Forbidden Magic [Thaumatology]

[AlexanderHowl]

One of the common tropes within fantasy is the idea of forbidden magic (also known as dark magic or witchcraft). Occasionally, it is forbidden because it actually does substantially more harm than good, but it is just as likely to be forbidden because it goes against the customs of a dominant group or because it is associated with an oppressed group. In any case, forbidden magic is often attractive to people on the fringe of society, so it will often exist regardless of the level of enforcement against its practice.

In societies influenced by the Abrahamic religions (also many fictional societies invented by writers within such societies), forbidden magics will have a feminine, pagan, and/or sexual component to them. For example, Christian societies traditionally attribute witchcraft to women who make deals with fell beings in exchange for the power to protect their sexual freedom (the witch's broom is a particularly phallic symbol, when you think about it). In such societies, forbidden magic is interlinked with femininity, paganism, and sexuality.

When using forbidden magic in your games, how have you represented it? Is it forbidden because it causes more harm than good or is it forbidden because it challenges conventional morality? Is it attractive to the fringe of society because it offers them great power or is it attractive to the fringe of society because it offers them to only path to power?

[Ulzgoroth]

It's not quite common in fantasy settings for certain types of magic to be forbidden not because they're inherently harmful or morally troubling, but because somebody in power decided they were inconvenient and needed to be suppressed.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

One of the common tropes within fantasy is the idea of forbidden magic (also known as dark magic or witchcraft). Occasionally, it is forbidden because it actually does substantially more harm than good, but it is just as likely to be forbidden because it goes against the customs of a dominant group or because it is associated with an oppressed group. In any case, forbidden magic is often attractive to people on the fringe of society, so it will often exist regardless of the level of enforcement against its practice.

In societies influenced by the Abrahamic religions (also many fictional societies invented by writers within such societies), forbidden magics will have a feminine, pagan, and/or sexual component to them. For example, Christian societies traditionally attribute witchcraft to women who make deals with fell beings in exchange for the power to protect their sexual freedom (the witch's broom is a particularly phallic symbol, when you think about it). In such societies, forbidden magic is interlinked with femininity, paganism, and sexuality.

When using forbidden magic in your games, how have you represented it? Is it forbidden because it causes more harm than good or is it forbidden because it challenges conventional morality? Is it attractive to the fringe of society because it offers them great power or is it attractive to the fringe of society because it offers them to only path to power?

Keep in mind that these are not mutually exclusive. It's quite possible for a given practice to be both at once, physically and spiritually dangerous and also a threat to the local power structure.

[ravenfish]

To make magic (or, perhaps more interestingly, certain subsets of magic) "banned because unsafe", my go-to system is Threshold-Limited Magic. The ability of overly-ambitious mages to create local or regional catastrophes provides a good reason for magic to be feared/forbidden.

[The Colonel]

As above, you have a variety of options - you could have it restricted because it's a threat to current power centres, you could have it restricted because of the effect on the user (although that doesn't seem very medieval), or the effect on others (either primary or side effects). Theology would also be a thing - if the dominant religion outright forbids something (like fortune telling, or consulting with spirits and the dead) then it will likely be very unpopular if not illegal … and the source of magic may also lead to it being banned: part of the issue with witchcraft of any kind is that it inherently required a compact with Satan to gain power. If to learn a style of magic you have to ally yourself with humanity's enemy, that too is unlikely to be well received. Likewise magic that requires antisocial behaviour to power it - for example if you need to use a lot of human sacrifice, that is likely to be restricted to those with access to a supply of capital prisoners...