Actual useful magic

Today's distraction is
what would I actually do with magic?

Because a lot of the spells are combat oriented meaning they're mean and rude.
I refuse to do mind control.
I don't see the problem with necromancy if it's just messing with old bones, but mind control messes with free will, so big nope.
I won't do fireballs. I'd study some fire college to get Extinguish, and Fireproof, but I'm not interested in blowing stuff up for reals.

I like the beginner spells in Pathfinder that can clean and do the laundry and such. It takes more prereqs in GURPS but I'd like cleaning spells.
Healing magic is awesome, but I have met me, and it requires interacting eith humans.
... I'd probsbly learn it to fix myself up and then... hope no one needed it? Like being a first aider when the announce goes off... which reminds me, currently on more than 25 years of vaguely intending to do a first aid course.

... possibly not healing magic then.

The plant spells are game changers, world changers, in a low TL setting, and pretty damn impressive now. You can double the yield. You can get things ready to harvest in much shorter time spans. You can harvest with a spell instead of a field full of upset overworked humans! Big big changes!

... but I'm not a big fan of plants either, because allergies.



Today I'm thinking, architecture.

I think there's a sequence of spells in GURPS that would let you pirate a building.
( Read more... )

GURPS magic terraforming

Now I'm wondering about the usefulness to terraforming
of the Purify spells.

( Read more... )

The thing is though
the thing is
if you can create something from raw energy
you don't need a planet.

You use assorted Movement spells to keep it in place
and you just
grow your own
earth rock metal
maybe ringworld?

Sure it'd take a really long time
but
once set to run
it keeps going

steadily churning magic into matter
until someone turns it off.

You can build
anything
and use create/purify
to make it habitable.

(Also probably some light and warmth spells, but those too exist.)


I mean technically you can stick volcanos and geysers on it if you feel the need.



And as previously noted, once you have built one of something, and it is enough itself the Schematic spell works on it, you can just
copy it.


So you can get entire magic powered fleets of replicators
that don't need matter to start work
they're doing direct from energy Creation.


I mean it might be simpler to make factories to start with
but as sustainability goes
you can't beat
something from nothing.



So then you get into the problem
does msgic run out?

Or would you eventually have to worry about having made too much matter?




... magic powered ships for the win...



I'm pretty sure terraforming would either take forever (air would unpurify itself too)
or require larger numbers of units than at all plausible.


But that's... much less fun
than replicator thaumotech.