Explain Arcane Magic!

[Kirinashi]

I have my own ideas on how to explain arcane magic for my campaigns, but I want to see what other people have come up with, aside "it is unexplained" or "nobody can explain it, it's magic." This in my opinion is boring and uninteresting for wizards in campaigns. But, that's just me.

Please, please, PLEASE no attacking anyone here, not looking to start war over how magic "really works".

How does magic work in your campaign?

[Big Fau]

Vanican magic works as described in Jack Vance's novels.

[Rogue Shadows]

Arcane magic exploits loopholes in the fundamental nature of the universe in order to achieve weird effects. Essentially wizards and sorcerers are like the humans from The Matrix - they know many of the system's rules and know how to bend or break them, although to do so requires the appropriate steps, investment of will and energy, time, and sometimes bat poop.

[navar100]

Magic is raw energy that is part of the world. Wizards learn particular formulas to enable them to manipulate the energy into desired effects. Sorcerers have an innate talent that connects them to the energy to form limited amount of effects. Clerics, paladins, and druids gain their ability to manipulate this energy through their faith or directly from their deity in return for their service. Bards tap into the energy by manipulating its vibrations.

[Baroncognito]

Magic is the internet. It's out there, all the time, and anyone can have access to it if they have the right hardware, an internet card with a daily download limit.

Clerics rent their internet card from a Deity, who can refuse to provide service at will if the Cleric does not meet the terms of service. But the advantage to this is that the Deity has unique content for subscribers, and every day they can browse through a full listing of all the content and select what they need to download for that day.

Wizards purchase an internet card that gets upgraded as they level. They get some content at level, but the real ability comes in people providing them links to content, which, if they make the spellcraft check, they can type correctly into the browser window, bookmark the site, and come back to the content when they need to download it.

Sorcerers also purchase an internet card that gets upgraded as they level, but they can't share bookmarks the way wizards can. On the plus side, they can download instantly.

etc.

[Kirinashi]

Magic is raw energy that is part of the world. Wizards learn particular formulas to enable them to manipulate the energy into desired effects. Sorcerers have an innate talent that connects them to the energy to form limited about of effects. Clerics, paladins, and druids gain their ability to manipulate this energy through their faith or directly from their deity in return for their service. Bards tap into the energy by manipulating its vibrations.Do you have a theory for where this raw energy comes from? Explaining manipulation is easy enough, but do you have an explanation for your setting where the energy derives from?

[Kirinashi]

Magic is the internet. It's out there, all the time, and anyone can have access to it if they have the right hardware, an internet card with a daily download limit.

Clerics rent their internet card from a Deity, who can refuse to provide service at will if the Cleric does not meet the terms of service. But the advantage to this is that the Deity has unique content on the servers that not everyone gets access to. And every day they can browse through a full listing of all the content and select what they need to download for that day.

Wizards purchase an internet card that gets upgraded as they level. They get some content at level, but the real ability comes in people providing them links to content, which, if they make the spellcraft check, they can type correctly into the browser window, bookmark the site, and come back to the content when they need to download it.

Sorcerers also purchase an internet card that gets upgraded as they level, but they can't share bookmarks the way wizards can. On the plus side, they can download instantly.

etc.lol, that's a rather funny comparison

[Trinoya]

In my campaign there is actually something called the Arcane Winds (tm). They basically fuel magic in the world, without going into too much detail, less my players discover this post. ^_^

[Baroncognito]

I like it. It leads to some fun questions.

Obviously, the gods set up the servers so they could do what they needed to do, and once the servers were up, they kept them around for subscribers.

The question then is, who was the first person to hack into the servers without renting an internet card from the gods?

[Kirinashi]

In my campaign there is actually something called the Arcane Winds (tm). They basically fuel magic in the world, without going into too much detail, less my players discover this post. ^_^pretty cool, care to pm me how your arcane winds work/where they come from? Highly doubt I will ever be in one of your campaigns, lol. interested in hearing your ideas, as this definitely would lead to some fun ideas and quests, or even entire campaigns, like say the arcane winds went haywire or something.

[Kirinashi]

I like it. It leads to some fun questions.

Obviously, the gods set up the servers so they could do what they needed to do, and once the servers were up, they kept them around for subscribers.

The question then is, who was the first person to hack into the servers without renting an internet card from the gods?ahh i get it, so for you, arcane magic is the art of accessing the magical infrastructure the gods laid out by bypassing the need for "asking permission" from the gods (aka a divine modem).

[Chilingsworth]

Do you have a theory for where this raw energy comes from? Explaining manipulation is easy enough, but do you have an explanation for your setting where the energy derives from?

I'm not sure if I've heard or read this somewhere or not, but one idea that comes to mind for me:

Magic is a consequence of the existance of sentient entities. As life developed towards sentience, more magical potential came into being. Eventually, creatures came into existance with abilities that allowed them to tap this potential.

[Fable Wright]

I like it. It leads to some fun questions.

Obviously, the gods set up the servers so they could do what they needed to do, and once the servers were up, they kept them around for subscribers.

The question then is, who was the first person to hack into the servers without renting an internet card from the gods?

Hm... probably some Cleric of Boccob. It just seems to me that he would be the person to have built the system in the first place, with some help from the other gods of magic, and he just wants to see how it unfurls. He doesn't really care how his followers use their magic, and can appreciate dramatic events of programming skill. Someone discovers the Spell domain hidden file, and notices that Anyspell was designed with a different framework than the rest of the system. Like some Linux code on a Mac machine. They begin to study this new form of magic, discover some spells that work on both softwares, and eventually discover the beginnings of arcane magic. And then their card is restricted because the other gods pressured Boccob into it, though he was fine enough with it throughout the whole deal. Why do you think that he allows hackers (Wizards) to be a part of his clergy?

