Message no. 1

From:	Forgotten Horror <phinar@**.CENCOM.NET>
Subject:	Re: Chaos (a reply to previous points raised)
Date:	Fri, 4 Aug 1995 01:07:19 EDT

[gratuitous deletia embedded throughout :)]

>>>Chaotic Mages
>>>
>>>"Magic is the channeling of mana through a concerted force of will,
trying to
>>>fool yourself does not work"

In reviewing a "primary text," I can now fully give this the nod.

>
>see - the problem is that we are confusing todays views on magic with the world
>of ShadowRun. Its not incorrect to use todays views on magic since they will
>have been used to form the basis for the Magic in Shadowrun.

Precisely. One of the things that drew me to the game in the first
place was its magic system. Not that you could throw a fireball, but
rather the mechanics of casting and the utilization of traditions.
Very much mirrored the experience I had with RL magick, with a nice
healthy dose of extrapolation thrown in.

>remember
>
>Hermetic magicians follow something that is more like an art form, and not a
>science. While they recognize the basic rules that govern how things work, they
>must leave room in their formulas for manipulation of variables of when they
>actually cast the spell. They have a begining formula - what they know - then
>it turns into an art of manipulating things from there.

Right, but it is considerably more precise than shamanic magic, and
less intuitive. An engineer practices an art when he works, too, but
few will argue the precision or logic which guides this art.


>hmmm - do you play Mage: the Ascension?

Yeah, caught me. Beautiful game.


<G>
(phinar@******.net)

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