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What is arcane magic?
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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 5368206" data-attributes="member: 58197"><p>Y'know, I sort of agree with this and sort of don't. Yes, explaining the magic takes away much of the mystery. But part of the reason it becomes science-like is that the people devising the explanations are steeped in a scientific worldview and bring in all kinds of assumptions from that worldview without realizing it.</p><p></p><p>Typical science-driven assumptions (all of which can be seen at work in the D&D rules) include:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magic is a discrete force (often described as "magical energy"). The world works according to 21st-century scientific principles except where operated on by this force. Accordingly, magic can be dispelled, stored, detected, and so forth.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magic is predictable. If you perform a spell the same way, you get the same result every time. It never works in unexpected ways; if you cast <em>Kill Toads 10' Radius</em>, it will not cause a man with the nickname of Toad to drop dead.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magic is a passive, neutral tool. It can be used for any purpose with equal ease, and the act of wielding it does not affect the wielder. A necromancer can raise an army of skeletons and use them to till the fields and save puppies from burning buildings, and this will work out just fine--the necromancer will not be slowly twisted toward evil, the skeletons will not spread a pall of death across the land, no dark and malevolent powers will be strengthened by the necromancer's actions... in short, the only reason people don't do this all the time is that undead are yicky.</li> </ul><p>These assumptions are convenient for an RPG designer, since they make it possible to turn magic into a set of self-contained rules packages that don't have to be integrated with anything else and don't require a lot of DM adjudication. It's hard to imagine D&D without them. But they severely limit how "magical" magic can be.</p><p></p><p>(See Chrono22's post above for a good example of magic that doesn't turn into "just science" when explained.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 5368206, member: 58197"] Y'know, I sort of agree with this and sort of don't. Yes, explaining the magic takes away much of the mystery. But part of the reason it becomes science-like is that the people devising the explanations are steeped in a scientific worldview and bring in all kinds of assumptions from that worldview without realizing it. Typical science-driven assumptions (all of which can be seen at work in the D&D rules) include: [LIST] [*]Magic is a discrete force (often described as "magical energy"). The world works according to 21st-century scientific principles except where operated on by this force. Accordingly, magic can be dispelled, stored, detected, and so forth. [*]Magic is predictable. If you perform a spell the same way, you get the same result every time. It never works in unexpected ways; if you cast [i]Kill Toads 10' Radius[/i], it will not cause a man with the nickname of Toad to drop dead. [*]Magic is a passive, neutral tool. It can be used for any purpose with equal ease, and the act of wielding it does not affect the wielder. A necromancer can raise an army of skeletons and use them to till the fields and save puppies from burning buildings, and this will work out just fine--the necromancer will not be slowly twisted toward evil, the skeletons will not spread a pall of death across the land, no dark and malevolent powers will be strengthened by the necromancer's actions... in short, the only reason people don't do this all the time is that undead are yicky. [/LIST] These assumptions are convenient for an RPG designer, since they make it possible to turn magic into a set of self-contained rules packages that don't have to be integrated with anything else and don't require a lot of DM adjudication. It's hard to imagine D&D without them. But they severely limit how "magical" magic can be. (See Chrono22's post above for a good example of magic that doesn't turn into "just science" when explained.) [/QUOTE]
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