How much should a Random-5 Mage cost?

[Scott Hebert]

Originally posted by Graeme Dice:
I understand your methodology, but you should realize that it will fail on just about every mage that has only one point of magic. This is especially true for the holy-2 mages with one skill point. The theurg acolyte is a perfect example. He has 1 astral, two holy, and costs 90 gold. Some other examples are the Mictlan priest(BHH-80), the Serpent Acolyte(NHH-80), the Shaman(NS-110), the Master of the way (W?-100) and so on.

Erm... maybe I haven't explained myself clearly again. I am sorry.

To take the theurg acolyte:

Commander: 30
Astral 1 Magic: 30
Holy 2: 20
That comes to 80g. That is his calculated cost. His actual cost is 90g.

Serpent Acolyte:

Commander: 30
Nature 1 Magic: 30
Holy 2: 20
That comes to 80g (again). That is his calculated cost, which equals his actual cost.

The Shaman:

Commander: 30
Nature 1 Magic: 30
Astral 1 Magic: 20

That comes to 80g (again). This is his calculated cost. His actual cost is 110g.

The Mictlan Priest is the same as the Serpent Priest, as far as the pricing rubric is concerned. Therefore, his calculated price is equal to his actual price.

The Master of the Way is a little trickier, because he has a random selection. He is calculated as follows:

Commander: 30
Holy-2: 20
Magic Path:
1/8 of the time, he is a WW mage. WW costs 90. 1/8 times 90 is 11.25
7/8 of the time, he is a W(~W) mage. W(~W) costs 50. 7/8 times 50 is 43.75.
Totaling the magic path cost comes to 55.
Total: 105. 105 is his calculated cost, and 100 is his actual cost.

I'm sorry, but I don't see how my methodology is failing with the above examples. Could you explain perhaps a bit better so that I may understand?