Zeropoint

Quick note: I've noticed that I have a tendency to throw out an idea and just let it lie there on the screen. Even if I don't come out and say it, this is just my interpretation and/or opinion, and I'm trying to invite discussion, not render The Final Analysis. Zeropoint.

This is an issue that's been bugging me for a while now: most superheroes, at least in roleplaying games, are better in EVERY respect than their normal counterparts, even if their powers shouldn't logically affect those areas. Using _Champions_ as an example, we have Pulsar, who despite being identified as a high-school dropout, is of exactly average intelligence (or maybe above-average--is 8 still the "average" value for a stat?) and Witchcraft, who, even though her training was in mental/spiritual fields, has a DEX of 20, giving her Olympic-level agility. Maybe it's some kind of permanent enchantment. Why does having energy manipulating powers make you more agile? Why does having the strength to lift a bus make you smarter? Why does being a super-genius make you better-looking? I can understand a wholly self-made hero like Batman being better all around, but for the most part, even a hero who gets her powers from some freakish accident isn't a normal person with a power set added--if she's an RPG character, she was _already_ smarter, faster, stronger, better-looking, tougher, and more mentally stable than her peers. The fact that she can now fly and shoot firebolts is just gravy. SPD is a particular sticking point here. Looking at _Champions_ again, EVERYONE has at least 5 SPD. The slowest person here can act two and a half times faster than the average human! Now that I think about it, this could be explained two ways. First, as stat inflation. I don't know if there is any response to this other than to accept it and redefine what an "average" stat really is. Second, as the "zero-level NPC" viewpoint, in which dramatically unimportant characters are actually assumed to be inferior in all respects to the main characters. Will this lead to increased alienation between the PC's and the rest of the world? Who knows. I'm either thinking about this too much, or not enough. Zeropoint

I figured as much. I just liked the concept of a government collecting experience points from its citizens. Zeropoint

I wonder what a government does to earn character points. An experience income tax, maybe? Zeropoint

I've flipped through a copy of Technomancer, and it is quite similar to what I was thinking, at least in the attitude taken towards magic. Zeropoint

As mentioned above, the key factor in the industrialization of magic will be the ability to use some source of energy other than the personal power of the mages involved (and that this source be readily and cheaply available). Obviously, if this is the desired effect, then the thaumaturgical laws governing the game world need to be designed accordingly. I suppose the next question to consider is: does all this magical development somehow prevent technology from working, or does it just hold back technological progress, as people turn increasingly to magic? Or, do magical and technological development continue in parallel? And finally, if magic is well-understood, operates according to fixed laws, and can be expected to uniformly produce the same results given the same initial conditions--is this still what we're thinking of when we say "magic"? Zeropoint

"Any suffeciently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology." At least, it seems like it should be to me. I've seen quite a few fantasy settings in which, despite thousands of years of magical research, the world is basically medieval Europe with the serial numbers filed off. However, it seems to me that if magic items are possible, they would be produced to meet the needs that we filled with technology. I'm picturing (for example) a Victorian-analogue level of magical technology, where a man might pack a six-charge fireball wand, ride a golem-powered railway, and send messages via a crystal ball network. Every household would have convenient, safe magical lighting and heating. More importantly, magically enhanced production of normal goods would boost the purchasing power of the average worker. Maybe I'm just thinking about this too much. Zeropoint