Settings with 'Black magic' and 'White magic'?

[johnsemlak]

Are there any settings out there that have developed systems of 'Black' and 'White' magic (like the Dark side and the Good side)?

Anybody use such a system.

I vaguely remember Dragonlance having somehting of that sort but don't remember much.

Of course, in a standard campaign, black magic can be represented by several things--Necromancy, Evil Divine magic, or a special prestige class, but I was interested in seeing how some systems which attempted to tackle the classic 'Black magic' feel worked.

 

[evileeyore]

Dragonlance didn't have 'black and white' magic system. They had a Black, White, and Red system. Basically it represent the alignment of the caster and which Moon they drew power from (Black=Evil and drew from the dark moon, Red=Neutral and from the Blood moon, etc). Their power waxed and waned with the moon. Literally.

TTFN

EvilE

PS: I don't know how it is done now as I have refused to read to much of the new book.

 

[Silveras]

Earlier Lankhmar treatments divided magic into White and Black. White Magic is clerical magic, and Black Magic is arcane magic, basically.

Of course, Lankhmar also made all spells take about 10x as long to cast, to fit the literature's images of ritual magic.

 

[Silveras]

Oh, and Oriental Adventures (3E) has Blood magic, which pretty much thematically fits "Black Magic" as opposed to the clean "White Magic" used by the honorable characters.

 

[babomb]

<a href="http://stuffetc.netfirms.com/ffmain.htm">Final Fantasy d20</a> has white, black, red (some white and some black), and gray (time, space, and status effects) mages.

 

[LazerPointer]

Dragonlance didn't have 'black and white' magic system. They had a Black, White, and Red system. Basically it represent the alignment of the caster and which Moon they drew power from (Black=Evil and drew from the dark moon, Red=Neutral and from the Blood moon, etc). Their power waxed and waned with the moon. Literally.

I'm curious now about the mechanic behind this. A mage is stronger when it's "that time of the month?" Anyone know exactly how the spells were strengthened/weakened? Effective caster level changes, or what?

 

[I'm A Banana]

My homebrew has magic, and also "Occultism." Occultism includes evil spells, and introduces components that are decidedly corrupt, into a ritual form of magic. It's an arcane/divine hybrid, and some types of spells are more powerful when The Occult is used to cast them, then normal. For spells, I take a lot of BovD, and Call of Cthulhu spells, they're filled with wicked goodness. And normal wizards, sorcerers, and clerics IMC don't have access to them.

Of course, it fits since everything IMC is suffused with divine associations.

 

[Endur]

BOVD has all of its vile spells.

Ravenloft has a chance that the Powers of Ravenloft will notice your evil acts.

Various non-D&D systems had black magic. Chivalry and Sorcery, etc.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

Dark Sun has Defiling ( Bad ) and Preserving (Good ) Arcane Magic systems

 

[Cam Banks]

I'm curious now about the mechanic behind this. A mage is stronger when it's "that time of the month?" Anyone know exactly how the spells were strengthened/weakened? Effective caster level changes, or what?

Essentially, when the moon you are aligned with is in High Sanction (around the time that it's a full moon), your caster level and saving throw DCs for your spells are at +1. When it's in Low Sanction (around the time it's a new moon), your caster level and saving throw DCs are at -1. If your moon is in conjunction with another moon, caster level and DCs are +1, and if all three moons are in conjunction, caster level and DCs are at +2. These conjunction bonuses stack with the moon phase bonus, so if your moon is full and aligned with the other two moons, your caster level is +3 and all saving throw DCs are at +3.

Cheers,
Cam