[Thaumatology] Concept to Mechanics - Mind/Will duality

Adelus · 08-12-2011, 12:42 PM

I've been trying to think of how to take a concept I've been working on for a setting and match it with some mechanics (pardon some of the incoming TVTropes jargon).

Essentially, magic in the setting is at its very base similar to the idea of Chaos Magick/Shamanism - Attaining gnostic trance states to work your will, using methods such as rituals, symbols, and foci to help though they aren't necessary. Every other kind of magic splits off from this in some way. Inherent Magic would just be that natural abilities were designed in at some point. Theurgy/Spirit Assisted is just calling on the powers of entities that have one of the above two. Device Magic/Gadgets/Enchantments would be using magic to alter the properties of items, binding a spirit, etc. Rule Magic would consist of normal Chaos Magick/Shamanism with a very strict rule system as part of that paradigm, likely with the practitioners unaware. There would be a M:TA style consensus effect which makes it hard to work blatantly magical effects near individuals who have not learned Thaumatology or possess Magery.

For all this, I was thinking of a duality of the Spirit - Mind and Will.

The Mind is the portion that thinks - the consciousness, the "driver" of the whole vehicle. One's strength of mind helps determine how well they can enter trances, work magic, and a limit on their Will capacity.

The Will is the force which permits action - the engine and fuel of the vehicle. While magic taps into it, it usually does not burn it up - it acts more like a generator in most cases, with larger amounts allowing for faster and greater generation.

There were some effects I was wanting based on this combination:

A Mind lacking Will would be just a pattern that is no longer active - dormant, or possibly dead. Its possible a Mind might still inhabit a body without any Will of its own, somehow - these people would lack the ability to project the Consensus effect that counters blatant magic, and cannot cast magic themselves - they essentially lose their "vote."

Quantities of Will lacking a Mind would be undirected and unaligned - it would become Free Will, a force of raw and unpredictable change, dormant until anything with thought came near, at which point it will start reacting to even surface thoughts. Careful rituals could bind this Free Will to objects or absorb it into a person to replenish or bolster their own. Its possible to go over one's normal Will capacity, though this risks some of that Will becoming Free Will, and it will gradually leak until you reach normal capacity anyway.

Some entities - like demons, psychic vampires, etc - will have a condition wherein their Will limits are much higher or fluid, with great leeway, but they are drained constantly while active - continued activity without taking more Will from some source will eventually result in a total loss of Will and thus death. Thus they will be predatory - or seek Will through devotion/prayer which acts as a ritual. Alternatively, they could hibernate and enter a torpor state to await better hunting conditions.

Alternatively, some people may be Free Will generators - they would constantly create more Will and, eventually, be forced to release it. They may or may not be immune to its harmful effects, unable to trigger it - but they would leave quantities of Free Will wherever they release it, making the area very dangerous and tainted by Wild Magic.

johndallman · 08-13-2011, 02:45 PM

It looks potentially interesting, but working through its effects on the world needs to be done carefully.

It seems obvious that a lot of magical power can be gained by tapping the wills of others for power, and that there will be ways of doing this that are seriously unethical. If magicians need to do this to achieve very much, then magic may well end up being regarded as automatically evil, and there will thus be "witchfinders" as a significant part of the world's magical ecosystem. Or not, if tapping turns out to require (nearly) as much power as you can get from it

On the other paw, if forcible tapping doesn't work, having large groups of people cooperating in dealings with the supernatural may be useful, in which case the magicians may be a lot like priests, leading large congregations.

There are lots of possible variations; more study is required.

08-12-2011, 12:42 PM	#1
Adelus Join Date: Jul 2007	[Thaumatology] Concept to Mechanics - Mind/Will duality I've been trying to think of how to take a concept I've been working on for a setting and match it with some mechanics (pardon some of the incoming TVTropes jargon). Essentially, magic in the setting is at its very base similar to the idea of Chaos Magick/Shamanism - Attaining gnostic trance states to work your will, using methods such as rituals, symbols, and foci to help though they aren't necessary. Every other kind of magic splits off from this in some way. Inherent Magic would just be that natural abilities were designed in at some point. Theurgy/Spirit Assisted is just calling on the powers of entities that have one of the above two. Device Magic/Gadgets/Enchantments would be using magic to alter the properties of items, binding a spirit, etc. Rule Magic would consist of normal Chaos Magick/Shamanism with a very strict rule system as part of that paradigm, likely with the practitioners unaware. There would be a M:TA style consensus effect which makes it hard to work blatantly magical effects near individuals who have not learned Thaumatology or possess Magery. For all this, I was thinking of a duality of the Spirit - Mind and Will. The Mind is the portion that thinks - the consciousness, the "driver" of the whole vehicle. One's strength of mind helps determine how well they can enter trances, work magic, and a limit on their Will capacity. The Will is the force which permits action - the engine and fuel of the vehicle. While magic taps into it, it usually does not burn it up - it acts more like a generator in most cases, with larger amounts allowing for faster and greater generation. There were some effects I was wanting based on this combination: A Mind lacking Will would be just a pattern that is no longer active - dormant, or possibly dead. Its possible a Mind might still inhabit a body without any Will of its own, somehow - these people would lack the ability to project the Consensus effect that counters blatant magic, and cannot cast magic themselves - they essentially lose their "vote." Quantities of Will lacking a Mind would be undirected and unaligned - it would become Free Will, a force of raw and unpredictable change, dormant until anything with thought came near, at which point it will start reacting to even surface thoughts. Careful rituals could bind this Free Will to objects or absorb it into a person to replenish or bolster their own. Its possible to go over one's normal Will capacity, though this risks some of that Will becoming Free Will, and it will gradually leak until you reach normal capacity anyway. Some entities - like demons, psychic vampires, etc - will have a condition wherein their Will limits are much higher or fluid, with great leeway, but they are drained constantly while active - continued activity without taking more Will from some source will eventually result in a total loss of Will and thus death. Thus they will be predatory - or seek Will through devotion/prayer which acts as a ritual. Alternatively, they could hibernate and enter a torpor state to await better hunting conditions. Alternatively, some people may be Free Will generators - they would constantly create more Will and, eventually, be forced to release it. They may or may not be immune to its harmful effects, unable to trigger it - but they would leave quantities of Free Will wherever they release it, making the area very dangerous and tainted by Wild Magic.

08-13-2011, 02:45 PM	#2
johndallman Night Watchman Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cambridge, UK	Re: [Thaumatology] Concept to Mechanics - Mind/Will duality It looks potentially interesting, but working through its effects on the world needs to be done carefully. It seems obvious that a lot of magical power can be gained by tapping the wills of others for power, and that there will be ways of doing this that are seriously unethical. If magicians need to do this to achieve very much, then magic may well end up being regarded as automatically evil, and there will thus be "witchfinders" as a significant part of the world's magical ecosystem. Or not, if tapping turns out to require (nearly) as much power as you can get from it On the other paw, if forcible tapping doesn't work, having large groups of people cooperating in dealings with the supernatural may be useful, in which case the magicians may be a lot like priests, leading large congregations. There are lots of possible variations; more study is required.