From:	gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject:	Legal Magic
Date:	Wed, 17 Aug 2005 16:57:56 +0200

According to Ice Heart, on 17-8-05 15:49 the word on the street was...

> [OT] What shock wave? I thought the fire simply flashed into
> existance in a shere, existing simultaneously throughout the AOE.

A good lawyer will not let facts stand in the way of defending a client :)

> [back on topic] For magic to be illegal, and for spells above a
> certain force to be illegal, there has to be some discernable way to
> gauge magic use and spell force. Perhaps not for the layman, but
> certaintly for a paranormal forensics expert.

All you need is a glass cube with a dial on the front and a button on
the side, don't you?

> Which means there has to be something about
> Sorcery that is universally and easily recognizable.

I've always visualized this as colors, ripples in the air, and similar
effects usually associated with magic.

> Meaning cameras can probably pick up clues.

IMHO, only if it's a physical spell. It's always been said that mana
spells can't be recorded, so I would find it a bit odd if their
side-effects (that is, the bits by which you can notice that it's magic)
could be recorded.

> Spell formulae are, of course, de facto evidence of which force
> a mage knows a spell at.

But you may need to prove that the suspect actually learned the spell
from that formula. Otherwise, there are all sorts of loopholes they can
get out through: "Yes, your honor, I bought that formula with the
intention of learning the spell it represents, but I have not actually
had the chance to do so." Which is probably illegal as well, but
probably not as severe a crime as actually casting the spell and causing
harm with it.

--
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