Verbal components: who is the mage talking to?

[Aaron L]

Some spells may involving calling upon beings of power and be entreating powers for thier magic (ala Agamotto and the Vishanti, as has been said.)

Other spells may involve sounds that are intrinsically powerful when combined with other components, and then they arent "talking" to anyone (except maybe the universe itself, as you said.)

Still other spells may be using vocalizations as foci or timing instruments to measure out a cadence needed for proper completion of the spell.


There are lots of possible reasons for verbal components, and I dont like thinking that all spells work the same way, draw upon the same power, or have the same rational behind thier casting method. I'd like to think that all the reasons everyone has given are equally true, for different spells.

 

[Pbartender]

Depends on his the GM has defined his universe. In most of mine, the words themselves have power; they are the building blocks or 'cheat codes' of reality. Technically, visuallizing them very clearly invokes their power but most people have to speak them to actually visualize the structure clearly. (Silence prevents that essencial feedback, kind of like trying to shave without a mirror. Some people can manage it, most cannot.)

I take a similar view...

The idea is that, at its most basic magic is simply a means of affecting the world by sheer force of will. Most mortals simply can't do it on their own, and must use "crutches" that help to focus their mind in the proper direction nd concentrate enough mental power for the magic to take effect. Those crutches are components -- material, verbal or somatic. The combination of chanted phrases, odd gestures and physical objects helps to arange the thoughts of the caster in the proper fashion to create a specific effect.

Spells, in D&D terms, are the specific tried and true combinations of components that spellcasters know will cause a specific spell effect.

Thus, spells are like recipes... There are slight variations to be sure, but for the most part spell PHB spells are all the most reliable and most well known combinations. Plus, the formulae for spells are so esoteric that you essentially can't cast a particular spell unless you've been trained in that formula, or you've spent months and years of trial and error perfecting a new formula.

Think about it... If you've never made bread before, and you don't have a recipe, how do you bake a loaf of bread?

That makes spell completion magic items a little like Magic Hamburger Helper... Most of the recipe's already done, you just need to add the meat and some boiling water to finish it.

 

[Vanye]

(before 3.0, an arcane caster could only know a limited number of spells per spell level, no matter how many spellbooks they had, unless they had at least a 19 Int, because magic was that hard to learn).

That was an optional rule in 2nd Ed, and I believe 1st ed, and not present at all in the D&D box sets that I recall.

 

[Aaron L]

That was an optional rule in 2nd Ed, and I believe 1st ed, and not present at all in the D&D box sets that I recall.

Standard rule in 1E.

 

[wingsandsword]

That was an optional rule in 2nd Ed, and I believe 1st ed, and not present at all in the D&D box sets that I recall.

Furthermore, there is a limit to just how much of this strangeness - illogical mathematics, alchemical chemistry, structuralist linguistics - a wizard's mind can comprehend, and so he must live with a number of spells he can know.

That wasn't in a sidebar listing it as optional, the only "Optional Rule" in all of Chapter 7: Magic, was "Spell Components", in that it is optional that characters actually have specific material components to cast spells.

 

[Dracorat]

They are weaving together magical energies to formulate a spell. The words, the sounds, are akin to waving hands around or using material components. Instead of a gesture, or a material, in this case, it is the words, the sounds, that are required in the spell.

As spellcasters get better at casting spells, they can cast the same spells without those components, provided they have studied up on how to manipulate magic without having to go through all those motions. The effort to do so, however, requires more expenditure of effort on their part and thus, consumes a higher level spell slot.

 

[Megatron]

Its all about the vibrations.

 

[Land Outcast]

Actually, remembering from my times of Dragonlance consumate reader...

The words of power would burn themselves into those with the gift for the art, but not with lack of training... The words themselves had esscence, but said esscence didn't lent itslf to the arcanists, they had to obtain it from them.

And when the words were pronounced, it was more akin to "weaving an ornate tapestry" than to an imploration or summoning.


That sounds to me similar to:

the words themselves have power; they are the building blocks or 'cheat codes' of reality.

But their power is such that they can only be harnessed when brought together as sounds, and even then, when the incantation is far too complex, the control over the power of the words can be relinquished unwittingly: mishaps.


note1: I really like this thread

note2: There was a thread speaking about the "Song of Creation" here in general some time ago, probably eaten by the crash, an excellent thread, and this one reminded me of it.

 

[Storyteller01]

Since there's no real way of knowing one way or the other...


MGP has a skill for High Draconic. In theory, its the langiage that created the universe, which dragons apparently can speak fluently.

If a nondragon caster wants to learn it, they buy ranks as if it were a cross class skill (but its rank maximum is that of a class skill), suffer a loss of 1 spell per day per level you can cast depending on how many ranks you have, and sorcerers can use it to cast spells using a lower level slot.

You can use the skill to modify spells with feats without actually increasing casting time or level. You can neven attempt to use feats you don't know. The big draw back is the backlash for failed checks. This can get really REALLY bad.

 

[mythusmage]

The words are a focus, and a mnemonic. They keep the caster's mind on what he is supposed to be doing, and remind him of how the magic is to be shaped into the desired result. By saying the words forcefully and clearly the caster is assisted in gathering the energies needed to cast the spell. Furthermore, the words help shape those energies so gathered.

A mage with the Silent Spell feat for a particular spell has learned how to cast that spell without needing to use words. Where a particular spell is concerned he can focus, gather energy, shape that energy, and realize the desired effect by mental effort alone.