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Message: <blockquote data-quote="nute" data-source="post: 1020542" data-attributes="member: 10607">In my homebrew, magic is still (to the populace) a mysterious force that is dangerous and spectacular to manipulate. It was originally thought that arcane magic was the result of using the proper gestures, incantations, and ritual in conjunction with willpower and innate (genetic?) ability to impose one's will on reality in specific ways. Waving hands in circles plus crushing a rose petal plus chanting the special words, coupled with the force of the wizard's will, voila! The duck changes into a frog!Divine magic, on the other hand, came from a totally different source, wherein the caster was channeling the very will of the gods, and they were just the lens. Sure, they used similar words and gestures, but no way were the two magics related. Then came a war, and as wars tend to produce innovation, a discovery was made about magic. Specifically, metamagics. That somehow the very structure of magic could be manipulated in different ways. And these ways worked for both arcane AND divine magic. This, of course, drove both the scholars and the clerics mad with fervent argument over whose power derived from whose. In reality, it's not too far off. Arcane magic comes from innate ability, focused through ritual and precision. Certain steps can be eliminated if the caster has studied how (ie, you don't have to use your hands for spells metamagicked with the Still Spell feat) - but they take more willpower to cast (higher level). Some learn the rituals from books, others seem to have an instinctual knowledge of them (wizards v. sorcerors).Divine magic, on the other hand, has similar effects but through a different route. The caster calls upon a source of power outside themselves (either their god or, in the case of druids & rangers, the force of nature) and channels that power through whatever means (casting a spell, channeling positive energy, turning undead). Psionics are relatively unknown, but bear no connection to magic. They're simply mental abilities that are overdeveloped in a small percentage of the population. Somewhere else. That the adventuring party isn't headed towards. ~M.</blockquote>

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