Silven Crossroads/Harry Potter RPG speculation

[Meds]

The source of my comment on it being "a rule" is from the book "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Orson Scott Card. I guess he doesn't count, huh?

I think that Card doesn't mean that the physics for creating magic have to be layed out. (That would be sci-fi.) Just that the author must show the borders and restrictions within which magic must operate.

Personally, I think that Rowling does a great job of delineating her rules of magic, slipping them into the story without paragraphs of exposition. E.g.
i) Magic requires study and practice, a lot of it
ii) Some spells are harder to learn than others
iii) Magic requires natural talent -- you either have it or you don't.
iv) Magic requires a wand
etc.

These restrictions make for fairly generic fantasy and so it's easy not to notice them. No-one's cutting off their limbs in order to channel magic, say. But the rules are still there. And for Rowling's purposes the rules are ideal: it's not the main focus of the story, plus, in some ways, learning magic is a lot like learning at say, math, at school, something her target audience can relate to.

The rules are still somewhat open-ended -- some borders aren't fully defined. We don't know what Dumbledore is capable of in a duel, say. That's not a problem to me as a reader. I think it's also true of other successful fantasy fiction.

 

[VirgilCaine]

I think that Card doesn't mean that the physics for creating magic have to be layed out. (That would be sci-fi.) Just that the author must show the borders and restrictions within which magic must operate.

Personally, I think that Rowling does a great job of delineating her rules of magic, slipping them into the story without paragraphs of exposition. E.g.
i) Magic requires study and practice, a lot of it
ii) Some spells are harder to learn than others
iii) Magic requires natural talent -- you either have it or you don't.
iv) Magic requires a wand
etc.

You have a point. I suppose I like things explicit. Yes, all of that could be inferred from her descriptions, but none of that is set out clearly.

 

[Zappo]

That Pokemon RPG (the Pokemon adventure game) sold well over a hundred thousand units, and probably much more than that. I remember Ryan Dancey saying something about how well it sold.

I read it sold well, but I wonder who bought it and whether they actually played it. I have never seen anyone playing it, kid or not.

 

[Gez]

I remember it more as, "I don't want anyone else other than me putting words into my characters' mouths or making my characters do things."

I can understand it, given the number of Harry/Draco or Hermione/Snape slash fictions... Beurk

 

[Dirigible]

I can understand it, given the number of Harry/Draco or Hermione/Snape slash fictions... Beurk

Oh god.
Right, that's it... we burn the internet to the ground and start anew with a pure society! Who's with me!

 

[snarfoogle]

I imagine that the reason why Harry-PC or Hermione-PC can't cast some sort of spell to remove Death Eater's bones is due to the fact that in HP, magic is somewhat hard. The imposter Moody teaches the students the words to the Unforgivable Curses, but none of them could actually do it. Harry's attempt to use Crucio results in something like "Cause Minor Pain" as opposed to "Cause the Worst Pain that they'll ever feel".

That being said, I know I'd buy a Harry Potter RPG, and maybe even modules for it based on the books, assuming they took a little creative license in making the adventures interesting and I could find someone who hasn't read the books and would still play the RPG.