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Old 01-31-2020, 02:22 PM   #1
Lameth
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

Hello

I am running a urban fantasy game, with secret magic. Magic was powerful until 1000's years before Rome, in a Hyborian time, but began to fade. By Rome, it was a thing of secret mystery cults, and myths and stories. By the Dark Ages, it was only a myth, and only in the most powerful of alignments, or mystical places could you eek out any magic, and only those that either possess magery, or would make great scarifies of blood or magic [items], could even try to do it. By the 1400's on ward real magic was basically gone and only known to a select group of mystics and occultists that knew the truth and carried it forward as myths and occult lore. These groups and gatherings would stay in the background for the next 600 years either keeping the theoretical lore secret, or some even trying to still eek out the smallest magics in the right time and place. Cut to 2020 and something happened and all magic got turned back on world wide. World wide havoc as strange happenings happened thoughtout the world as leyline woke up. Power out in most cities for days, blamed on a steller storms. portals and gates opening and monsters 1000's of disappearance world wide, still unexplained [in truth is was from other realms coming in to feed. Old "sorcerers" suddenly able to do true magic again. creatures feeding from other realms, or the people simply vanished into gates and portal by mistake], cults around the world seeing this time as "their destined time for X" went active on their dark paths and plots, and fear and paranoia that last days and weeks from this event...The Long Night [darkness lasted 2-4 days, depending on the location on the world].

its been months now that the PCs have been playing through, keeping the secret world and secret as possible and fighting the good fights. But they know that this is getting worse and in time the world will collide and the truth will be known. Also on the world is an effect that causes normal who see the supernatural to forget about it or explain it away. So this is helping keeping the truth at bay for awhile, but each day its getting weaker. As an example the PCs where in Crete on a ferry and they saw a mystical SeaHorse, and so did 30 kids and a few adults, and remembered it afterwards.

A few weeks ago, the US government, with pressure from many, activated a new emergency law to help police in these strange times deal with all these odd cults and gatherings that seem to be kidnapping and killing. In truth many of these cults are true dark magic groups, but some are just kids in the woods playing with dead things. To hopefully stop these growing cults, the law, The Occult Act, allows the police a larger scope of searching and probable cause if they see "obvious signs of the occult, demonology, or witchcraft". This is only a temporary law since in time it will be stuck down, but right now its active in this paranoid time and in use, in fact other countries are looking to the US to see what happens and they might adapt it also.

This had a rough start as false arrests where done to just Wicca or witches, and even a few voodoo or Muslim follows by over zealous police without the correct information. A few people where killed as the police thought the where stopping a Cult that where doing human sacrifice due to reports from their neighbors, but all it was was some 40' year olds in their livingroom with an orgy and a little occult themed fun...6 died. Things are getting bad.

In time when the worlds collide i have planned this law will evolve and become something a lot more when supernatural is found to be real. This law could be the start of tasks forces of the parapsychology and occult. But right now, in the mean time, in this phase of gray area and fear and paranoia, when magic is still secret and creatures are staying to the darkness only only coming out to feed...what bad things would this Law cause in the real world? What mistakes and horrible misunderstandings?

Last edited by Lameth; 01-31-2020 at 02:26 PM.
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Old 01-31-2020, 03:08 PM   #2
Anthony
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
Default Re: a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

Well, a lot depends on how it's actually worded. The wording you give is probably going to be struck down immediately as void for vagueness and/or first amendment violations, so it won't do much. If they somehow get past that obstacle, expect it to be used as a club against minor religious and cultural groups.
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Old 01-31-2020, 04:29 PM   #3
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

First Amendment protections for religion are very strong in the USA, so it will be blocked by the courts almost immediately. An alternative option that may fly is for the federal government to list certain groups as terrorist that just happen to be cults.
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Old 01-31-2020, 04:58 PM   #4
Lameth
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default Re: a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

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Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
First Amendment protections for religion are very strong in the USA, so it will be blocked by the courts almost immediately. An alternative option that may fly is for the federal government to list certain groups as terrorist that just happen to be cults.
oh thats better. Right now on the world its being fought in the courts. Maybe it gets converted due to pressure into a more grounded "homeland security" add on law against these "cults" and "dark magic groups" that are using slavery, sex slaves, rape, incest, murder, and worse in their actions. The world has been seeing these gathering uncovered on live tv that practice black magic, fake demon worship, and other "occult" acts that are just covering up their own dark mundane desires. While many of these groups are mundane bad guys, some of them are real demonic cults, covens or maybe even magical cabals or brotherhoods who are taking advantage of the new magical flow on the world for their own wants. Therefore the law transfers over to a more protection of homeland and using this law to allow police and others to better focus on fringe religions, cults, and "strange practices" of occult.
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Old 01-31-2020, 06:22 PM   #5
Anaraxes
 
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Default Re: a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

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law against these "cults" and "dark magic groups" that are using slavery, sex slaves, rape, incest, murder, and worse in their actions.
That stuff's already illegal, so there's plenty of existing ground to prosecute the cults without the need for an extra law. Why outlaw occult practices specifically and fight that legal battle when there's no need?