[MageOfCakes]

In my understanding most weilders of the arcane arts derive their power from some sort of external force and are not the power in and of themselves. Examples of this incude: Earlier editions of D&D and Shadowrun where mages would channel spells from the astral plane, Mage: The Assension where mages got power from a companion soul called an avatar, and even Dragon Age where wizards tapped into the fade. I tend to view magi as living conduits who, by training or natural talent, learn how to reach out to a place of power and force that power to manifest to a desired affect in the reailty they inhabit. I hope you find this helpful.

[Drakevarg]

Arcane magic in my setting is based on the manipulation of ambient energies from a multitude of sources. While the layman thinks of 'arcane energy' just being a single thing, it describes energies left in the air from every spell ever cast, energies leaking out from planar portals, energies radiated from magical entities, and other nigh-limitless 'background noises' across the planes.

The original sources of these energies is much more describable, however. All elemental energy ultimately hails from the Elemental Planes, obviously, but other sources include the Far Realm, the True Gods (unstatted primordial entities, the true architects of the universe. For example, while every third epic-level Lich starts calling himself a God of Death, there's only one DEATH, the one who was there when the first lifeform died, and whose job it will be, at the end of the universe, to metaphorically put all the chairs on the tables and turn out the lights.), and the Plane of Magic, which is often considered the true center of the universe.

[Tvtyrant]

Magic works off of belief; humans that believe in "Ideals" get divine magic (Druids for nature, Clerics for just about everything else). Arcane magic is believed in by the gods, and your riding their belief train.

[big teej]

this isn't somethin I've looked at too closely for the setting I'm creating. but here's my starting premise as of now.

magical energy permeates the world. it is a nigh undetectable 'substance' that covers the plane, weaving in and out of the very fabric of creation.


an arcane caster, such as a wizard, has learned to manipulate this energy, and produce effects according to his whims.

the sorcerer, typically, has an excess of magic in his blood (be it naturally occuring, or due to a more magical ancestor, such as a fiend, celestial, or dragon. )

and thus, by force of will and self knowledge, the sorcerer may thus command reality..... to a degree.

now, this starting premise may change in the future... but for now, this is how I look at it.

[MageOfCakes]

Another interesting take on magic I found in reading The Bartimaeus Trilogy. In those books magicians had no true magic at all and relied completely on the power of spirits that they summoned through complex ritual. Even magical items were merely objects with spirits trapped inside.

[Jack_Simth]

When someone asks me?

For the most part, Wizard's can't touch magic directly. Sure, they can do a few things every here and there, and they can apply mystic energy.... but mostly, they're stuck powering the awkward "magical circuitry" which is their spellbook. Apply energy here, here, and here for fifteen minutes, putting a variance in the energy then to control certain options, and the painted "circuits" manipulate the energies into an energy packet which can then be picked up and maintained with almost no effort. In a scroll, the energy packet is tied to the parchment; the spellcraft roll to copy represents figuring out how that particular packet of energy was shaped; the spellcraft roll to familiarize yourself with it for later casting represents tracking down which tabs for triggering are appropriate; the caster level check for activating a scroll with a caster level higher than yours represents seeing if you can manage the force needed to activate the stored spell. When using a borrowed spellbook, the Spellcraft check represents tracking down where to apply energy properly (they don't come with instructions) and how to pick up the resultant packet. The Wizard doesn't so much cast a spell as build and invoke one. It's something he picks up and uses, not something that's a part of him. This explanation also covers why it takes a 20th level specialist Wizard with in excess of fifty spell slots and 227.5 spell levels (counting 0th level spells as half a level) a full fifteen minutes to prepare a cantrip in an empty slot; fifteen minutes is the minimum needed to run and retrieve a "spell program"; it's just that the Wizard is capable of running more than one such at a time, so he can run (prepare) his fifty spells in an hour. As a bonus, this explains why scribing a spell into a spellbook is expensive - the wizard is painting magical circuitry onto the pages... possibly using things like gold and platinum directly.

A Sorcerer's magic is virtually a part of him. He touches it directly and shapes it through raw mystic force. Like most cases of the biological vs. the mechanical, it's a lot more efficient; the spell a Wizard takes fifteen minutes to put together via his spellbook, a Sorcerer sets up in one standard action. The downside, though, is that it's a lot less flexible. He can only put his impromptu packets together in so many ways, as he has to remember them all personally (they are partially instinctive, but do require practice and experimentation). He can do it more often, though, as he only has to gather a pool of energy, there's less maintenance involved in holding an energy pool together than there is in trickle-charging a bunch of spell packets.

The bard constructs his spells on the fly, similar to how a Sorcerer does. But in the Bard's case, he's using verbal memory tricks to remind himself of exactly how the spell goes, in a musically "learned" fashion, rather than drawing on instinct. He's got a lot of other things to focus on, though, and doesn't have quite the energy to apply to packet-making as the Wizard or Sorcerer.

A Divine spellcaster gets these packets handed down pre-made; the Cleric need only invoke them (Causes, if permitted, are [quasi-]deities under this Theory of Magic; perhaps Causes are what the deities were originally born of, or there's an awful lot of deities out there and you don't actually need a deity's name to pray to one [and thus a Cause cleric is actually getting spells granted by a deity who's name he doesn't know] - it is technically possible for a Cleric to have no ranks in Knowledge(Religion), after all - or whatever).

The verbal and somatic components of spells are not all the same - that's why you need a Spellcraft check to identify a spell as it's being cast. Each Wizard sets up a slightly different trigger mechanism - and, indeed, sets up slightly different trigger mechanisms even for copies of the same spell, so he doesn't fumble two spells trying to supply the right bit of extra push to the same triggers and coming up short (the Quicken Spell metamagic feat partially revolves around arranging for less "push" and redundant triggers). Much of the Spellcraft check to identify a spell on the fly is involved in tracking the energies as they come into play in order to predict the final result; the energy packet has something of an effect on the outside world while it's still being given that final push.

