| From: | Greg <greg@***.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Full of Life/and my views on magic (sorta long) |
| Date: | Fri, 1 Aug 1997 17:07:25 -0400 |
From: Lorden <westln@***.EDU>
To: SHADOWRN@********.ITRIBE.NET <SHADOWRN@********.ITRIBE.NET>
Date: Friday, August 01, 1997 4:16 PM
Subject: Re: Full of Life
>I would think that letting a mage intereact physically(supporting)
>the net) is part of the problem. This opens up the question could
>an astrall mage give a leg up to a duel natured creature, or one
>that is perceiving.
I don't think you're thinking fourth dimensionally (great movie), Really
though the problem of the apparent logical necessity of the astral form of
the astral mage supporting the weight of the dual-natured net is that it is
not actually a logical necessity at all. The reason that that the net would
be supported is that there is a mass of matter beneath it, this is just how
the three dimensional spacial universe functions. But the astral does not
have mass or matter (stick with me on this, it's true that it;'s an
interpretation thing) but only the astral equialent (here comes the
interpretational thing) which I'm going to call "presence" the mage who is
astral is able to "project" either an avatar of his aura or the aura itself
(question: what does the body of an astrally projecting mage look like
astrally- think before you answer, it's not as simple a question as it
sounds) in the form of astral presence which can then act on the contents of
the astral universe. It is fortunate for the astral scouts of the world
that the astral universe and the physical universe are analogous in broad
outlines and layout, but there is no particular reason that the properties
of spacial arrrangement and "opacity of matter" (cheesy made up term for not
being able to put things in the same place) should apply. My answer is that
the mage would be underneath the net AND the net would not be supported by
the astral form of the mage. What's happening is the interaction of two
seperate universes/dimensions. the mage, being astral, is not bound by the
space-time constraints of the physical world but the net is bound by both so
the net fulfills the demands of the physical- falls to the ground and the
mage fulfills the bounds of the astral- he is trapped in the net. No
paradox necessary as the two would only be mutually exculsive if they were
playing by the same cosmic rules... which they are not.
As for the body of an astrally projecting mage - it would be easy to claim
that the aura is non-existant, EXCEPT for the fact that part of what the
astral template does is record the integrity of the meat body. In my
interpretation it is this that allows combat spells to work- a quantity of
Mana is flung against the aura of the target after being modulated into a
damaging form by the will and intent of the casting magician, this mana rips
into the astral template of the target and damages it; this damage is then
reflected in the physical form of wounds and physical damage. An area
effect spell works the same way except the "size" of the mana flung by the
mojoman is great enough to damage multiple astral templates (this is why I
believe that an area effect combat spell affects anyone in the range- visual
or not.) For an astrally projecting mage I allow the casting of any mana
based spell, but not physical as the physical spells require that the mage
have more contact with the physical plane then full astral projection
allows. Anyway, with this in mind the aura of an astrally projecting mage
has to look like SOMETHING or else there is nothing which instantiates the
astral template of the meat body. I don't have a ready answer for this, but
I think it's a rather intruiging question.
