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Old 02-17-2016, 03:52 AM   #1
Wavefunction
 
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Default What does magic do?

The question is simple enough, what does magic do for a setting, why is it important to certain settings or genres, and when is it unnecessary?

Of course the answer will vary from genre to genre, but hopefully we can cover a lot of the possibilities.
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Old 02-17-2016, 08:38 AM   #2
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Default Re: What does magic do?

This is surely the primary (high level) question that any creator needs to ask themselves shortly after deciding that they are going to have magic in the first place.

The following is culled from The Arcana Wiki's cover page on magic:

Quote:
A setting designer needs to ask themselves the following questions when adding magic to their world:

•Where does magic come from? Can it be stored, blocked or re-directed?
•Who can use it - and how often?
•Who knows about it? How much of what is widely known about it is true? How much of what the experts known is true?
•How commonly does it appear? Is it an everyday part of life or something most people only see at work once or twice in a lifetime?
•How is it used? How much preparation and activation time is required?
•What does it cost (in all terms from physical exhaustion to required training)?
•How much control do users have over it?
•What can magic do - and what can it not do?
•What laws does it acknowledge? How far does ontological inertia apply? Are there side-effects and if so, how significant are they for the world in general?
◦Are "magic" and "science" different things? If so, how do they interact?
•What are a non-user's options when confronted with magic?
◦If there is such a thing as "magic resistance" is it something you do reflexively or something that takes decision? Can you suppress the reflex (if any)? What factors make you more (and less) resistant?
•How are most people likely to react? Accept it as "something that happens"? React with wonder? Suspect fraud or trickery or be horrified?
•Are there multiple forms of magic - and if so, how do they relate to one another? Are they different front-ends on the same thing or radically different phenomena? Are "secular" and "divine" magic the same thing or radically different (if either exists and/or if there is a distinction)?
•Can most people tell the difference between any multiple forms of magic? If so, how do their reactions to different forms vary?

Once these questions have been answered, the setting designer will have a good idea about where magic fits in their campaign. If that picture doesn't match the one they want, they will either need to adjust their baselines or fit some kind of adaptor (for example, magic is actually quite benign in absolute terms, but is not much used because it got really bad PR after the Great Wizard War).
...one creator's magic can vary a great deal from another's. In literary terms, compare the magical traditions of say, Jack Vance and Jim Butcher...
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Old 02-17-2016, 09:02 AM   #3
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Default Re: What does magic do?

Well, magic is a great inspiration for writing speculative fiction. "What would happen if people could bend reality?" can really be a good way to overcome writer's block. Readers also aren't expecting the writer to come up with an entire consistent alternative physics as is often the case in sci-fi. So it frees up the author's time for other things.

Magic is especially important for fantasy settings. Many fantasy settings take place in medieval settings. On our world, medieval medicine was horrible. Up until the discovery of germ theory, death by infection was a real possibility if you received an injury.

This is problematic for a GM/writer of a realistic medieval setting. Killing your characters over every injury will drive away your audience. But you also risk suspension of disbelief if your audience realizes that you will never injure or infect your characters. Notoriety of medieval medicine means that you will have to deal with this problem.

Healing magic is a convenient way to handle this problem without completely changing the genre of your work. After all, magic has been an accepted part of the fantasy genre since at least the Odyssey. And you can keep injuries dramatic by limiting the capabilities of healing magic. In fact, you almost need to do this to keep injuries dramatic.

Once you've introduced healing magic into your setting, it isn't much of a leap to add other branches of magic. Being able to draw upon the vast well of supernatural creatures and effects from folklore can save you a lot of brain storming. Which is why the fantasy kitchen sink is a trope. That, and having your characters face off a jet sized dragon is just cool!
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Old 02-17-2016, 09:16 AM   #4
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Default Re: What does magic do?

I think that magic is only unnecessary if you are never going to do anything interesting with it. Claiming that magic exists in your setting is all well and good, but if it doesn't figure into the plot then you shouldn't include it.

On the other hand, magic becomes unwelcome if it is used to justify deus ex machinas ad nauseum. Imposing limitations on magic can help to avoid this situation. For example, having an equivalent exchange rule explain why mages can't blow up entire armies at will. This is very helpful for preserving drama and suspense.
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Old 02-17-2016, 11:13 AM   #5
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Default Re: What does magic do?

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Originally Posted by Emerald Cat View Post
On the other hand, magic becomes unwelcome if it is used to justify deus ex machinas ad nauseum.
It's equivalent to the science fiction rule that you can't hang a plot on technobabble. Your key plot has to be something your audience can understand. So fixing the problem of the week with a nonsensical whatzit might be okay, but the conflict needs to be about retrieving the stolen spellbook, or reaching the reverse ion generator before the ship explodes.
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Old 02-17-2016, 06:36 PM   #6
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Default Re: What does magic do?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Emerald Cat View Post
I think that magic is only unnecessary if you are never going to do anything interesting with it. Claiming that magic exists in your setting is all well and good, but if it doesn't figure into the plot then you shouldn't include it.

On the other hand, magic becomes unwelcome if it is used to justify deus ex machinas ad nauseum. Imposing limitations on magic can help to avoid this situation. For example, having an equivalent exchange rule explain why mages can't blow up entire armies at will. This is very helpful for preserving drama and suspense.
You can use it as a red herring to frighten your players. If they start thinking things are bad luck they will act like real people in the context-not to mention providing amusement.
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Old 02-22-2016, 12:09 PM   #7
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Default Re: What does magic do?

Sanderson’s First Law of Magics: An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic.

Its phrased for writing, but works just as well for games. Its not deus ex machina if its understood.

Magic can have several roles:

Expanding player options: I think D&D had a lot of this. If you wanted to do something beyond move or attack, you used magic.

Empowering Players:
Related to but not the same as the above, magic is an easy way to make characters powerful and relevant on the grand scale with out doing boring and often limiting politics.

Creating Interesting tactical situations: Magic often changes the rules of engagement. It makes foes that have to be defeated in different ways, and creates odd challenges.

Creating a mystic feel: Magic helps to distinguish a world from earth while keeping it accessible to those without an anthropology degree. You could run your game in china and try to hammer in how differently society works, or you could just use magic.

Thought Experiments: What if? This usually comes as a side hobby and consideration to the others, but its also an underlying theme to the others. Figuring out how this new world works can be fun!
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Old 02-22-2016, 02:04 PM   #8
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Default Re: What does magic do?

There have been some really interesting and very helpful responses so far, ones that I think have probably covered that topic as much as it can usefully be covered. So I thought I'd change the question slightly: What does magic do for a setting that superpowers don't?
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Old 02-22-2016, 02:34 PM   #9
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Default Re: What does magic do?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavefunction View Post
There have been some really interesting and very helpful responses so far, ones that I think have probably covered that topic as much as it can usefully be covered. So I thought I'd change the question slightly: What does magic do for a setting that superpowers don't?
Wow, that's a curve ball. I'm just sitting here and thinking about the differences, if any. Many times the difference is just one of trappings...
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Old 02-22-2016, 02:41 PM   #10
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Default Re: What does magic do?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavefunction View Post
There have been some really interesting and very helpful responses so far, ones that I think have probably covered that topic as much as it can usefully be covered. So I thought I'd change the question slightly: What does magic do for a setting that superpowers don't?
That depends on how each is defined and distinguished from the other. Bear in mind that, from the earliest days of superheroes, magic was one of the types of power available.

Based on that, I propose the following: magic is a subset of superpowers; one source of powers among many.
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