Spellcasters need the material and focus components because some energy packets require a pattern to draw off of; there's a little more information needed to finish the effect than can be easily contained in the energy packet (in the case of "complex" material or focus components, such as a live spider or a cocoon; Eschew Materials alleviates the need for some of it by putting a bit more info into the spell); others require something physical for a slight boost in energy or focus (for "simple" components like the copper coin for Detect Thoughts or the copper wire for Sending; Eschew Materials alleviates the need for some of it by putting a bit more force or focus into the spell). Sorcerers still need them because sometimes, there's just too much to remember, or some of it really does need to be channeled outside the body, for whatever reason. Other components are either a source of energy to power certain portions of the spell that are only quasi-magical in and of themselves, a bribe of sorts to certain forces, or even a form of insulation against backlash. A divine caster avoids the need for most such trappings with help from above... but there are limits to what they can be bothered to do for their followers.

[Seffbasilisk]

Magic is one of the fundamental forces of creation. In it's purest sense, it's an ether-like blanket of energy that suffuses the multiverse.

The Gods began shaping it, to bring about sentient life and the like. Following their examples, the first proto-sorcerers also began imposing their will upon matter. The strong their force of personality, the larger an effect they could create. Eventually, those not blessed with a bloodline so mighty, began to mimic some of the pathways used by those who came to it innately, and the geekiest of the geekiest of those, kept writing it down, and adding bits that were consumed in the process in order to attempt to 'make sense of the universe'. While this goal was inherently flawed from the get-go, it did bring the class of Wizards into being, as these wise men, could now, in mimicking the ritualized forumulaeic breakdowns of the sorcerer's strategies for more simplistic world-changing invocations.

The more that a spell was cast, the deeper a channel in the ether that was formed, and the more likely a 'wizard' could mimic it. Inevitably, there are some talents that wizards could never mimic, as they were rarely used and drew upon the bloodline heavily, and by combining a few spells wizards were capable of coming up with spells that...well..frankly those with magic in their blood never saw the use for.

And that's why the Easter Bunny is Pink.

[DiBastet]

Arcane magic exploits loopholes in the fundamental nature of the universe in order to achieve weird effects. Essentially wizards and sorcerers are like the humans from The Matrix - they know many of the system's rules and know how to bend or break them, although to do so requires the appropriate steps, investment of will and energy, time, and sometimes bat poop.

More or less like this. Arcane magic is the newest kind of magic in the world.

Magic is the chaotic force that simply IS.

There is the innate magic, the natural power of magical creatures that simply use it. It is the power of monsters and warlocks (in my games they are pact makers too), and you could put psionics into this too.

Those who follow the gods receive power from them by proxy, wielding their power, in the form of Divine Magic.

There are those who become one with nature, and nature in turn awser them in the form of Nature Magic.

And then, there are those who are not born with natural power of innate magic, who don't serve the gods, and who are not one with nature: They turn, twist, control the elements of the universe by sheer force of will and learning. It is the magic of sorcerers, who in my setting are all "primitive" traditions of learned magic, from exotic dancers of the flames, to witchcraft, to the drift magic of the seasons, people who use many kinds of different traditions to learn their spells, similar to the many traditions of Mage the Ascenscion.

And there is the high magic of the hermetics, the wizards, who sometime in the past abandoned the different traditions and created a whole academic way of spellcraft, with universal rules, hypothesis and academic things that we know very well on wizards.

In this sense the hermetic arcane magic is just like any other tradition, but one that encompass the nations as a unificating, civilized force, instead of the exotic traditions of one place or the other.

[DrMike105]

I've always liked the Warhammer world explanation, which is similar to Psycho's. There is at least one permanent portal to the Realm of Chaos (the Far Realm in D&D cosmology). The alien realities of that realm seep into ours via the portals, manifest as energy, and can be manipulated by force of will. It's dangerous for arcane casters (more so in Warhammer, but still present in D&D) via Arcane Spell Failure, or for anyone royally screwing up a UMD check. Divine casters filter their power through their god, gaining a measure of protection. When I DM, the magical words/gestures used in casting a spell aren't magical in and of themselves; rather, they help discipline the mind into the proper pathways to channel this power safely. You can learn to cast without these (silent/still spell), but it requires greater mental exertion to form the proper thought patterns (increased spell slot requirements).

[sreservoir]

I like it. It leads to some fun questions.

Obviously, the gods set up the servers so they could do what they needed to do, and once the servers were up, they kept them around for subscribers.

The question then is, who was the first person to hack into the servers without renting an internet card from the gods?

an ur-priest, of course.

hm, that's an interesting idea. from now on, wizards in my settings will be the successors to ur-priests who stopped caring about the gods once they got their magic.

[Ryu_Bonkosi]

I like it. It leads to some fun questions.

Obviously, the gods set up the servers so they could do what they needed to do, and once the servers were up, they kept them around for subscribers.

The question then is, who was the first person to hack into the servers without renting an internet card from the gods?

Well the Ur-Priests would be the hackers in this amazingly accurate analogy.


Note to self: Finish reading the thread before posting.

[CodeRed]

I like the Dresden Files way of dealing with Magic. All life gives off energy. At this very moment everyone of us is emitting heat and other bio-electrical signals from our bodies. The brain runs on electricity and where there is moving electricity, you have a magnetic charge. All that potential energy every living thing emits just absolutely saturates the atmosphere.

So, you have, on a populated plane, massive amounts of free-flowing energy criss-crossing every which way that is just waiting to be tapped into. Wizards do this by the use of formulae. By taking specific types of energy bound in specific ways, they can create any effect they wish.

Sorcerors, having inherently magical bloodlines, are descendants of beings who are WAY more oversaturated in energy emissions than the normal humanoid races. Dragons literally have magic in the blood because they possess the ability to express far more of this energy than the average human. A Sorceror taps into that potential in their own essence and then learns how to do very specific things with it by absorbing energy around them as fuel.

Bards would feel the vibrations of these free energy signals and as such their magic naturally expresses itself musically.

