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How Important is Magic to Dungeons and Dragons? - Third Edition vs Fourth Edition
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<blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 4784359" data-attributes="member: 3424"><p>No, it doesn't surprise me, for the reason you mentioned in the post. Nonetheless, as alluded to by Clarke's Law, the <em>perception</em> of magic does not necessarily mean that magic is actually involved. </p><p></p><p>Many staples of the science fiction genre - teleportation, matter transmutation, force fields, etc. - seem magical, but the genre convention is that they are not.</p><p></p><p>Similarly, many abilities from the superhero genre - telepathy, telekinesis, flight, resistance to harm, great strength, regeneration, shape changing, etc. - are defined as non-magical by the genre because they are natural abilities of the character's (usually alien) race, or they are acquired through mutation, whether natural or induced (gamma radiation, cosmic rays, radioactive spider venom, etc.).</p><p></p><p>The wuxia genre, and (IMO) its close Western analogue, Star Wars, add another aspect to special abilities. Kung fu (occasionally translated as <strong><em>martial</em></strong> arts <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" />) and Force abilities are considered by the genre to be both non-magical and non-innate. In other words, they are acquired through training and practice. While D&D muddies the water with the idea of separate Ki and Psionic power sources, the fundamental concept which the genre introduces is that <u>skill is as limitless in its potential as alien or mutant abilities, technology, or magic</u>. And that, I believe, should be the basic premise behind the Martial power source.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FireLance, post: 4784359, member: 3424"] No, it doesn't surprise me, for the reason you mentioned in the post. Nonetheless, as alluded to by Clarke's Law, the [I]perception[/I] of magic does not necessarily mean that magic is actually involved. Many staples of the science fiction genre - teleportation, matter transmutation, force fields, etc. - seem magical, but the genre convention is that they are not. Similarly, many abilities from the superhero genre - telepathy, telekinesis, flight, resistance to harm, great strength, regeneration, shape changing, etc. - are defined as non-magical by the genre because they are natural abilities of the character's (usually alien) race, or they are acquired through mutation, whether natural or induced (gamma radiation, cosmic rays, radioactive spider venom, etc.). The wuxia genre, and (IMO) its close Western analogue, Star Wars, add another aspect to special abilities. Kung fu (occasionally translated as [B][I]martial[/I][/B] arts ;)) and Force abilities are considered by the genre to be both non-magical and non-innate. In other words, they are acquired through training and practice. While D&D muddies the water with the idea of separate Ki and Psionic power sources, the fundamental concept which the genre introduces is that [U]skill is as limitless in its potential as alien or mutant abilities, technology, or magic[/U]. And that, I believe, should be the basic premise behind the Martial power source. [/QUOTE]
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How Important is Magic to Dungeons and Dragons? - Third Edition vs Fourth Edition
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