tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post8145963003589660722..comments2024-03-28T15:30:09.903-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: S is for SpellsJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-53707592183356265702011-09-30T15:23:26.147-04:002011-09-30T15:23:26.147-04:00In my to-finish-planning S&W fantasy campaign,...In my to-finish-planning S&W fantasy campaign, the reason because MUs forget and must re-learn their spells is because each spell is a complex, fractal formula-like mandala, fusing symbols and images in a idea-like object that tends to fade from the user's memory with time (like keeping EVERY detail of a painting or photograph).Petras Furtadohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00958958741234293383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32630314844493042722011-04-23T13:10:45.696-04:002011-04-23T13:10:45.696-04:00Just wondering, James, is this an idea that's ...<i>Just wondering, James, is this an idea that's been brewing for much of your gaming career, or just some details that seemed appropriate as you were filling out the campaign (not that there'd be anything wrong with that...)?</i><br /><br>It's mostly the latter, although some aspects of it have been in my brain (no pun intended) for a long time. I was also influenced somewhat by the way magic works in Tékumel and in Vance's Dying Earth stories, but the biggest impetus to this explanation is on-the-fly thinking as the Dwimmermount campaign evolved.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-15603127729364745022011-04-23T13:08:41.381-04:002011-04-23T13:08:41.381-04:00does that mean that higher level spells never exis...<i>does that mean that higher level spells never existed, or was their knowledge lost in the past with the fall of the Thulian Empire?</i><br /><br>It's a bit more complex than either option, but I won't say anything here, since my players read this blog :) Suffice it to say that there <i>are</i> more spells above and beyond those commonly known, but how and why they work has yet to be revealed in the campaign, since it's never come up in play (yet).James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8842275161616430432011-04-23T00:37:15.683-04:002011-04-23T00:37:15.683-04:00This is the best Dwimmermount letter yet. A reall...This is the best Dwimmermount letter yet. A really nice "meta" approach to D&D magic. Just wondering, James, is this an idea that's been brewing for much of your gaming career, or just some details that seemed appropriate as you were filling out the campaign (not that there'd be anything wrong with that...)?Jonathan Linnemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04711517194240426383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3797083670639166342011-04-22T15:24:08.245-04:002011-04-22T15:24:08.245-04:00"a spell exists in the mind as an "image..."a spell exists in the mind as an "image" or "symbol" that corresponds to a known effect in the real world"<br /><br />I like the idea that magic has to somehow be held in a wizard's mind (or even a scroll) as an arcane symbol or sigil. I've been kicking around the idea that writing ("spell"-ing) is itself intrinsically dangerous.<br /><br />Clerics can copy holy texts without fear, but otherwise the written word (for whatever reason) risks the invocation of Chaos (or worse, the summoning of a demon).<br /><br />Wizards are people whose minds are disciplined and trained well enough to mitigate the danger of the written word by reducing it to a symbol in their mind (or on paper) that can be unleashed as they desire. Hence the spell Read Magic doesn't make a wizard magically literate, it makes him temporarily (and only relatively) safe.<br /><br />For common people, there is no such mitigation of this danger, so if they need to communicate visually, they use mundane symbols or drawings. This not only lends itself to a world full of misunderstanding and rumor, it means that even where people encourage the active spread of knowledge, it's greatly slowed by imprecision. Imagine, for example, a blueprint or map with no letters or numbers being passed from person to person.Russhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06818303172957630563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39903994667659727712011-04-22T11:50:11.084-04:002011-04-22T11:50:11.084-04:00My current picture of spells is that they are piec...My current picture of spells is that they are pieces of Chaos brought into the real world and the spell binds the chaos, gives it form and function. When the spell is spoken that bundle of chaos is released to enact the spell and then gone, back to Chaos. To me that justifies the one-shot 'Vancian' style magic. <br />Also, the spells whisper to each other in the M-Us mind. Words that cannot be understood by mortal man. A little roleplaying syrup to justify wizards going off their rockers and building dungeons for adventurers to explore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-10183385450399812012011-04-22T11:46:15.173-04:002011-04-22T11:46:15.173-04:00You've mentioned before that magic spells are ...You've mentioned before that magic spells are capped at level 6 in Dwimmermount (IIRC); does that mean that higher level spells never existed, or was their knowledge lost in the past with the fall of the Thulian Empire?<br /><br />Security word: "hobbity." The Tolkien estate will now come after Blogger.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01254215329246851683noreply@blogger.com