Clerics and other deity-powered casters receive the same basic power that arcane casters do but the energy they harness comes directly from the conduit of the energy expressed by a god. Being gods, who in my opinion are really just high-powered outsiders, these beings possess deep reserves of energy which they can then allow their followers access to. Druids and other Nature Spiritualists do essentially the same thing but their magic comes from the Earth itself. Rather than harnessing free-flowing energy from the air, Druids learn how to symbiotically gather it directly from living things and then direct it.

This system is personally how I see Magic and I like the logical conclusions it leads to. No life, no magic. You can gather the magic you have for the day and store it up via spell slots as a wizard but without the energy let out freely by living (or sometimes inanimate or unliving things) you have nothing to manipulate later. This I feel is expressed very well via Dark Sun with the Sorceror Kings, their magic is fueled by stealing life-force.

[Coidzor]

One of my friends has magic as a sort of field generated by complex systems, especially living things, in a way similar to the electromagnetic field of a planet, and spells and enchanted items being ways of manipulating that magical field based upon the laws of the universe and the properties of the individual field which varied depending upon the exact nature of what complex system was making the field.

Which is sort of like the whole thing about the Force as something springing from life forms.

[Urpriest]

I generally don't think of Sorcerors as using raw magical power or anything like that, since they use the same components that Wizards do. Instead, they're merely preternaturally talented. The difference between the Wizard and the Sorceror is the difference between a mathematician who has a rounded, deep education in a wide variety of subjects and a brilliant amateur who comes up with the equivalent of epsilon-delta proofs all on his own but has never had any formal instruction in mathematics, and hence knows no abstract algebra. As a corollary, I think that spells are not inventions primarily, but discoveries, with a small amount of creative control in flavoring the effects but a large set of constraints on how they can be set up.

[Vemynal]

Pure Magicka is divided into 3 branches; Arcane, Divine and Psionic

Arcane Magic: Wizards, Sorcerer's and other arcane casters channel magical energy provided by the world around them. A wizard has to study and learn how to tap into this cosmic force while a sorcerer has an innate connection to this force.

Divine Magic: The gods in the world I created are really mortals who learned how to tap into and use "Pure Magicka"; admittedly similar to the Tribunal in Morrowind as a friend pointed out to me once =/ (I even had 3 gods at the time, *that* was embarrassing). Divine casters channel magic through their god, with the god acting as a sort of filter on the pure magicka.

Psionic Magic: where as Arcane magic comes from the world around you, Psionic magic comes from within yourself. To use psionic magic a character has to learn to tap into their own body's energies and can expend that energy.

to sum:
Arcane = Energy of the world around you
Divine = God filter
Psionic = Energy within your self

[Safety Sword]

"A wizard did it"

I actually like the way FR (used) to handle it. There's a God for that.

You go to iGod store and download the magic god app. Install and run.

[Alaris]

In my campaign there is actually something called the Arcane Winds (tm). They basically fuel magic in the world, without going into too much detail, less my players discover this post. ^_^

What, your players discover this post? I would never... err... wait, I'm one of those players. CRAP!

Sadly, I know for a FACT that my players scour these forums, so I cannot go into detail about the way magic, Arcane or otherwise, works in my world. Sorry!

[Shpadoinkle]

Arcane magic is a lot like electricity. It's a natural part of the world and it's always existed, but it took people a while to really begin to understand what it was, much less harness its power. It can be used for innumerable things, but unless it's controlled the right way you're either going to get nothing out of it, or if you really mess things up, you'll get something dangerous to yourself from it.

My view on this might come from the fact that I'm trained as an electrician though.

[Coidzor]

...Why is it so important that your players have no idea how magic works in your universe? :smallconfused:

[Eldan]

There is a secret every wizard knows, and they rarely tell. Magic is alive.

Some call it the Serpent, the writhing flow of energy that twists around worlds and worlds, holding them together, even as it squeezes the life out of them to add to it's own. Magic keeps the world stable, and within limits the mortal mind can understand.

What are wizards, then? They trap bits and pieces of magic inside their heads, brilliant madmen that they are. They see a living thing, a force greater than the gods, and only seek to tear it to pieces, to imprison it, to make it dance and juggle at their whims.

Why do you think a wizard spends an hour preparing for what will, ultimately, be a handful of seconds of magic? Security. Safety. They construct their diagrams and formulae, their mental walls and moats, their veils and barriers so that, even as they trap it and force it to do their bidding, the serpent can not get their smell. Because even for the serpent, slavery is terrible, and revenge is sweet. They take the most minuscule amount of energy, and press and hammer it into a form that pleases them more.

And then there's us. Sorcerers. Let the wizards cower behind their walls. We boldly go out and demand from the universe what they can only get by blackmail and slavery. They may understand magic, but we are magic, on a level they will never be. We stare in the eye of the serpent, and we are not afraid.

[Alaris]

...Why is it so important that your players have no idea how magic works in your universe? :smallconfused:

For me, I want the players to discover it on their own. To learn about it in-game and whatnot, rather than just seeing it on a forum.

If one of them were a Wizard, it would be a lot easier for them to understand it all, but alas, none of them are. I've said too much already.

[Coidzor]

For me, I want the players to discover it on their own. To learn about it in-game and whatnot, rather than just seeing it on a forum.

If one of them were a Wizard, it would be a lot easier for them to understand it all, but alas, none of them are. I've said too much already.

So it's not even plot relevant... What the hell do you do when asked for details on the setting for character generation? :smallconfused:

And discovering it on their own? ...They can only find out from you.

Further, you haven't given the real reason why you feel that way, you've just stated that you feel that way in a different manner.

[Tenebris]

Maybe a historical attempt, an explanation drawn from the romantic poetry? Just like in the Goethe's "Faust". Magic as a deal with demons, both good and evil, sometimes so distant, that they have no longer touch with the world (vestiges). Spells sounding like: "Oh mighty Spirit of Everlasting Fire, grant me the power to blast my foes really hard!". Warlocks should have life contracts, whereas sorcerers be tainted from birth due to some big magic events (stars being right, etc.).

