Magic

From Tazlure Gaming System Wiki

See Also Faith and Technology

Magic, or as in Tazlure's setting was oft written magick, is many things to many people. Its definition says "The art that purports to control or forecast natural events, effects, or forces by invoking the supernatural." Magick in Tazlure was very specific to the setting and while it can be rewritten to a more generic module, instead this article serves as a guide how to create your own magic module. You can of course read up on Magick in Tazlure. Be sure that your rewrite contains no Tazlure setting references.

Contents 1 How does Magic Work 1.1 Magic and Dimensions 1.2 Magic and the Paranormal 1.3 Magic and Faith 1.4 Variations in Magic 2 Magic in Society 3 Teaching Magic 4 Design of Magic and Moderating Magic 5 Magic as a Theme

How does Magic Work

A rather fundamental question that your players will return to time and time again. Magic will need a source of power, in Tazlure's setting sometimes referred to as energy. The way magic is used often centers around harvesting that energy, manipulating it and protecting oneself against harmful effects from it.

Example: When you think about magick, any kind of magick – be it sorcery, religious or what have you – comes down to one thing: energy. As the fuel that powers all magic in Tazlure, energy is an invisible force. It is the essence of the world, flowing everywhere, being the source of creation, and so forth. Think of it like air, and the wind: it’s all around you, practically everywhere, yet you cannot see it.

• Does your magic use spells? Do they need to be written down? Spoken out loud? Does it involve rituals? gestures?
• How long does it take to cast a spell? What is the duration of a spell? Can spells be stored for later, instant use?
• What is required for a successful casting of a spell? How can it be thwarted? Are spells always successful or is there an element of chance?
• Does your magic use spell ingredients? Are they common household things, or the stuff of legends? Is it something you can run out of during a battle?
• Does your magic use leylines as the source of its power? How are leylines manipulated?
• Does your magic use the power of the mind? Elementals? Demons? Gods?
• Do different kinds of magic (with different sources) exist parallel to each other? Can they be used together?
• Does your magic need crystals or gems as a conduit? wands or staves? Are other tools essential?
• What are the dangers of using magic? Are there any lasting effects on the caster? on society?
• How do casters protect themselves against such dangers?
• What are the weaknesses and disadvantages of magic? what are the side effects?
• What happens when something goes wrong with the magic?
• What is the cost of learning magic to the caster? years of devoted study, celibacy, frailness, a piece of your soul?
• Can magic be learned or is one born with it? Can the use of magic be lost? Can the ability to work magic be taken away? If so, how and by whom?
• What is the scale of your magic, will it only allow small things, or things of an epic nature? What is the limit of your magic?
• How many magicians are there in society? How powerful will a single magician be?
• Can two or more wizards combine their power to cast a stronger spell? What makes one wizard more powerful than another -- knowledge of more spells, ability to handle greater levels of power, having a more powerful god as patron, etc.?

Example: So, what does a sorcerer actually do when we say that he casts a spell? The process is, unfortunately, not really just that simple; there are a lot of things going on, and a lot of things the sorcerer must do to reach the successful casting of his spell. Basically, the character goes through five stages before the spell is successfully cast. While that sounds really technical and possibly intimidating, it’s nothing to be worried about – the processes themselves are really simple and more like a sort of checklist, and really not as complicated as people sometimes think. First, the sorcerer has to concentrate and try to perceive the flow of energy around him. We call this stage ‘attuning’, and it allows him to not only sense energy, but also to reach out to it for spellweaving purposes. After successful attunement, the sorcerer ‘centers’ himself. ‘Centering’ is a technique whereby the spellcaster brings his body into tune with energy, so that it may freely flow through him. This stage is essential, because an uncentered sorcerer cannot interact fully with energy. Since he is successfully attuned, he can touch it; he just can’t use it to weave spells with yet. After centering, the sorcerer must ‘ground’ himself. ‘Grounding’ prepares the body to channel energy. If a sorcerer isn’t properly grounded, he has trouble properly directing the energies that will form his spell; it might misfire or fail altogether. If a lot of energy runs through an ungrounded spellcaster, it can be painful, and possibly even knock him out. After grounding comes ‘shielding’. Unlike the previous three steps, shielding isn’t absolutely necessary. But a sorcerer who doesn’t shield himself is very, very vulnerable to any spell or magickal influence – after all, he or she has brought themselves deeply into tune with energy through centering and grounding. A ‘shielded’ sorcerer simply places a rudimentary mental defense that reduces their vulnerability to magick to its normal level. And then, finally, the ‘weaving’ process may begin: the sorcerer interacts with those types of energy that he chose for the spell, ‘weaving’ them together into a spell that is then cast.

