D&D General [Mystara] Where does it say the Radiance is the source of magic?

[Sword of Spirit]

I just saw that the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set was free on Drivethrurpg today, and went and grabbed it. That got me thinking about the Radiance, so I read some of what it was saying about it in there, and I followed a reference to read more about it in the Glantri Gazetteer. Now, I didn't exhaustively read everything, but nothing I read implied that the magic in the world came from the Radiance. It said that you can draw on the magic coming from it to take a shortcut to becoming an Immortal in the Sphere of Energy, and you can gain access to special spells that draw on it.

But I keep seeing online that it is supposed to be the actual source of magic in Mystara--like there was no magic until the Beagle had its meltdown. That doesn't really seem to be a great fit for the backstories I was reading. Where does the idea come from?

 

[Zardnaar]

Not sure on the exact origin but it's in 2E Glantri boxed set.

 

[cbwjm]

Pretty sure it isn't the source of magic but rather it draws on the sphere of energy which is the source of magic. The more it is used, the more the sphere of energy on mystara is weakened and the lower the power of magic in the world. Wrath of the immortals or the glantri books (can't remember which) tell you how it affects magic in the world the more the radiance is used.

 

[RobJN]

The original Glantri Gazetteer explains how the Nucleus of the Spheres was (further) modified ("cursed") by the Immortals to drain from the Sphere of Energy if enough Rad Force was consumed, as a check against too many mortals taking the Radiance-powered shortcut to Immortality in the Sphere of Energy.

 

[The Glen]

It isn't the source of magic, magic existed before the nucleus of the Spheres was created. What it does is it enhances Magic. You can use the radiant energy to greatly over power a spell. Of course there's a chance that the radiance will use part of your life essence as fuel. Using the radiance power spells however drains more magic than you use. That's why if you use the Radiance too much it's going to drain all the magic away.

In the original glantri book it does mention that if you get rid of the nucleus before it becomes an artifact, the nation doesn't become the mecca for wizards that it is now. In Canon after Wrath of the Immortals the nucleus is changed to drain away magic from the sphere of entropy. That actually doesn't make any sense because the sphere is a philosophical school of thought not a physical location

 

[jayoungr]

Hmm ... first Birthright, and now Mystara has a free supplement ... What's up with WotC and these older settings?

 

[Dire Bare]

It isn't the source of magic, magic existed before the nucleus of the Spheres was created. What it does is it enhances Magic. You can use the radiant energy to greatly over power a spell. Of course there's a chance that the radiance will use part of your life essence as fuel. Using the radiance power spells however drains more magic than you use. That's why if you use the Radiance too much it's going to drain all the magic away.

In the original glantri book it does mention that if you get rid of the nucleus before it becomes an artifact, the nation doesn't become the mecca for wizards that it is now. In Canon after Wrath of the Immortals the nucleus is changed to drain away magic from the sphere of entropy. That actually doesn't make any sense because the sphere is a philosophical school of thought not a physical location

I like the idea that the Radiance is a secret source of power for wizards to enhance their spellcasting and power . . . . but that's it's use slowly drains magic from the world. Love the environmental analogy!

But the specifics, linking the Nucleus of the Spheres to the immortal spheres . . . I never really liked that explanation either.

 

[RobJN]

The only Sphere to which the Nucleus of the Spheres was linked was that of Energy, to counter a potential over abundance of Immortals in that Sphere throwing the rest out of balance.

I found the notion of the altering the curse at the end of Wrath to be somewhat ham-fisted. The effect of it drawing "negative energy" is not explained in the least. It's like they just took the word "Energy" and crossed it out and wrote in "Entropy" in crayon.

No increased chance of horrid withering when casting Radiance spells, with the increased affinity to Entropy? No subtle (or not-so-subtle) corrupting effects added to spells now sourcing their power from Entropy? What is the effect of prolonged lessening of Entropy's effect on the other four spheres (or Mystara, in particular?) Do things Matter more? Do Thoughts come easier? Do people suddenly have more Time on their hands? or more Energy to do things..?

The Glantri: Kingdom of Magic (even though its still a Principality in AC 1012) boxed set carries on with the original notion of Radiance-use-drains Mystara's magic, with only a few paragraphs grafted on to the hasty Gaz-3 rewrite explaining away the end of Wrath's week without magic being (magically!) curbed to the original AC1000 timeline's single Day of Dread due to the Entropy drain.

(Regeneration of Rad Force is already possible, through the failure of mortals using the "Attain Immortality" Radiance-powered spell -- the failed caster's life force is absorbed by the Radiance, replenishing Rad Force equal to the level of the consumed caster.)

 

[Dire Bare]

The only Sphere to which the Nucleus of the Spheres was linked was that of Energy, to counter a potential over abundance of Immortals in that Sphere throwing the rest out of balance.

I found the notion of the altering the curse at the end of Wrath to be somewhat ham-fisted. The effect of it drawing "negative energy" is not explained in the least. It's like they just took the word "Energy" and crossed it out and wrote in "Entropy" in crayon.

No increased chance of horrid withering when casting Radiance spells, with the increased affinity to Entropy? No subtle (or not-so-subtle) corrupting effects added to spells now sourcing their power from Entropy? What is the effect of prolonged lessening of Entropy's effect on the other four spheres (or Mystara, in particular?) Do things Matter more? Do Thoughts come easier? Do people suddenly have more Time on their hands? or more Energy to do things..?

The Glantri: Kingdom of Magic (even though its still a Principality in AC 1012) boxed set carries on with the original notion of Radiance-use-drains Mystara's magic, with only a few paragraphs grafted on to the hasty Gaz-3 rewrite explaining away the end of Wrath's week without magic being (magically!) curbed to the original AC1000 timeline's single Day of Dread due to the Entropy drain.

(Regeneration of Rad Force is already possible, through the failure of mortals using the "Attain Immortality" Radiance-powered spell -- the failed caster's life force is absorbed by the Radiance, replenishing Rad Force equal to the level of the consumed caster.)

Perhaps the authors were confusing the BECMI five Spheres of Immortality with the positive and negative energy planes in AD&D. Entropy aligns with "negative energy" and the other four spheres with "positive energy".

 

[Sword of Spirit]

So it sounds like I was getting the correct idea from the books: the Radiance isn't the source of magic on Mystara. I guess someone just misunderstood something at some point and turned into basically an incorrect rumor that got passed around the internet enough that I've seen it in multiple places. Original sources to the rescue!