From:	"Bruce H. Nagel" <NAGELBH@******.ACS.MUOHIO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: [SR3] Magical Magic
Date:	Mon, 7 Jul 1997 12:07:35 -0500

You wrote:
> Okay, here is the problem I have. However, it's not with the game system -
> it's with GMs and Players. Many PCs seem to know everything about magic in
> SR because the players know how it works. I absolutely despise this.
So point out to your players their lack of knowledge, I guess. And if they
can't take the hint, no Karma awards for roleplaying, etc., though I don't
really believe in enforcing roleplaying. If they don't want to, hey, do
Warhammer or Battletech instead. :)

I
> can't stand it when Player and Character knowledge is intertwined. In my
> house rules I make it very clear that if you want your PC to know more than
> absolutely zilch about magic, the PC *must* have a Magical Theory skill.
> If your backround states that you are comfortable with magic, or have
> worked with mages in the past....buy a Magical Theory skill.
True, but what if you don't really understand it, but you are comfortable with
its general effects (you're a sammy, but you've partnered with this shaman for
over three years now, you'ver worked out your tactics together, you have a
grasp of how magic is used in combat, but no real understanding of how it's
done)? That isn't a skill, per se, it's character background.

The only way
> any PC is going to know what's going on when trying to figure out something
> magical, is to roll a successful Magical Theory test (although full blown
> mages and shamans will be cut a little slack on the simple stuff).
That would require a pretty hefty number of points in the skill, not the 1 or 2
that 'familiarity with magic' would represent, rather a year or two at least of
serious study, imo. I'd think a point or two in the skill would be enough to
recognize general effects without rolling for it, myself. After all, we don't
force characters to 'roleplay' their unfamiliarity with combat when bullets
start flying, even if they're a mage. Most people their first time in combat
are a little stunned, especially if not trained in it.

> Hopefully, my new group of players will keep the mystical feel of magic
> with adequate role playing. We'll see. I don't see what the game system
> can do to improve this situation, though.
I think more the example descriptions and 'flavor text' is what conveys the
mood of magic in SR, that's what he's talking about to some extent, the way
magic is portrayed. Of course game mechanics cannot easily portray mood
(though detailed ones like Ars Magica do so, they are cumbersome for a
fast-paced system like SR).

And as for roleplaying, well, some people would be really comfortable and bored
with magic. It becomes just another tool to them. Think of the Combat Mage
and Burned-out Mage Archetypes, they're not googly-eyed over magic, it's
something they use, every day, and they don't try to make it mysterious and
interesting to others.

losthalo