Paut (charm)

Note: calculations below involve Classic prices ($700 is the cost in Egypt/Cabal) and 4e Thaumatology's suggestion of a price based on campaign Starting Wealth.

Paut is an Alchemical Charm (specifically an Alchemical Talisman since it empowers the wearer, not protecting them like an Alchemical Amulet) which is created using the GURPS Magic rules to apply to Paut (elixir) introduced in Classic: Egypt and updated in GURPS Thaumatology.

• The phrase talisman of Paut (lowercase T uppercase P) would be how to stylize it, based on M220's semantic examples talisman of Charisma and talisman of Luck.

Important note

This uses material from GURPS Classic which had very different costs for powerstones. The formula for a powerstone in Classic: Magic was $20/casting + $10×P^2 + $40×P + $25/day However, the table of cost and retail value had no relationship to this formula; a 1 point Powerstone should have been $95 for the Q&D method and $115 for the slow and sure method but it was listed as costing $80 to cast and retailing for $150 on average.

Flavor Text

Crazed mage: Powerstones? I don't need no stinking Powerstones. Eat magic powered by Paut Talismans! FOOM.
Fighter (behind cover): I thought he used up the rings a while ago.
Thief: He did. Appears that he has a lot more of those things.
Crazed mage: Rings? I have more then rings. I have chokers, I have necklaces, I have arm bands, I have...
Fighter: Just how many of these Paut Talismans does this maniac have?!
Thief: Too freaking many in my book

Recharging

Talismans must be worn to "recharge". This is a major difference from powerstones, which can be left in chests/backpacks and still recharge. Conversely unlike Powerstones, proximity to other Talismans does not appear to interfere with their "recharging".

The time needed is: "number of days equal to the number of weeks it would take to brew the appropriate elixir"

Standard mana levels

Elixirs take times other than those listed in some different mana levels: halve time in Very High and double time in Low. This is similar to Power (spell) on M57 where energy/second from the enchantment is doubled for VH and halved in Low. However, Alchemy works normally in Normal/High Mana while the Power (spell) which works normally only in normal mana with High and VH as 2x.

Weird mana levels

Very Low and Wild introduced in Thaumatology did not address things affected by mana rates like Powerstones, the "Power" enchantment or Alchemy so it's not clear how to treat these three things.

Also unclear is how Aspected Mana would affect Alchemy, since alchemical formulae are not defined as spells within a specific college.

• Probably the best guess is to find the closest spell to what the alchemy does and find what college or colleges it falls under.
• in the case of Paut that's probably something like Healing since energy-transfer is covered by Lend Energy and Share Energy
• arguments could be made for other colleges like Body Control or Enchantment or Making and Breaking or Meta or even Necromancy (per Steal Energy) or Technological Spells (per Energy Spells) or even Water Spells though.

Potential misunderstanding

This variable 'time to brew' might lead some to assume that if they made a talisman in Low Mana that it would always recharge at half rate, and if they made a talisman in Very High Mana that it would always recharge at double rate.

This is wrong because of the tense conjugation of the sentence. If it was the time taken to actually make the charm that mattered it would be conjugated in the past tense: "the number of weeks it took to brew".

Instead, it is conjugated in the FUTURE tense: "weeks it would take".

Based on this, it seems what is important for determining recharge time multiplier (2.0 for Low, 0.5 for VH) or divisor (0.5 for Low, 2 for VH) is the mana levels in the space where the charm currently is, NOT the mana levels in the space where the charm was CREATED.

This gives charms (talismans only, since amulets are always-on and don't need to recharge) a similar relationship to mana as powerstones: they recharge faster the better the mana is.

• the one significant difference appears to be that unlike powerstones, High Mana has no benefits over Normal Mana

This could lead to some complications if time is spent moving between different mana levels (perhaps having Mana Enhancer/Damper switched on and off for some periods) as it might for powerstones. The simplest is probably to go by a "2xweeks Days" (refill time in Low) "refilling pool" and count time in Normal/High double and time in Very High quadruple.

• A similar approach is helpful for tracking powerstone recovery as they're moved across differing mana levels: track "a week's time" (Low Mana req for recovering 1 energy) with time spent in Normal as x7, in High as x14, time in Very High as x28

Comparative Function

In Talisman form Paut will act like a Powerstone with a fixed "recharge" rate regardless of energy with the "quirk" 'can only be used once in a particular time period determined by mana' They take 200 days to make in Low Mana, 50 days in Very High Hana, and 100 days in Normal and High mana. Like all Alchemic Talismans they must be worn to come out of dormancy.

Production

Alchemy-20 with Technique (Paut Talisman, multiple doses) 5 and a normal lab will be able to produce a 6 dose (6 energy) Paut Talisman every 100 days in a normal or high mana area with the same amount of success as an enchanter making a 1 energy Powerstone with the quirk 'can only be used once in a particular time period determined by mana' when using either a Basic Lab or a Basic Workspace Kit.

