| From: | Martin Steffens <BDI05626@***.RHIJ.NL> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Shadowrun's magic system |
| Date: | Sun, 11 Jun 1995 22:15:56 +0100 |
>> and since then the term
>> has, through Janni's excellent posts about it, become a bit of a
>> catch-all term.
> Woa! Thanx :)
No thanks, they are rather good (sorry I got your name wrong :)
>> I think that WYTIWYG does not cover the magic system of SR
>> completely, but it surely is an important part of it. On reading NAGA
>> (or NAGM) the feeling is only strenghtened. But underlaying the
>> WYTIWYG theory is a system of defined rules of what is possible and
>> what is not.
> I'd say that the defined rules are rather a sub-set (defined by WYTIWYG)
>of the possibilities magic opens to a magician. But thats the gist of
>it.
Your view is the same as mine, but I forgot to say that I think that FASA
somehow has defined what is possible or not, but doesn't publish this as
a set of rules. I think that the magicians of 2054 know perhaps 15-20% of
the possibilities of magic (excluding those elves of course :). It is only
logical if you look at it from another way:
Magic has only been available for about 40 years, and researched for perhaps
30-35 years. Now, would we know all that is possible in this short period?
Did we know everything about, for instance, aviation after this period, or
do we know it now?
It is only logical that in years to come new ways of practicing magic will
be found (like the watchers which popped up in the Grimmie). Perhaps new
ways to cast spells or take care of drain will be discovered also. These new
ways "obey" the laws of magic, but just because we don't know it exist, we
cannot use it. To be honest, I think that a magic system without change is
just as stupid as an unchangable system with no new cybertech or weaponry.
> Yep, a sub-consious phycological filter/crutch that makes the
>usage of magic possible/defines the limits of the sub-set used
>by the magician.
But that isn't unchangable. If you think something cannot be done, but you
see it being done that could change your view. For example every normal
magician knows it's impossible to teleport. Then your PC's view Harlequin's
teleport trick in Harlequin. Now they start thinking. This could lead to
two conclusions:
-He is much better than we are. We couldn't possibly ever learn that.
Or
-Hey, that's a neat trick. I could try to make a spell for that (the procedure
for this particullar spell would be very very difficult and the drain would
kill your, but I used it only as an example)
> I like WYTIWYG cause it sounds better, sounds more like WYSIWYG :)
That was my idea exactly when I thought it up :)
A nice "example" is the way the wizards from Terry Pratchett's
Discworld novels summon DEATH:
"The heads of the eight orders were all of this persuasion, traditionalist
to a mage, and the utensils that were heaped about the octogram had a
definite, no-nonsense occult look about them. Rams horns, skulls, baroque
metalwork and heavy candles were much in evidence, despite the discovery by
younger wizards that the Rite of AshkEnte could perfectly well be performed
with three small bits of wood and 4cc of mouse blood"
WYTIWYG at it's best :)
Greetings,
Martin
