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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rbingham2000" data-source="post: 1673880" data-attributes="member: 12947">So I was on RPGNet, and the Manapunk topic has been brought up again by someone who wanted to either create or borrow a setting that lends cyberpunk's "attitude" to fantasy. A few tidbits were bandied about, including a link to a kickass collaborative worldbuilding thread on much the same lines.That got me thinking of an idea for a dark fantasy setting of my own, where magic is a power that could drive you insane. At first, I went with the concept of an alien power beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend, a la Call of Cthulhu. But then I came across <a href="http://www.ambient.ca/cpunk/change.html" target="_blank">this article</a> which offered different rules for Humanity Loss in Cyberpunk, and it occurred to me that the concepts of Alienation, Egotism, Obsession and Paranoia outlined in the article would work quite nicely in illustrating how magic in the setting drove its users insane.For example, if you like to use attack magic or physical enhancement magic, then you're likely to become -- if you aren't one already -- an ego-tripping jerk who doesn't feel he has to listen to anyone because he thinks he's so much better than the people around him.Or if you like to use divination magic or magic that enhances your senses, then that's a pretty good indicator that you don't trust the senses you've already got, that you don't trust other people, and that you're most likely paranoid.Which certainly explains a lot as to why the users of magic in your Conan-esque sword-and-sorcery fiction end up as power-mad megalomaniacs, don't you think?</blockquote>

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