Pros v Powerstones

• Magery 2 and 11 spells not required to make: Since Paut involves Alchemy, Magery 2 and the 11 spells needed to learn Powerstone are not required.
• Faster process to make at higher energy: In all but Low and Very High Mana it takes 100 days to make a 6 energy Paut Talisman rather then 120 days for a 6 point Powerstone via the Slow and Sure process. In Very High Mana it takes only 50 days to make a Paut Talisman.
• Option for better base success rate: Since Talisman making is not enchanting, with high enough skill a 16 can succeed and only an 18 is a critical failure.
• No Power level: Because they have no Power level, a Paut Talisman still function in low mana areas, even if the Alchemist's effective skill is below 15. They, of course, don't work in no mana areas.
• Huge energy reserve possible: In a setting where Industrial Alchemy exists it is possible to manufacture Paut Talismans with energy beyond the largest practical quirkless powerstone with the theoretic absolute maximum being 1,000 energy. However given the 6xST dose limit it is unlikely that any Paut Talisman over 60 energy would be produced
• Better cumulative success rate: Since a 6 energy Powerstone takes multiple castings there is only a 90.7% chance the item will survive the process rather then the 95.4% possible for a 6 (dose) energy Paut Talisman.
• One clear "quirk": Since any use of a Talisman results in it going dormant a Paut Talisman is effectively a Powerstone with the 'can only be used once in a particular time period based on mana level' quirk.
• Fixed "recharge" rate: The break even point for a Paut Talisman vs a normal Powerstone is 2 energy in normal mana. A Paut Talisman recharges far faster in low mana then a Powerstone.
• Clearly "recharges" in Low mana: It is unclear from the RAW if a Powerstone below skill 20 recharges in Low mana.
• Multiple Talismans can be used together: There is nothing in the RAW that says that multiple Talismans cannot be used together. This allows a mage to use as many Paut Talismans as they can can wear.
• Other Talismans can be made: Since all elixirs are based off of the alchemy skill the crafting of other Talismans is possible.

Cons v Powerstones

• Highly Variable Cost: Classic: Egypt gives $700/dose for retail at TL2 while GURPS Thaumatology recommends 1/100 of standard starting wealth for ingredients and 1/30 of starting wealth for retail. The first makes Paut Talismans unable to break even with until around 40 energy which would require Industrial Alchemy while the second makes Paut Talisman cost ~$33 per dose (energy point) at TL3 making it cheaper then a Powerstone of similar Energy.
  Depending on which one uses the previously mentioned 1,000 Energy Paut Talisman at TL 7 would cost $725,000 to make and sale for $1,450,000 minimum or at TL7 it would cost $175,000 to make and retail for $350,000 or $525,000 depending on which formula you use.
• Practical Energy limitation: Since each dose (energy point) is -1 for each dose beyond the first in settings without Industrial Alchemy Paut Talismans beyond 6 energy would be extremely rare. High end Alchemist Labs/Kits add up to 2 doses and a Cutting-edge Lab adds +TL/2 doses.
• Time limitation: "Once the drinker is at full FP, any excess energy remains available, for magical purposes only, for the next 5 minutes." So these are limited to spells with a casting time of 5 minutes or less. Moreover the only enchanting Paut Talisman can be used for is Quick and Dirty and based on the way Talismans work only by Talismans the enchanter themselves can wear.
• One clear "quirk": Since any use of a Talisman results in it going dormant a Paut Talisman effectively is a Powerstone with the 'can only be used once in a particular time period' quirk. This means that using as little as one dose (energy) will cause the Talisman to go dormant. A GM who wants more flexibility and power might say the Paut Talisman has a 5 minute window in which the doses (energy) can be accessed before going dormant.
• Paut Talismans cannot be made more efficient: They must be separate items and cannot be part of another magic item.
• Requires activation in Low Mana: a Talisman requires a roll against the effective skill of the alchemist who originally created it.
• Fixed "recharge" rate: the Classic version of Charge Powerstone and the Mana Pool quirk dramatically changes the break even point in terms of "recharge" rate.
• Must be Worn to "recharge": A Talisman must be worn to come out of dormancy. "A talisman stashed in a chest or backpack will lie dormant indefinitely."
• Amount of Energy cannot be improved: The energy of a Paut Talisman is set at creation. More energy can be added to a Powerstone after creation via the Powerstone spell.

Viability

This is all based on the way the RAW utilizing several 'oh we didn't think of that way of applying the rules' loopholes:

• There is nothing about no “time to cast,” (ie no time to consume) not applying to Talismans.
• Since you can't drink a Talisman it follows the "A wizard can drink an ounce of paut per second, and up to 6xST ounces in any 24-hour period." rule doesn't apply. Even if it somehow did a wizard would still have access to more energy than a far more expensive powerstone though it would set the cap at 60 doses.
• Since a Talisman's dormancy period is based on how long it takes to make an elixir it follows that since "in low mana areas, elixirs take twice as long to make" and "in areas of very high mana, elixirs take only half as long to make" that this effects the dormancy period of all Talismans.

Recharge Comparison Chart

Local Mana	None	Very Low	Low	Normal	High	Very high
Powerstone Recharge Rate	None	None	1 point/week	1 point/day	1 point/12 hrs	1 point/6 hrs
w/Classic Charge Powerstone	None	None	1 point/3.5 days	1 point/12 hrs	1 point/6 hrs	1 point/3 hrs
w/Mana Pool 1	None	None	1 point/day	1 point/12 hrs	1 point/6 hrs	1 point/3 hrs
w/Mana Pool 1 and Classic Charge Powerstone	None	None	1 point/12 hrs	1 point/6 hrs	1 point/3 hrs	1 point/45 min
w/Mana Pool 2	None	1 point/day	1 point/12 hrs	1 point/6 hrs	1 point/3 hrs	1 point/45 min
w/Mana Pool 2 and Classic Charge Powerstone	None	1 point/12 hrs	1 point/6 hrs	1 point/3 hrs	1 point/45 min	1 point/22.5 min
Paut Talisman Time to Reactivation	Remains dormant	Remains dormant	2.86 days (~69 hrs)	1.42 days (~34 hrs)	1.42 days (~34 hrs)	0.71 day (~17 hrs)