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<blockquote data-quote="Wayside" data-source="post: 2339017" data-attributes="member: 8394">I've been using both of these and a few others since I first read The Elegant Universe in 1999. Like Joshua I've also found Kaku an accessible writer for non-specialists, especially some of the discussion of what a being who could move as easily through all dimensions as we can through our 3 would be like (in Hyperspace I think it was). I haven't tried to reconcile this to normal D&amp;D magic though; it seems to me much more powerful as something unique and useable in itself than as a mere explanation for some other spell system.If supercomputer ability is something you need, you could set them up somewhat like Dune's Mentats, with or without a substance dependence (although I think &quot;with&quot; is potentially much more interesting, depending on how the mechanics are handled. You'd get issues of addiction, wear and tear, characters building up a resistance and needing higher doses and so on, plus the commerce surrounding this substance is an instant source of plot hooks).Going back to the idea of cosmic resonance, one of the ways I handle the unintended consequences is through echo. If manipulation of sound (or say any vibration; what if you could use your voice to heat things up or maipulate lightwaves? Fireballs and illusions--suddenly throwing your voice is much for fun) is necessary for various magical effects, it makes sense that things can get out of hand rather quickly with sounds running into other sounds, bouncing off objects, returning back to you etc. And of course, the more difficult the effect, the more easily things go to hell.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wayside, post: 2339017, member: 8394"] I've been using both of these and a few others since I first read [I]The Elegant Universe[/I] in 1999. Like Joshua I've also found Kaku an accessible writer for non-specialists, especially some of the discussion of what a being who could move as easily through all dimensions as we can through our 3 would be like (in [I]Hyperspace[/I] I think it was). I haven't tried to reconcile this to normal D&D magic though; it seems to me much more powerful as something unique and useable in itself than as a mere explanation for some other spell system. If supercomputer ability is something you need, you could set them up somewhat like Dune's Mentats, with or without a substance dependence (although I think "with" is potentially much more interesting, depending on how the mechanics are handled. You'd get issues of addiction, wear and tear, characters building up a resistance and needing higher doses and so on, plus the commerce surrounding this substance is an instant source of plot hooks). Going back to the idea of cosmic resonance, one of the ways I handle the unintended consequences is through echo. If manipulation of sound (or say any vibration; what if you could use your voice to heat things up or maipulate lightwaves? Fireballs and illusions--suddenly throwing your voice is much for fun) is necessary for various magical effects, it makes sense that things can get out of hand rather quickly with sounds running into other sounds, bouncing off objects, returning back to you etc. And of course, the more difficult the effect, the more easily things go to hell. [/QUOTE]

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