In designing your magic system you should be mindful how it is going to be moderated. While on the one hand you want to encourage creativity in writing, there is consistency and Continuity of Content to consider. Can a player be certain that a magic trick once performed can be repeated? How strong he is or how weak? How to actually cast magic? Will all moderators apply standards the same way? Are you going to use dice? tables? Can a player write about his magic without needing a moderator every step of the way? It is certainty and confidence that allows a player to be bold.

Magic and Dimensions

The Planes of Existence. Heaven and Hell. The Netherworld. Hyperspace. There are so many concepts that deal with more than the dimensions we are used to in our daily lives. It could be the idea of a demonic underworld that endangers the normal world. It could be simply a means of travel and exploring other planes. It is useful to know how magic interacts and interlinks with the existence and active knowledge of other dimensions.

• How many dimensions are known (and possibly used) in your setting?
• Is travel between the dimensions possible? If so how? Are portals in use?
• Do the dimensions or planes act as different worlds?
• Are any of the dimensions or planes reserved for certain creatures? Is it a form of afterlife? Can creatures exist outside their dimension?
• Are the dimensions and its creatures used in any way by the magic casters?
• Do any of the planes consist of alternative realities?

Example: While most common folk will not be aware of this scholars and priests of Tazlure have long since determined that there are three levels of existence, separate planes that can influence each other. The Tether is what most people will perceive as reality, the natural world. All intelligent and non-intelligent life, and even minerals contribute to this plane, also known as the material existence. People live and die here. The Aether is the spiritual plane, also known as the aethereal existence. Spirits that still feel bound to the real world roam here, and the entities known as deities have made it their home, each creating its own spiritual temple. Time and distance have no meaning here, and the reality of the Tether is perceived in a totally different light. The Aether is all around the Tether. It connects to it at certain points, or becomes mildly visible. Mages and priests are able to connect to the Aether using their energy, and use its properties to travel with their minds eye. This is known as "walking the Aether". This is also the place were souls can go to if they dream. The Nether is a non-material plane, in this case of all the dark and destructive forces associated with the daemon's plane of existence, also known as Netherworld or Nether for short. It is a bleak place, a big void and the entities within hunger for the Aether, which they try to use by violating the Tether. These forces feed on spiritual essence like emotions, souls etc. Sometimes the Nether is able to contact the Tether through dreams or other spiritual means, and vice versa. Most often however there is an actual physical connection, with entities being summoned by mages or priest, or breaking entry to the Tether on their own (the so called rifts, or "rips in the folds of reality").

Magic and the Paranormal

Magic and paranormal powers are not exactly the same, but they may be considered to overlap or interact with each other. Often in magic it is mentioned that the will of the wizard is paramount to its successfulness. Here are some paranormal powers to consider and what place they will have in your setting. Will they be taught? Considered dangerous and banned? At an OOC level paranormal powers often present a moderating challenge because it can be perceived as powerplaying. The limits of paranormal powers should be made abundantly clear.