[Alaris]

So it's not even plot relevant... What the hell do you do when asked for details on the setting for character generation? :smallconfused:

And discovering it on their own? ...They can only find out from you.

Further, you haven't given the real reason why you feel that way, you've just stated that you feel that way in a different manner.

I suppose I didn't explain it in a good way. I can try to explain it better, but try not to bite my head off.

The real way, and reason magic works the way it does, is something I want the players to delve into, IN-GAME.

Sorcerers and Bards understand that they can manipulate "Arcane Energy" to cast spells. That's the SIMPLE explanation for it. And most players will accept that, and not delve any further into it.

However, I DID work on much more detailed reasons that magic works the way it does. There is a detailed back history as to what magic is, why it exists, and how it does what it does.

Wizards, and more studied casters generally know more about how it works, the reasons that "manipulating element A to do this, and element B to do this, results in a MAGIC MISSILE."

And should any particular caster want to delve further into why magic works the way it does, THEY CAN. There are libraries in the world. There are QUESTS in the world that can lead into a better understanding of it, and enable a caster to be more skilled due to their understanding.

In response to knowing things for character generation; they are told what they need to know. Magic generally functions as it does by the book, mechanic-wise, and if they are of the specific class, race, or study, they can get more information from the get-go.

In conclusion, you can see that I'm not just hiding it because I don't like telling my players these things. I'm hiding it, because it's something the characters don't know, and something they CAN investigate if they so choose, but they are not forced to.

[Coidzor]

In conclusion, you can see that I'm not just hiding it because I don't like telling my players these things. I'm hiding it, because it's something the characters don't know, and something they CAN investigate if they so choose, but they are not forced to.

Yes, but you still haven't explained why you went with that design philosophy.

[Trinoya]

Nor does he have to. His design philosophy could be critical to the game concept as a whole.

Furthermore: What does it matter why he chose that philosophy? It's his and his alone to enjoy, have, and understand. Should one choose to not share it with another that's also his choice, as DM of his that game.

However; fostering of discussion is a hobby of mine, perhaps if you post more specific questions than asking for his overall philosophy he would be more forthcoming with answers.

[Eldan]

Yes, but you still haven't explained why you went with that design philosophy.

I like the idea, really. I do it too, sometimes.

It is, basically, the difference of, in game, going to ask a sage, or find an ancient book explaining it, and a monologue by the DM before the game starts. The actual text might be almost identical, but the feeling is different.

To make an analogy: the difference between reading a book inside an RPG, and having a 200 page handbook explaining the world. (Morrowind comes to mind).

[Trinoya]

Oh god.. the pages.. so many paper cuts...

...

However I just great a great idea to give my players a hand book! *rushes off to do that*

[Eldan]

Heh. I had to air mail it to my players. They all live in other countries and/or continents.

(No Chris, begging won't help).

[Trinoya]

My players have taken to writing books on the scope of my campaign world... one of these days I should just write it up and sell it, could maybe afford more foods and then I can has monies.

Anyway: It's always interesting to take total stock of the scope of your world and realize, "whoa, how much time DID I really have on my hands back then..."

[Yora]

In my campaign, all spellcasting classes are spontaneous casters. It's a middle ground between traditional D&D magic and a good spell point based system as it should be. That way you can still use all the spells just as they are written, but get around that silly preparation part.

In the world I am running, magic is all about energy flow. Magic energy and life force is really the same thing. Spellcasters learn to build up energy throughout the night and then release it in focused bursts as spells. When the spells reach their target they change the energies within the target. Since energy and matter are linkes, manipulating the energies allows to manipulate objects and creatures.
It's probably a bit like electric energy and magnetic fields.

Divine magic is just the same, only that divine casters use a different technique to focus their spells, so the spells they create a slightly different and can do certain things better than others.

[Nerdynick]

How it works in my setting, a document edited for the forums:

Basically, arcane magic derived from magic laden blood. Elves have the most magical blood, with most of them having sorcerous power before they came through the Moongate (an extradimensional portal to Arvandor). After they were cut off from the ambient magical "radiation" of Arvandor, their offspring manifested less and less magical powers until they leveled out where they are today about 4 generations into the settlement of the Elven nation.

Pure human blood is not magical, but many years ago, when [Evil Empire] was formed, continual interbreeding between pure humans and those with elven blood led to the tiniest spark of magical potential being seeded in the human bloodline (virtually all humans today have a tiny amount of elven heritage, even if they're 1/1000th or less). In humans, this magical potential is almost universally inert. Only mutations in the unstable gene or those with greater parts elven blood (or the blood of another inherently magical creature; there are many of them, such as dragons and outsiders) will result in a human Sorcerer.

Dwarves and Halflings are inherently magical as well, but their blood is also inert, such that they require outside interference to produce sorcerers. Gnomes, by contrast, are very magical and all manifest spell-like abilities. Pure blooded orcs are not magical, but half-orcs possess the human spark (the magic in human blood is so diluted you can't get much less magical while still having magical potential).

Wizardry, developed by the High Elves during [an ancient war], is much more common than sorcerery, as it only requires the tiniest spark of magical blood to work. By using more complex arcane formulae, it is possible to unlock and amplify that spark to levels comparable to that of a sorcerer. However, due to the complexity of the methods, much more training is involved (and it's not something that can be self-taught) Therefore, many races do not manifest sorcerers, but can produce able wizards. The most notable example of this would be the dwarves and their Runesmiths.

Some forms of magic, such as Binding and Truenaming can be learned by anyone, regardless of race, since they use physical manipulation to cause magical effects. Similarly, any race can become a Warlock by making the right pacts. In this case, the outsider whom the pact is made with provides a "burst" of magical energies which activates magical genes in the blood and mutates them (which is why they use invocations instead of spells, as their genes are aberrant). The descendents of Warlocks may inherit these aberrant genes, granting them the powers of a Warlock without the binding pacts with outsiders.

