Shoutybloke Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? In my games, magic comes in two seperate, but related forms: 1: A set of techniques that can be applied, in the right circumstances, to get what you want out of the universe. 2: A natural ability of sentients to manipulate a certain form of energy through force of will. This energy is ambiant in most areas, and those who have studied extensivly can also chanel it from other planes of existence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egyptoid Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? Magic means Usurpation: A) Obtaining by Sorcery what one would not obtain by Hard Work. examples: Transmutation, Alchemy "I desired a larger castle, so I conjured silver with which to pay the brickmasons" Bending Minds by Sorcery what one cannot Influence with one's own Character. examples:- Charm, Enchantment "It's true, Gizelle did not love me until the bewitching" C) Entering via Sorcery forcibly into the Domain of God. Necromancy, Astral Travel "The duke disagrees with my trade policies, but these aftergangers will bargain with him on my behalf" YMMV. == Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? The Penance Stare would also have range and targeting issues... Ghost Rider also had his chain. I wasn't talking about the Penance Stare. Before it Ghost Rider used "hellfire". It looked like fire but it wasn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? I wasn't talking about the Penance Stare. Before it Ghost Rider used "hellfire". It looked like fire but it wasn't. Hellfire burned the Soul. Nothing to do with being guiltless. Only defense would be being soulless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Split Decision Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? I tend to think that magic fire that somehow does its damage in ways different from normal garden variety Smokey-the-Bear fire should probably involve a different build. Say' date=' a Drain vs. BODY or AVLD vs. Power Defense with the SFX of "flames."[/quote'] Agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodstone Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? Don't you people know that magic is just science that Hank Pym hasn't explained yet!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? One of my early mentors defined it as "the art and science of effecting changes in consciousness at will." Lucius Alexander The palindromedary warns that to define is to limit, to set boundaries of meaning; and how can one limit the unlimited, or set a bound to an infinite meaning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? One of my early mentors defined it as "the art and science of effecting changes in consciousness at will." So... Mind Control rather than a Fireball. Personally, I regard this a religion rather than "magic". Obviously the two overlap, but they aren't really the same. (Back in the day, I had a partner in a Third World country who was into honest-to-goodness magic. Love spells, and all that kind of thing.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? So... Mind Control rather than a Fireball. Personally, I regard this a religion rather than "magic". Obviously the two overlap, but they aren't really the same. (Back in the day, I had a partner in a Third World country who was into honest-to-goodness magic. Love spells, and all that kind of thing.) But the two can be surprisingly difficult to distinguish sometimes. Now that I've actually read the thread.... In a lot of ways, magic can really be seen as a technology (remember that the word "technology" is cognate with "technique" not with "tool" although we tend to associate the word strongly with tool use. A bare handed martial artist is using a kind of technology as well, a "know-how" of physical action.) So if, in your game, "Vulnerable to Technology" would be valid and such a character would take extra damage from a flamethrower, then "Vulnerable to Magic" would also be valid and such a character would take extra damage from a fireball. Lucius Alexander SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS That's Greek to me (so to speak). I usually enjoy the Palindromedary's words of wisdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? That's Greek to me (so to speak). I usually enjoy the Palindromedary's words of wisdom. It's a Latin incantation for summoning a palindromedary. Lucius Alexander To dismiss the palindromedary, repeat the same thing backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? LOL, gotchya. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? . . . Don't let the Palindromedary's sockpuppet pull your leg -- he wrote out the Sator Square. You write each word, one above the other, and you'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted March 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? is that anything like the Hollywood Squares? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? i'l take paul lynd to block Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? Coming late to the discussion: magic is a special effect. End of discussion, for me. Gawd forbid we should hard-code specific adders or advantages /disadvantages onto special effects: that goes right against the reasoning at the heart of Hero system. SFX are not unimportant. Players should choose their SFX with some forethought and should (IMO) be encouraged to make use of it where they can. If a player or a GM decides they want "magical fire" to be different from "regular fire" they can certainly build that into the game. But it is not (and IMO should not be) implicit in the rules. You want motorcycleburningheadman's hellfire EB to act differently to flyingonfireguy's flameblast .... then build them differently. Hero system provides you the mechanics to do so. It doesn't however provide any rationale for saying "this EB always interacts significantly differently with the game system to that EB, based on SFX". cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? Coming late to the discussion: magic is a special effect. End of discussion' date=' for me. Gawd forbid we should hard-code specific adders or advantages /disadvantages onto special effects: that goes right against the reasoning at the heart of Hero system.[/quote'] Not if the GM decides the game universe works that way. This is not about changing the fundamental rules of the game but about someone would think about the magic of their own character if given a free hand, or their own universe, particularly if none of the players are magically empowered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Re: What does 'Magic' mean to you? one hero's magic is another hero's super-power Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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