Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pbartender" data-source="post: 3080181" data-attributes="member: 7533">I take a similar view...The idea is that, at its most basic magic is simply a means of affecting the world by sheer force of will.  Most mortals simply can't do it on their own, and must use "crutches" that help to focus their mind in the proper direction nd concentrate enough mental power for the magic to take effect.  Those crutches are components -- material, verbal or somatic.  The combination of chanted phrases, odd gestures and physical objects helps to arange the thoughts of the caster in the proper fashion to create a specific effect.Spells, in D&D terms, are the specific tried and true combinations of components that spellcasters know will cause a specific spell effect.Thus, spells are like recipes...  There are slight variations to be sure, but for the most part spell PHB spells are all the most reliable and most well known combinations.  Plus, the formulae for spells are so esoteric that you essentially can't cast a particular spell unless you've been trained in that formula, or you've spent months and years of trial and error perfecting a new formula.  Think about it...  If you've never made bread before, and you don't have a recipe, how do you bake a loaf of bread?That makes spell completion magic items a little like Magic Hamburger Helper...  Most of the recipe's already done, you just need to add the meat and some boiling water to finish it.</blockquote>

Verification