Claiming some action is a religious practice doesn't automatically exempt a group from the law. Like all Constitutional rights, there are limits in actual practice. Current Supreme Court precedent includes the doctrine that while the freedom to believe is absolute, the freedom to act on those beliefs is not. And laws that don't single out particular religions don't need much justification to incidentally impose a burden on religious practices. (No human sacrifice allowed, for instance.) Narrower laws will require a "compelling interest" for the government to pass a law, that law judged with "strict scrutiny" by the Court. Naturally, you'll wind up with Supreme Court cases in the fringe areas. Naturally, you'll wind up with Supreme Court cases in the fringe areas.

So, the government is likely to avoid citing particular religions or practices just to avoid potential Constitutional issues. But more general and neutral laws are much more likely to survive challenge in court.
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Old 01-31-2020, 09:06 PM   #6
Anthony
 
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Default Re: a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

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Originally Posted by Lameth View Post
oh thats better. Right now on the world its being fought in the courts. Maybe it gets converted due to pressure into a more grounded "homeland security" add on law against these "cults" and "dark magic groups" that are using slavery, sex slaves, rape, incest, murder, and worse in their actions.
In general, the bad things you can do with magic are already illegal, though in some cases we might have trouble proving that the bad thing was actually done, so new standards of proof for magical assault, etc, would be a thing.
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Old 01-31-2020, 09:26 PM   #7
khorboth
 
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Default Re: a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

So, it may be helpful to read up on the satanic panic from the 1980s. It may have some insight for you.

I expect enforcement and court reactions would be very uneven. A state like Texas might aggressively hold suspects while New York would be more lenient even declaring "sanctuary". Federal court opinions may be mixed leading to injunctions which cover only some court districts rather than the whole nation.

And then there's the issue of "state's rights." Properly, this is not a federal issue, but one each state should regulate on its own. Some states would be passing their own laws and resenting federal overreach. The whole mess could well take months or years to sort out.
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Old 01-31-2020, 10:52 PM   #8
Lameth
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default Re: a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

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Originally Posted by khorboth View Post
So, it may be helpful to read up on the satanic panic from the 1980s. It may have some insight for you.

I expect enforcement and court reactions would be very uneven. A state like Texas might aggressively hold suspects while New York would be more lenient even declaring "sanctuary". Federal court opinions may be mixed leading to injunctions which cover only some court districts rather than the whole nation.

And then there's the issue of "state's rights." Properly, this is not a federal issue, but one each state should regulate on its own. Some states would be passing their own laws and resenting federal overreach. The whole mess could well take months or years to sort out.
My thoughts exactly. Satanic panic was an inspiration but bigger and with direct proof of the real existence of occult groups, just not true magic. Also people are really showing up dead or missing....they just don’t know it’s vampires, ghosts, fae, monsters and beasties. Also there are groups fueling this paranoia for their own insidious purposes. Also igniting the people are two big elements. The first is a former very popular priest, with his own tv show, in California, that is preaching hellfire and brimstone and this is the end...as well as there are cults, demon worshipers, witches, and satanist living next to you, hiding amounts us. The second is a bishop in new York who has been excumicated because of preaching on live tv that god is not real and there is only the empty cold universe that does not care about us, nad there is no hope. Secretly he is now servant of the elder old gods out in deep space.

So fear and paranoia is rampant. In the plot, This new law was meant to sow political issues as well as put fear in magical groups and endanger their secrecy. What happens when that real witch down the street is said to be a “cultist” and cops come to question her? Or that secret group of real wizards hidden away for 100s of years now have people paranoid around them that might report them for “acting odd, coming and going all hours, and are “cult like”? For thousands of years these supernatural groups have hidden away and used humanties blindness as a tool...but know people are looking and watching for wiredness and the strange to be good citizens.

Last edited by Lameth; 01-31-2020 at 10:59 PM.
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Old 01-31-2020, 11:58 PM   #9
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

It also depends on how powerful the magic is. Reverse Missiles is insanely powerful at TL 5+, especially if someone bites the bullet and gets level 25. Good luck arresting someone when they can shoot you but your own bullets come back to haunt you.
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Old 02-01-2020, 12:12 AM   #10
(E)
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: New Zealand.
Default Re: a New Law and its effect on a urban magic world

A couple of thoughts
Some existing cults might try to get rid of as many stereotypical trappings as possible to keep a lower profile. Corporate looking demonology anyone?

One issue that might go the other way, some sciences might have trappings that are misconstrued as magic. Sheldon white board for example.
Incidentally this was a genuine fear when the transits of Venus were being observed.
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