In theory, this idea works in the converse as well, and very strong (epic level) magic rituals could deactivate all the magical genes, rendering an individual of any race incapable of wielding arcane magic. Divine magic cannot be cut off in this way, as a divine spellcaster receive their magical energy from their god. For this reason, any creature may also wield divine magic, regardless of race.

Antimagic fields work differently. Magic of any kind draws upon the ambient mana that suffuses a plane of existence. Mana can be thought of as a form of intangible radiation given off by interplanar friction. To use magic, one stores up mana in oneself as a kind of battery. One's soul, being charged with mana, can then discharge portions of that mana as spells. The magical genes in some creatures (like dragons) allow them to absorb mana on their own (similarly to photosynthesis) and discharge it as arcane magic. Divine entities can impart mana in the souls of their followers, who can then discharge it. Antimagic fields work by using a spell to gather mana on the edges of a field, using magical 'suction' to draw ambient mana out of an area.

Magical objects work by turning the object into a "mana trap", allowing it store up mana as a soul might. Certain spells laid upon the object direct that mana into certain spell effects (as a circuit directs electricity). Many magical items include an enchantment that probes the wielder's consciousness and uses their will as an on/off switch for the spell effects.

Psionics, on the other hand, are much rarer. These strange powers are only native to a few strange aberrations, the vast majority of which dwell in the Underdark where there powers never come to light on the surface. Of these creatures, the most powerful psions are the dreaded Illithids, whose mastery of telepathy is unrivaled.

This is not to say, however, that other creatures cannot gain the ability to use psionic powers. Other creatures just require a bit of a "push" in the right mental direction, much as wizardry encourages arcane tendencies. Most creatures never feel the touch of psionics, enforcing your will upon the world without the medium of mana. A creature of the right mental disposition, however, may gain the ability to use psionics after mental exposure to them, usually in the form of telepathic probing. The brush of one mind against another can stir that mind to wakefulness and open them to a new world of consciousness. These "second generation" psions have just as much potential as the creature who awoke them, but often lack the requisite training to use their powers effectively. These psions can also wake the minds of others. The rarity of "first generation" psionicists means that most of the second generation are other creatures who dwell in the Underdark; usually Drow or Duergar. Very rarely, one of these creatures may find their way to the surface, where the use of their powers awakens another mind. Even rarer than that, a god of psionics may find need for a champion and reach down and awake the mind of a mortal, surface or Underdark.

The fact that psionics do not use mana as a medium for enforcing will means that traditional antimagic fields and other tactics do not work against them. The only way to counter a psionicist is to interfere with their thought process, either by telepathic interference or by causing a great distraction (say, losing an arm). Psionics, unlike magic, needs no medium for the manifester's will. While a wizard stores up mana inside his soul, a psion has an inner reservoir of mental strength, born of sheer willpower and honed by concentration. This reserve is expended like a wizard expends mana, but the lack of a medium contributes to the instability of psionics. The slightest gap in concentration is enough to draw entirely unintended results, often deadly for the manifester and his companions.

[No, I didn't put a whole lot of thought into psionics. It still feels a little clunky to me and I'm open to suggestions.]

[Prime32]

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11994
A thread with things in it.

[2xMachina]

For me, I like the idea that Magic is alternate Physics (in an overlapping reality). However, it's the higher energy alternative, requiring a 'catalyst' to switch over from our mundane physics.

[Piggy Knowles]

I'm designing a campaign right now, and the origin of magic is a big part of it.

Without going into pages of explanation, the Prime Material plane (PM) originally held no magic or divine influence. It was entirely mundane. About 10,000 years ago, another plane of existence (also entirely mundane, but drastically different from our own, even down to how some aspects of physics work) crashed into ours.

At the time of the two planes impacting, a lot of things from each plane bled into the other. This provided the origin for a number of supernatural beasties on our end, and a number of earth-like characteristics on the other plane.

After the initial impact, the two planes took up the same "space" in the astral sea, one one top of the other. Though you can't directly sense the other plane from the PM, scholars have learned how to use that other plane's influence to create effects here on this plane, which is the origin of Arcane magic.

Deities in this world will just be supremely powerful otherworldly beings that have learned to portion out their own power, rather than Gods with a capital G. They have used the breach in planes to dole out some of their own power to the PM.

(There's a whole lot more to it than just this. For example, the impact caused tremendous damage to both planes, and every time "magic" is used on either plane, it damages and sucks energy from the other. But people on the PM plane built magical pillars, which have kept their own plane from collapsing and bleeding energy over to the other. That means that it has essentially become a one-way transaction, with members of the PM sucking the life out of the other plane every time they cast a spell.)

[Nerdynick]

Deities in this world will just be supremely powerful otherworldly beings that have learned to portion out their own power, rather than Gods with a capital G.

Wait... they aren't already?

[Piggy Knowles]

Wait... they aren't already?

Depends on the setting and how much you dig into the fluff. Forgotten Realms, for instance, has a million ways for deities to ascend, but I would say that Lord Ao probably qualifies as a capital-G God. But the distinction doesn't really matter much. I only brought it up to point out that in this setting, it's made explicit.

[Kirinashi]

There is a secret every wizard knows, and they rarely tell. Magic is alive.

Some call it the Serpent, the writhing flow of energy that twists around worlds and worlds, holding them together, even as it squeezes the life out of them to add to it's own. Magic keeps the world stable, and within limits the mortal mind can understand.

What are wizards, then? They trap bits and pieces of magic inside their heads, brilliant madmen that they are. They see a living thing, a force greater than the gods, and only seek to tear it to pieces, to imprison it, to make it dance and juggle at their whims.

Why do you think a wizard spends an hour preparing for what will, ultimately, be a handful of seconds of magic? Security. Safety. They construct their diagrams and formulae, their mental walls and moats, their veils and barriers so that, even as they trap it and force it to do their bidding, the serpent can not get their smell. Because even for the serpent, slavery is terrible, and revenge is sweet. They take the most minuscule amount of energy, and press and hammer it into a form that pleases them more.

