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<blockquote data-quote="Rodrigo Istalindir" data-source="post: 1580781" data-attributes="member: 2810">One possible explanation is that magic is not science.&nbsp; In the real world, we're used to using the scientific method.&nbsp; We start with a theory based upon current knowledge, extrapolate from that, test, fail, try again, eventually expand our understanding a little bit, and than repeat the process.With magic, there may be no such process.&nbsp; Take 'Fireball' for example.&nbsp; Why bat guano and sulfur, but not pitch and charcoal, or some other combination of flammable components?&nbsp; Why doesn't more of a component, or components of better quality result in a more powerful spell?&nbsp; Dire-bat guano, anyone?&nbsp; The same with somatic components, etc.I see spells as coming from a variety of sources.&nbsp; Most would be the old standards that have been in use for so long that no one can remember why they work, they've just been passed down from master to apprentice for centuries.&nbsp; Some might have been researched with the aid of divine or infernal outsiders -- maybe a fire elemental lord taught a mage how to cast a fireball ages ago in exchange for some service.Because so much of magic will be trial and error, expermentation can be very dangerous.&nbsp; Gesture clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, and the range of your improved fireball might go from 10' per level to 10&quot;.&nbsp; And pity the poor mage who had to test 'Featherfall'&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f631.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":eek:" title="Eek!&nbsp; &nbsp; :eek:"&nbsp; data-smilie="9"data-shortname=":eek:" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rodrigo Istalindir, post: 1580781, member: 2810"] One possible explanation is that magic is not science. In the real world, we're used to using the scientific method. We start with a theory based upon current knowledge, extrapolate from that, test, fail, try again, eventually expand our understanding a little bit, and than repeat the process. With magic, there may be no such process. Take 'Fireball' for example. Why bat guano and sulfur, but not pitch and charcoal, or some other combination of flammable components? Why doesn't more of a component, or components of better quality result in a more powerful spell? Dire-bat guano, anyone? The same with somatic components, etc. I see spells as coming from a variety of sources. Most would be the old standards that have been in use for so long that no one can remember why they work, they've just been passed down from master to apprentice for centuries. Some might have been researched with the aid of divine or infernal outsiders -- maybe a fire elemental lord taught a mage how to cast a fireball ages ago in exchange for some service. Because so much of magic will be trial and error, expermentation can be very dangerous. Gesture clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, and the range of your improved fireball might go from 10' per level to 10". And pity the poor mage who had to test 'Featherfall' :eek: [/QUOTE]

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