Best magic for Ancient Egypt? - Page 2

AlexanderHowl · 03-07-2020, 01:54 PM

I think that would largely depend on which period of Egyptian Magic you were talking about. For example, Protodynastic Egyptians would worship regional deities like Seshet while Early Dynastic Egyptians would have worshipped the Ogdoad. The Old Kingdom would have abandoned the Ogdoad in favor of Amun, Bast, Hathor, Horus, Isis, Osiris, Ra, Set, etc. The Middle Kingdom would demonize Set, due to his association with foreigners, and would expand the role of Amun, Hathor, and Isis. The New Kingdom would further expand the role of Amun (merging him with Ra), but the importance of Isis would also increase. The Hellenistic Egyptians would attempt to fuse the Egyptian deities with the Hellenistic deities, which resulted in the minimization of Amun and Horus and the further expansion of the role of Isis (and her absorption of many of the Egyptian goddesses).

In effect, we have a minimum of six traditions over the course of nearly four thousand years: Proto-Dynastic, Early Dynastic, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, and Hellenistic. While they had similarities, they would have appealed to different deities and would have used different rituals. For example, the Old Kingdom tradition would have used the rituals of the Pyramid Texts while the Middle Kingdom would have used the rituals of the Coffin Texts and the New Kingdom would have used the rituals of the Book of the Dead.

Polydamas · 03-07-2020, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanW

Running an Ancient Egypt campaign (historical fantasy), and though none of my players have opted to go for a magic sort, they might in the future. I'm thinking Path/Book would be the best fit (with the Book of Coming Forth Into the Light, i.e. the Book of the Dead being the archetype), but I have mostly theoretical experience with it. Any better suggestions, or ideas how to best adapt it?

Are you more interested in the magic which Egyptians told wonder-stories about, or the magic which Egyptian magicians told each other they could perform over a mug of beer? ("And my new apprentice was so green, he thought dragons's blood comes from a dragon! I had to cut some myself in my garden to show him. You smiled, that means this round is on you.")

Studying up on Egyptian conceptions of the parts of the soul could be a good idea too.

Polydamas · 03-07-2020, 04:07 PM

One thing people often overlook in historical games is that they have the idea that magic is something only magicians do. Historically, magic was a lot more like carpentry, something most people of the right gender could try a hand at as long as they went to a local expert for the serious things and brought in an expert for the most difficult ones. All characters should be aware of taboos and supernatural properties of places and things, wearing amulets and trying to keep the gods on their side (and it should never be clear that these have no game effects). There should be no clear divide between medicine and magic and a lot of ambiguity about who has real powers, who is a swindler, and who can do things but not reliably/is talking more than they can deliver.

AlexanderHowl · 03-07-2020, 09:35 PM

Well, it depends. In Ancient Egypt, every profession did have its mysteries, which could be represented by a Path of (Profession) in Path/Book Magic or RPM. A Path of (Profession) would require a specific (Profession) rather than Thaumatology as a prerequisite, as it would only deal with a single Path.

For game balance, I would suggest that an E prerequisite should allow a maximum Path of Skill-3, an A prerequisite a maximum Path of Skill-2, a H prerequisite Skill-1, and a VH prerequisite a maximum Path of Skill (the default would be similarly effected). In the case of RPM, the maximum would also be limited by Magery+12. For example, the RPM Path of Esoteric Medicine would require Esoteric Medicine, would default to Esoteric Medicine-7, and would allow a maximum Path of Esoteric Medicine equal to the lesser of Esoteric Medicine-1 or Magery+12.

03-07-2020, 01:54 PM	#11
AlexanderHowl Join Date: Feb 2016	Re: Best magic for Ancient Egypt? I think that would largely depend on which period of Egyptian Magic you were talking about. For example, Protodynastic Egyptians would worship regional deities like Seshet while Early Dynastic Egyptians would have worshipped the Ogdoad. The Old Kingdom would have abandoned the Ogdoad in favor of Amun, Bast, Hathor, Horus, Isis, Osiris, Ra, Set, etc. The Middle Kingdom would demonize Set, due to his association with foreigners, and would expand the role of Amun, Hathor, and Isis. The New Kingdom would further expand the role of Amun (merging him with Ra), but the importance of Isis would also increase. The Hellenistic Egyptians would attempt to fuse the Egyptian deities with the Hellenistic deities, which resulted in the minimization of Amun and Horus and the further expansion of the role of Isis (and her absorption of many of the Egyptian goddesses). In effect, we have a minimum of six traditions over the course of nearly four thousand years: Proto-Dynastic, Early Dynastic, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, and Hellenistic. While they had similarities, they would have appealed to different deities and would have used different rituals. For example, the Old Kingdom tradition would have used the rituals of the Pyramid Texts while the Middle Kingdom would have used the rituals of the Coffin Texts and the New Kingdom would have used the rituals of the Book of the Dead.

03-07-2020, 04:07 PM	#13
Polydamas Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central Europe	Re: Best magic for Ancient Egypt? One thing people often overlook in historical games is that they have the idea that magic is something only magicians do. Historically, magic was a lot more like carpentry, something most people of the right gender could try a hand at as long as they went to a local expert for the serious things and brought in an expert for the most difficult ones. All characters should be aware of taboos and supernatural properties of places and things, wearing amulets and trying to keep the gods on their side (and it should never be clear that these have no game effects). There should be no clear divide between medicine and magic and a lot of ambiguity about who has real powers, who is a swindler, and who can do things but not reliably/is talking more than they can deliver. __________________ "It is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." H. Beam Piper This forum got less aggravating when I started using the ignore feature

03-07-2020, 09:35 PM	#14
AlexanderHowl Join Date: Feb 2016	Re: Best magic for Ancient Egypt? Well, it depends. In Ancient Egypt, every profession did have its mysteries, which could be represented by a Path of (Profession) in Path/Book Magic or RPM. A Path of (Profession) would require a specific (Profession) rather than Thaumatology as a prerequisite, as it would only deal with a single Path. For game balance, I would suggest that an E prerequisite should allow a maximum Path of Skill-3, an A prerequisite a maximum Path of Skill-2, a H prerequisite Skill-1, and a VH prerequisite a maximum Path of Skill (the default would be similarly effected). In the case of RPM, the maximum would also be limited by Magery+12. For example, the RPM Path of Esoteric Medicine would require Esoteric Medicine, would default to Esoteric Medicine-7, and would allow a maximum Path of Esoteric Medicine equal to the lesser of Esoteric Medicine-1 or Magery+12.