What is your preferred Magic?

[Adrian Michaels]

Hey, this is a good topic... Helping me out with Equilibrium. And right now, I need all the help I can get.

 

I've always been a fan of Harry Potter magic, but that really only works in a harry potter type setting.... so I can't use that.

 

D&D magic is awesome. I don't have a whole lot or RPG experience, but I kind of get what you mean. (And someone said MAGE: The Awakening?!?! AHHHH!!!! I'm currently basing a short story off of that my MAGE character... I only got to use him once so far....)

 

I'm also a huge fan of the natural magic/getting it from nature.

 

So, I guess I'll have to keep track of this thread, so see what I can come up with!

[Graeme]

I mentioned the Ars Magica magic system earlier. The following is a quick summary:

 

There are fifteen arts, split into five techniques and ten forms:

 

Techniques: Creo (Create), Intellego (Perceive), Muto (Transform), Perdo (Destroy), Rego (Move)

Forms: Animal, Aquam (water), Auram (air), Corporem (body/human), Herbam (plant), Ignem (fire), Imagonem (images), Mentem (mind), Terram (earth), Vim (magic power)

 

A spell would use a combination of these arts. For example, a fire ball would be Creo and Ignem. A lie detection spell would be Intellego and Mentem. Creating an illusion of an animal would be Creo, Imagonem and Animal.

 

Every wizard would have different levels in each of these arts. They can make up quick spells, using their known arts, but these are not very powerful. The better the wizard is with the required arts, the stronger these quick spells could be. You'll notice that you can achieve the same result in more than one way, depending on how good the wizard is with the different arts. For example, to put out a fire, you could use Perdo Ignem (destroy the fire directly), Creo Aquam (create water to put out the fire), Perdo Auram (destroy the air and smother the fire), Rego Ignem (move the fire to a place with no fuel), Muto Ignem <something> to change the fire into something else, etc.

 

They would also have memorized "formulaic" spells that are more powerful, but they can't be adapted to suit the situation -- the spell has the same effect every time they use it. There are also rituals that are more powerful again.

[Adonelos]

I have quite a few different magic systems that I like.

 

There's the elemental based magic system in Lorna Freeman's Borderlands series (Covenants (is the best so far), The kings Own)

 

The Jeweled bit in the Black Jewels trilogy, strength determined at birth with a maximum of a 3 stone jump. The darker the jewel the more you can do. Too much power and you start to warp reality (cooking eggs and not having the yolks down imagine eating those )

 

Mercedes Lackey's system, magic is basicly derived off of life, think that was the simplistic view of it.

 

Finally, Robert Jordan's the power that gave birth to all and so moves the cosmos one.

 

God/desses of magic just seems too much like priesthood to me. *shrugs*

 

Adonelos

[Menzoberranzen]

Finally, Robert Jordan's the power that gave birth to all and so moves the cosmos one.

 

He died yesterday

[Graeme]

He died yesterday

Thanks for the news, even if it is sad. My condolences go to his family.

[woody]

He died yesterday

It is sad, though at least while the final book of the Wheel of Time series "A Memory of Light" is not complete there are sufficient notes to finish it, it would be tragic in a way if a series that he committed so much of his life to (11 books, well 12 including the prologue) never reached its completion.

Edited September 18, 2007 by woody