View Single Post
Old 07-15-2019, 04:55 PM   #7
robertsconley
 
robertsconley's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Default Re: Discovery of Magic in the Neolithic

In my setting clerics i.e shamans were first. The first arcane casters imitated what shamans did but instead of channelling divine power they learn to harness the ambient mana independently.

There are arcane creature who use mana as inherently. As part of dealing with them the shaman learned about mana and how it can be manipulated.

Using GURPS it mean instead of using unlimited mana, they learn to channel the ambient mana in its place. A useful skill if they were near the threshold.

Using OD&D in the form of Swords & Wizardry, it meant that they learned to cast spells like Detect Magic, Light, Protection from Evil using the ambient man, i.e. spells found both in the clerical spell list and the magic user spell list.

However the magic user was in the shadow of the various religions and churches until quite recently (four centuries ago). Arcane spell casters were specialized scholars within the mother religion.

Then four centuries ago a major empire collapsed, its social order broke down including the major religion. A chance would have it this time, the arcane scholar grew an independent tradition giving birth to the magic user.

Because this empire was the greatest to date and it storehouse of knowledge was the enough to kickstart the traditional independent magic user. Prior to this arcane knowledge was so interwoven with religion that it wasn't viewed as a separate thing in various human cultures.
robertsconley is offline   Reply With Quote