And then there's us. Sorcerers. Let the wizards cower behind their walls. We boldly go out and demand from the universe what they can only get by blackmail and slavery. They may understand magic, but we are magic, on a level they will never be. We stare in the eye of the serpent, and we are not afraid.I. LOVE. THIS. This pleases me, very much so. If you stole it from somewhere else, shame on you, but I'm giving you benefit of the doubt, lol. JK, pretty cool.

[Kirinashi]

I'm designing a campaign right now, and the origin of magic is a big part of it.

Without going into pages of explanation, the Prime Material plane (PM) originally held no magic or divine influence. It was entirely mundane. About 10,000 years ago, another plane of existence (also entirely mundane, but drastically different from our own, even down to how some aspects of physics work) crashed into ours.

At the time of the two planes impacting, a lot of things from each plane bled into the other. This provided the origin for a number of supernatural beasties on our end, and a number of earth-like characteristics on the other plane.

After the initial impact, the two planes took up the same "space" in the astral sea, one one top of the other. Though you can't directly sense the other plane from the PM, scholars have learned how to use that other plane's influence to create effects here on this plane, which is the origin of Arcane magic.

Deities in this world will just be supremely powerful otherworldly beings that have learned to portion out their own power, rather than Gods with a capital G. They have used the breach in planes to dole out some of their own power to the PM.

(There's a whole lot more to it than just this. For example, the impact caused tremendous damage to both planes, and every time "magic" is used on either plane, it damages and sucks energy from the other. But people on the PM plane built magical pillars, which have kept their own plane from collapsing and bleeding energy over to the other. That means that it has essentially become a one-way transaction, with members of the PM sucking the life out of the other plane every time they cast a spell.)That's pretty fun what ya got goin there. I like that, the history is cool, and it explains the origin of the magical power itself, why it is there. I also like the whole life draining effect of magic, sounds like a good time man!

[Kirinashi]

In my campaign setting, I'm going to have it set up like this:

The world and in fact the universe is all governed by the Fabric of Reality. Everything within the universe, each atom, each cell, each organism, entity, object, or even soul, all represents a thread in the Fabric. The Fabric is weaved by a mysterious force that not even the gods can comprehend, for they themselves represent threads in the great Fabric; they are merely larger and more powerful threads that have the ability to manipulate nearby or even distant threads. The Fabric of Reality, however, is constantly being woven; it moves with the flow of time, nothing can be predetermined and even future sight only shows possible weaves of the Fabric. Because of this, magic is possible. Like threads waiting to be woven into a tapestry, the threads that make up the Fabric of Reality are not defined until they are woven, leaving them open for changes in the Weave. Arcane magic consists of accessing the weave by one’s willpower through awesome exertion of mental capacity and understanding, and then weaving a specific portion of it to one’s will. People are able to manipulate the Weave through the use of vocalized commands, special components, and complex gestures that combine to form a command to the Weave. Divine magic consists of having a god or divine being create changes in the weave for you through the use of prayer and devotion.

Some people are able to understand the Weave naturally or have an easier time accessing the Weave due to the racial structure of their mind and soul. Others must spend time learning how to understand, access, and manipulate the weaving of the Fabric, and then must memorize the specific ways in which it can be manipulated.

Manipulating the Weaving of the Fabric of Reality is not by any means safe. Because there is still mystery as to the nature of the Fabric of Reality and how it is woven, there are great risks involved in changing the Weave; if done incorrectly or without proper focus the Weave can indeed backlash or even burn all of the magical (weave manipulating) ability out of a person. This same risk also leaves the Weave open for much exploration in the ways it can be manipulated as well. For instance, it has been discovered that some components are not necessarily required to command the Weave in certain ways, but that manipulating the Weave in such a way also requires a greater understanding of how the Weave can be changed. These commands do require an understanding of the Weave, however. Anybody who replicates the same movements and sounds without accessing the Weave first is simply making a fool of themselves. Accessing the Weave is critical to its manipulation.

Some people may choose to learn how to alter the Weave in certain ways with great expertise; this practice, however, limits them from being able to alter the Weave in other ways. They are still able to recognize the manipulations of the Weave other people have performed, but simply cannot perform it themselves. This is because the truths they have learned from mastering one type of manipulation have literally burnt out their ability to manipulate the Weave in other ways.

Divine magic, on the other hands is completely out of control of the singular person. The gods replicate the process used for manipulating the Weave as mortals do. The gods, however, are not limited by a specific mental capacity or amount of willpower. Gods have a seemingly limitless access to the Weave and can arrange it with incredible ease, using the weave to create new lives, alter events, or even create new planes. They can also manipulate several points across the Weave simultaneously whereas mortal manipulators may only alter a specific point in the Weave. Gods, however, manipulate the Weave in different ways than mortals, making their manipulations distinct and unique to their superior state of being.

Gods also have their limits, however. They cannot directly create new threads, though they strengthen thinning or seemingly invisible threads (bringing the dead back to life). Gods cannot weave the entire Fabric and they cannot control the nature of the Weave. They are also bound by the same rules of Reality as mortals are: once reality has been woven, it cannot be unwoven; it is impossible to weave the entire Fabric of Reality, even for an instant; everything in the universe, every soul, every object, every being etc, even those in other dimensions, are all threads in the Fabric of Reality to be woven together.

Through prayer, mortals can ask their gods to provide them with specific changes in the Weave. Their gods may or may not grant them an answer to their prayer based upon that mortal’s worthiness of the power inherent in the request.



To those who do not understand the Weave and the Fabric of Reality, manipulations of it are deemed as “magic” and “mystical.” For those who do understand, it is simply manipulating something that is understood at some level to them, much as a pilot flies a plane while other people watch in wonder.

[navar100]

Do you have a theory for where this raw energy comes from? Explaining manipulation is easy enough, but do you have an explanation for your setting where the energy derives from?

It's just there. It's part of the world's creation.