• Telepathy (Mindreading and Mindspeaking)- the direct communication of thoughts between minds without the need to use normal means such as speech, writing, or touch.
• Empathy - the capability to share and understand another's emotions and feelings. On a paranormal level empathy actually reads emotions, sometimes even visualizing it with for instance colour in aura's. It is a step even further to use empathy to send emotions, aka influencing other people's emotions.
• Telekinesis - the direct influence of mind on a physical system that cannot be entirely accounted for by the mediation of any known physical energy, like distorting or moving an object.
• Communication with Spirits - being able to see and/or communicate with spirits, usually of dead people.
• Extra Sensatory Perception - Seeing visions of the past, present or future, or simply something off with a situation, a sixth sense for trouble.
• Dreamwalking - A dreamwalker is one who works with and within the dream to understand, to create, to heal, to meet with wisdom spirits, to journey this realm

Example: Imagine the look on one another's faceif a traditional bard meets a traditional mindcraftsman and the two find out what they have in common. The mindcraftsman will undoubtedly wonder how on earth such a frivolous character could ever learn his art and might even be worried about possible misuse on the bard's part; the bard, by contrast, will see the craftsman as extremely limited, learning the magick style without having the position or the wit to use it appropriately. It is exactly because their worlds are so different that the two groups rarely interact. Indeed, younger mindcraftsmen are often unaware that the bards sometimes use the same type of spellcraft. And similarly, many bards are unaware of the existence of the mindcrafters.

Magic and Faith

See Also Faith

In Fantasy settings as well as real life, there is an easy connection between magic and faith. Again, this may overlap or interconnect. The most important difference is that in faith magic the caster, in this case a priest, uses another entity to ask for a feat of magic, sometimes called a miracle or wonder.

• Do the gods grant magic to its priests?
• Do other entities grant magic? demons? spirits? elementals?
• What fields of magic? Healing? Anything within the sphere of the god?
• What rituals are involved to ask the gods for favor?
• What other limitations apply (lifestyle, benefaction, spell ingredients)?
• How do various religions,if any, view magic? Do any forbid it? Why or why not? Do any require priests/priestesses to be magicians? Do any forbid magicians from holding some or all religious offices?

Example: Priests are essentially not that different from sorcerers. Granted, they do not wave their arms around (they lock them in religiously symbolic positions) and they do not utter arcane formulae (they chant prayers), nor do they use tuned senses to find the energy (they use their link with the gods). But at the base of it all, they do the same: they use energy to form spells. The difference is twofold: priests cannot use just any energy: they use their god’s, who will only grant certain types, limiting the range of types of magic the priest can perform. Also, because the energy comes directly from a divine source, priests never suffer increased difficulty in casting due to scarcity of energy in their immediate surroundings. This means that a priest could cast a spell in a location where the presence of energy is dampened due to a spell or artefact.

Variations in Magic

Magic is not a single road. It can be used to do many things and there are many styles that magic casters can use. Now you can decide that in your setting there is only one kind of magic and only one style. However it is likely that demand will grow to explore other variations within your setting. More often than not they will be inspired by other settings. For instance Anime often inspires players to request Asian kind of weapons and magic. If you want to outlaw that OOC you need an IC explanation.

• Are certain kinds of magic practiced solely or chiefly by one gender? By one race or another? Is this because of inborn ability, natural preferences, cultural demands, or legislation?
• Are certain forms of magic forbidden? Why? What is the punishment for using forbidden magic? Who is in charge of prosecuting "illegal" magicians?
• How do the different forms of magic relate to one another? Is one taken seriously while the other is not? Is there competition?
• Do some variations not exist in your setting? Why?

Forms of magic to consider:

• sorcery
• elementalism
• battle magic
• hedge magic
• bardic magic
• druidism
• blood magic
• necromancy
• dark arts
• shamanism
• alchemy
• astrology

Magic in Society

See Also Technology

When you design magic for your setting, it will have an impact on all aspects of that setting, including society.

• What is the status of magic users? Are they respected, reviled, simply considered craftsmen?
• What is the legal status of magic users? Are they above the law? Subject to special laws or the rule by special autonomous institutions?
• How do magic users make a living with their magic? Are magical artefacts and enchantments on sale? How much money does a magician make?
• How much access does society have to magic users?
• Are magicians a force in politics, or are they above it? Are there national politics that revolve around magic/wizards (i.e., trying to outlaw, protect, or promote certain kinds of magic, trying to draft wizards into a ruler's army, licensing of magicians, etc.)? Do wizards have a lobby? Do they need one?
• Is the relative power of a country or ruler usually measured by the size of the army, the number and ability of his wizards, or the amount of money at his disposal?
• What is the effect on every day life of magic?

