I keep Tinkerbell's head in an old ladies coin purse.

[Tovec]

In other words... just how does magic work?

We don't know.

I happen to agree with your post as a whole. I just wanted to say..

Not to put a too fine point on it, but it works because its a game? It works because it just does. Besides, this is how a Time Lord explains TIME.

 

[pickin_grinnin]

magic

>The problem being there is no unifying and
>elegant theory of magic in dungeons and dragons.

I have always been frustrated with that, too. That's why I never play magic users in D&D.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

I agree with Umbran's first point. This is a feature, not a bug. Part of the coolness of magic is that it's mysterious, laying out universal rules removes that.

I don't agree with his second point. Magic with well understood laws is technology, not magic, albeit technology different then ours. There's a lot of stuff in current science that doesn't go well together. Quantum versus relativity, the four basic ununified forces, and so on.

 

[Umbran]

I don't agree with his second point. Magic with well understood laws is technology, not magic, albeit technology different then ours.

Perhaps I was not clear.

Maybe I should remark - there's a difference between knowing a law, and understanding a law. Knowing a law is like knowing, "the speed limit here is 20 miles per hour." Understanding the law is, "the speed limits here is 20 miles per hour, because we are near a school, and they want extra protection for children crossing streets randomly".

When you understand the law, you can extrapolate to new laws, "The speed limit is apt to be slower when there is greater chance of hitting pedestrians".

In science, you can know and understand the laws. In magic, you generally can know the laws, but don't understand them well at all.

 

[GX.Sigma]

what turns an antimagic field off?

An anti-antimagic field, of course.

 

[renau1g]

Further... what turns an antimagic field off?

Halitosis?

 

[Scribble]

[MENTION=54810]renau1g[/MENTION] in reference to your comment about my not being around much lately... Yeah it's just you- I can't take the smell. Kidding of course! I just bought a house, and subsequently moved into said house... So my posting has been drastically reduced while we get everything settled in and working.