[Kirinashi]

It's just there. It's part of the world's creation....lame -.-

[Darthteej]

In a campaign setting that me and a friend are designing, magic is the result of the gods wanting a bit of their power to be there. They let if suffuse the universe, and mortals access it as they will.

But very few of them know what it is really powered by. The gods granted both inherent and learned magic to creatures of the world, and clerics themselves get it from the gods.

But why does spell resitance apply to sources as diverse as Incarnum, Shadow Magic, and Psionics all at once? Why can a cleric choose to worhsip the ocean and gain as much power as he would from the whale god? How is it that creatures who are not deities can still grant spells?

It's simple: the power is that of belief. Gods, demons, and devils forged the Pact Primeval to obfuscate the enormous power available to even the lowest of sentient beings. Serthos was the one creature to vote no in this great meeting, and for it his carcass was cast down unto the earth. Psions and Chaos Mages, who derive power from within, are considreed the greatest of blasphemers. The gods might lie and say their power is derived from the abyss or the far realms, but they fear the truth.

[AngelisBlack]

How arcane magic works differs depending on the source of the magic in my campagins.

Warlock Arcane Magic: Warlocks' magical powers derive from an external connection linked directly to the soul. This covers your standard pact based warlocks, as well as those that inherit the power/curse/pact. When viewed under a detect magic, a warlock's entire body appears to be diffused with magic, with no special concentrations of power, as the magic flows from soul to body.

Wizard Arcane Magic: When a Wizard prepares spells from the spellbook, arcane magic is generated inside of the brain. When viewed under detect magic, faint lines of arcane magic are present through the body, most typically outlining the nervous system, with a bright concentration near the brain.

Bard and Sorcerer Arcane Magic: Bards and Sorcerers have their own internal core of arcane magic, most often resting in the heart. When viewed under detect magic, Sorcerers and bards have a bright concentration of magic in their hearts, with thick lines throughout the body outlining the cardiovascular system.

The lines of magic cannot be cut, and there is no ability of anyone to do so (yet). An antimagic field will snuff out most arcane magic except bare traces (which make things like the Invoke Magic spell from LoM possible) until the caster moves out of the field, in which case the supressed energy comes back.

[Urpriest]

I. LOVE. THIS. This pleases me, very much so. If you stole it from somewhere else, shame on you, but I'm giving you benefit of the doubt, lol. JK, pretty cool.

The Serpent is what Vecna calls Magic when he venerates it as an Overdeity. Most of the rest of that is just Eldan being awesome though.

[navar100]

...lame -.-

I don't need your approval.

[Yahzi]

Another interesting take on magic I found in reading The Bartimaeus Trilogy. In those books magicians had no true magic at all and relied completely on the power of spirits that they summoned through complex ritual. Even magical items were merely objects with spirits trapped inside.
Jack Vance did it first.

Seriously, if you haven't read Vance, you're in for a treat.

[Username_too_lo]

Midichlorians.

Or, alternatively.

We are magic; the existence of life, the possession of the soul is the magic that binds the universe together. All creatures are born of magic, all sentient creatures have more of it; the races that are sentient may degenerate, those which are weak may yet rise. There is a curtain that lies in front of us, through which even the greatest can take only the briefest flashes of light. Some have, through channeling the magic of others through faith or sacrifice, managed to ascend to the level of Gods, but even they hold only the faintest slivers of light to bestow to their faithful.

Gentlemen, tonight we draw back that curtain.

[Xtomjames]

Arcane magic is a limited force that acts as the bounds that define the limitations of the universe. This force can be bent to the will of those who are attached to it and aware of it. Arcane magic seems to reside in many forms, both as a life force, and a power pool that is subterfuge to the whole of the universe its self.

Arcane magic could be argued to be an offshoot or remnant of the divine forces and raw power used to create the universe. It differs in respect to the divine power of gods in that it works indifferently to most. The divine nature of the gods offers different magical forms, though similar in apparent affect, that are different from the arcane magic of the universe.

In some realms the arcane magic of the universe has been formed into a specific nature. The Weave and Shadow Weave represent this in the world of Faerun. The magical power of the Weave and Shadow Weave represent and are apart of the larger multidimensions and planes that make up the universe. Such power is limited to the scope designated by those who created the weaves.

In most cases those capable of wielding arcane power either must learn of it through direct study (such as Wizards do), are naturally attuned to the nature of the arcane forces (such as Sorcerers and Warlocks), or bargain or interact with outer beings to gain their powers (such as Wu Jen and Shugen ja ).

An off shoot of the arcane magic of the universe is wild magic. Wild magic is arcane magic untempered by the will of a being. Those who use wild magic are often fellows of nature and are as much the folly of the wild magic as the wild magic is of use to the wielder. This magic persists even when the gods demand otherwise, it is not under the control of any one being nor can it be. It arguably is the remnants of magic the predates the arcane magic of the world, or it could very well be the arcane magic leaking into the world.

High Magic and Blood Magic are the most sacred and obscure of the arcane magics that exist. They represent life magic, the power linked to the wielder's life. Because all living things in the universe are attached to the weave, regardless of if they are aware of it or not, tapping into one's own life force is a means of accessing the power. Albeit limited, it can be a most potent and powerful means of accessing the arcane forces.

Finally there is one last arcane magic that is far older and deeper intertwined in the universe. It is the power of truenaming. When the universe was created it was by the true language of the universe that all things were created. Spoken into creation by the now long forgotten gods, this arcane power still resides in the universe. To know an object's true name is to have the greatest power over it. This arcane power is most dangerous, in the hands of the devious it can distort and change the universe irreparably. Those who know of the true language of the universe and use it to affect magic do it knowing the risks and hold the truenames sacred.

There is a dark side to the universe, and so to there is a dark side to truenames. Dark Speech is a form of truename and truespeech. It is so evil and so dark that without the proper training and protection it can cause great devastation to both the target of the ill will of the true speech and to the speaker as well.

**

Good enough explanation?