Music As Magic

[Mcoorlim]

Originally Posted by jacobmuller

The message behind most music must be "If You Buy This Record Your Life Will Be Better..."

Would a caster need to learn different instruments for different spells?
Is the magic cast by the musician, the singer or the group?
Songs last 2-12 minutes - ceremonial magic? With lead singer/ guitarist as caster and group lending energy; crowd support at live events?
Soloists might be specialists or limited skill generalists who work best with a crowd. Or are soloists really talented and don't need a ceremony?

Phonomancers don't play the music, they simply tap into the energy created by music interacting with the nervous system. Songs mean things - powerful things - to many people.

They're more akin to shamans tapping into a mystic force than individuals creating magic using music as a medium. The idea is that ALL music is by its nature magical (or that the connection between listener and music is magical), rather than the creation of enchanted tunes.

[jacobmuller]

Ah, sorry.
Is it Music as Stimuli and Listeners are a source of Mana then?
Zero ambient mana?
The caster must hear music to caste; crowds of listeners can be tapped for extra power.
Make it ceremonial magic and Mage/ Magery with Trigger (Music, -10%)?

[Mcoorlim]

I think it's more akin to real world interpretations of chaos magic. Music as mana, and as the primary ritualistic component. There really aren't "spells" exactly, so it would be perhaps ceremonial-only flexible magic of some sort

Maybe it's a take on modern shamanism, without real 'spirits' per say, but tapping into the individual or collective associations that the music provides.

[NorphTehDwarf]

If you're willing to accept slower cast times, Path/Book might work pretty well. Each genre could correspond to a given path. Swap out the names and you're good to go. Ritual magic as per Characters might work well, too.

And if you plan on actually running this, you need a karaoke machine.