campaign, I wanted to set the cost of a 
magical light equal to that of keeping a lamp burning 24/7 indefinitely. (With 
the lamp providing the same amount of light as the magic light item.)

I made the following further assumptions/house rules for my game: 

1. The (wholesale) cost of lamp oil is $0.4 per liter, with the cost given in 
ITL ($20 per liter) being ridiculously inflated for *lamp* oil (as opposed to 
"flaming" oil or "Greek fire"). I made "flaming" oil a different substance - 
a Chemists potion - with lamp oil being stuff somewhere between kerosene and 
vegetable oil - good enough for lamps, but not so good for molotails. $0.4 is 
perhaps a bit low for a realistic medieval price for lamp oil, but it's in line 
with the early 19th century prices for whale oil, and it's "good enough for a 
fantasy game."

2. A liter of lamp oil will last for 24 hours in a standard lamp. This is on 
the high side, but I had reasons for it and again it's "good enough for a 
fantasy game." (The 1 hour value given in ITL strikes me as being much too short.)

3. The "expected rate of return" is 0.2% per week, with any higher interest 
rates representing the possibility of losing the investment plus a "risk 
premium" for the uncertainty. Or to look at it another way, the rental cost of a 
magical Light item should be a minimum of 0.2% of the purchase price, per week, 
plus extra to account for the possibility of the item being lost, stolen, or 
broken. (Note that 0.2% per week, compounded, works out to a bit under 11% per 
year - a bit high for a no-risk investment, but (once more) "good enough for a 
fantasy game.") 

Given these assumptions, the cost of a magical Light item should be: $0.4 
times 7 divided by 0.2% or $1400. And this with assumptions that pushed the price 
down. I'd have to bend the assumptions much worse to get the price down to 
the AW standard of only $500 for a magical Light item. 

Erol K. Bayburt
Evil Genius for a Better Tomorrow



**************
Start the year off right.  Easy ways to stay in shape.
     
http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489
=====
Post to the entire list by writing to tft@brainiac.com.
Unsubscribe by mailing to majordomo@brainiac.com with the message body
"unsubscribe tft"