Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Worlds of Design: The Four Stages of Magic - Part 2
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Arilyn" data-source="post: 7770517" data-attributes="member: 6816042"><p>Yes, that's an excellent point. If you look at "magic" in our world it initially flowed from what people assumed were divine sources, whether the "divine" was walking among us as powerful beasts or gods above us. Arcane magic, as a separate force came much later. Now, we can assume that if there is or was magic in the world, early cultures erred in their beliefs of the source, that it is in fact, a force of nature that can be learned and understood in a sciencey way. This doesn't work in the vast majority of fantasy campaigns, however, where gods do exist. Having said that, arcane magic differs from divine in most settings. It does take the place of science because in our fantasy worlds, you can turn lead into gold, and use the positions of the stars to read the future, etc. Those early stages mentioned in the article would most likely be the fear of divine forces. Mastery of arcane would come later, as people figured out how the world works. Now, you just have to decide how the deities feel about lowly creatures wielding such might, without asking permission or being blessed. This can lead to peasants fearing wizards, as they are powerful beings, operating apart from the churches. Or the gods could be more benign, and wizards are scientists, who have figured out a bunch of esoteric knowledge, and that's not a problem in society. This could fit into the stages mentioned in the article, but you still have to deal with how the gods feel. Resigned? Never cared? People have matured enough to handle it? We are going to war about whether magic should be allowed in mortal hands?</p><p></p><p>So yeah, I'm not sure "stages of magic" is the right way to look at our typical fantasy settings. I think you have to look at how the divine tolerates arcane power, and how intelligent races deal with the divine. </p><p></p><p>There are also myriad ways to look at magic. Maybe it's always unpredictable and impossible to master, no matter how advanced cultures get. Maybe it's a stable force that is not going anywhere, anymore than gravity. The typical D&D world pushed into the future does not turn into us. What does it look like? Would we become scarily powerful and a threat to the planet? Would magic cause cultures to stagnate? Would magic be awesome because no pollution? Or are there costs in using magic that are harmful to the environment or the fabric of reality?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Arilyn, post: 7770517, member: 6816042"] Yes, that's an excellent point. If you look at "magic" in our world it initially flowed from what people assumed were divine sources, whether the "divine" was walking among us as powerful beasts or gods above us. Arcane magic, as a separate force came much later. Now, we can assume that if there is or was magic in the world, early cultures erred in their beliefs of the source, that it is in fact, a force of nature that can be learned and understood in a sciencey way. This doesn't work in the vast majority of fantasy campaigns, however, where gods do exist. Having said that, arcane magic differs from divine in most settings. It does take the place of science because in our fantasy worlds, you can turn lead into gold, and use the positions of the stars to read the future, etc. Those early stages mentioned in the article would most likely be the fear of divine forces. Mastery of arcane would come later, as people figured out how the world works. Now, you just have to decide how the deities feel about lowly creatures wielding such might, without asking permission or being blessed. This can lead to peasants fearing wizards, as they are powerful beings, operating apart from the churches. Or the gods could be more benign, and wizards are scientists, who have figured out a bunch of esoteric knowledge, and that's not a problem in society. This could fit into the stages mentioned in the article, but you still have to deal with how the gods feel. Resigned? Never cared? People have matured enough to handle it? We are going to war about whether magic should be allowed in mortal hands? So yeah, I'm not sure "stages of magic" is the right way to look at our typical fantasy settings. I think you have to look at how the divine tolerates arcane power, and how intelligent races deal with the divine. There are also myriad ways to look at magic. Maybe it's always unpredictable and impossible to master, no matter how advanced cultures get. Maybe it's a stable force that is not going anywhere, anymore than gravity. The typical D&D world pushed into the future does not turn into us. What does it look like? Would we become scarily powerful and a threat to the planet? Would magic cause cultures to stagnate? Would magic be awesome because no pollution? Or are there costs in using magic that are harmful to the environment or the fabric of reality? [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Worlds of Design: The Four Stages of Magic - Part 2
Top