Teaching Magic

The dreaded training. At some point in your game, a player will want to learn magic. Some consider training threads the most boring of institutions. Summary RP is promoted for use with classes of some sort. Moderators are recommended to create quests and adventures that involve the students outside or in between classes.

• How long does it take to learn magic?
• Does becoming a magician require some rite of passage (investing one's power in an object, being chosen by the gods, constructing or being given a permanent link to the source of power) or does it just happen naturally, as a gradual result of much study or as a part of growing up?
• If magic requires study, where do you go to learn about it? How do people fund their training? Is there an apprenticeship system, or are there wizard schools, or is it one-on-one tutoring/mentoring? Is an untrained wizard dangerous, or just an ordinary person?
• Do wizards have a special language that is used for magic? If so, where do they learn it? Is it safe to chat in this language, or is everything said in it automatically a spell? If so, how can it safely be taught to new students?

Design of Magic and Moderating Magic

Magic is one of the themes most difficult to portray in PBP game, especially if you have more than one moderator. As a totally fantasy concept there is not a common base of reference that moderators (or players) will automatically use, and so it everybody imagines it differently.

Continuity of Content means that players can always expect the same thing of the setting, or when it changes a logical IC explanation of why it changes. This is what creates confidence and pro-activity in players. Never is this more true than with magic, for players are equally uncertain about this fantasy element.

This means that all moderators should be using a system where by they know:

• the limits of magic, what does an action actually do (and what doesn't it do) considering:
  • • Duration
    • Range
    • Damage
    • Resistance
    • Strength of the Caster
• the weaknesses of magic itself
• the weaknesses/inconveniences magic causes in the magic caster
• the way in which magic can go wrong, aka an element of chance that is accept by players and applied by all moderators.
• the way in which magic can go very right (under which terms are epic scenes moderated)
• how to visualize and describe the workings of the magic

There is another issue why the above list is important. In a setting that is magic intensive you run the acute danger of making everybody who doesn't control it obsolete. Why become a warrior when a battlemage can sweep away crowds, armies etc? Why become a politician when a mindmage can read all your secrets? A setting needs balance and not just things that are "cool", because you stand the danger that magic will become your games biggest cheat. A mage at the height of his power, should be able to do the same level of things as a warrior or politician in the same position.

Magic as a Theme

This article is part of the Theme Park
The Theme Park Combat Romance Erotica Horror Mystery & Suspense Religion Politics & Intrigue Fine Arts Healing Magic

The kind of storylines you can run with a magic theme strongly depend on its design, the particulars of casting and its fails, hence its inclusion in this article. However from a general viewpoint you can consider the following:

• An important artifact - probably the most well known quest is to set out a group of adventurous to find an important artifact, for which they must go on a perilous journey. Also think upon the goal of this artifact. Why is it important for your group of PC's to find it? What will it solve? What new problems will it bring? Who else wants it? What subquests must be full filled before they can reach the artifact?
• The rare spell ingredient - A twist on the above, but of lesser prominence, often a good subplot to send a group PC's a certain way, where they encounter other trouble. Why is the spell ingredient rare? Why is it only available in the area you want them to travel to? Are there certain ceremonies involved?
• The Quest for Knowledge - this is at best a challenge, for how do you present hours of research in books and archives? Still when you apply your mind to it, there are alternatives that beat real life. Oracles, dream travels, books that contain certain traps. A simple chase for a particular book.
• The Learning Tool - A mentor or professor of magic might want to take his students out for some real life experience to learn more about magic.
• The Tool that Failed - Magic is just a tool. What if for some reason a spell or artifact failed? Perhaps a spell doesn't stop creating water past its usefulness, or sets fire to the chamber. A demon summoned cannot be controlled. What other consequences can you think of?
• The Uncomfortable Truth - perhaps through use of magic (scrying, mindreading) the PC learns of something about his King, his parents or familymembers or the entire community, that is challenging his belief system. Perhaps there is a villain among them, or a dark practice such as offering up virgins that the council of elders have accepted as necessary evil.