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Old 03-01-2021, 12:00 AM   #6
kirbwarrior
 
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Dreamland
Default Re: Making science magic feel like science, not magic

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg 1 View Post
How do you make magic-like abilities feel more like applied science and less like magic?
My first response to that is "I question the premise of your query". A scientist recently was asked "when does your science stop feeling like magic?" and his response was "I take this dropper, I put a drop on this leaf, the leaf turns blue, I just saved thousands of lives. I know exactly how that happened and it is complete witchcraft." Science, especially now at the tail end of TL8, feels like magic. Even go back a few TLs and you're telling people they are getting sick because of near-incorporeal, near-invisible beings that can largely be avoided by washing your hands and general cleanliness in 'disease'. And if your go forward TLs, there's not much difference between 'magic" and 'science'. Further, 'psionics' actually has a lot of science and exactness put into it, so if by 'magic' you mean 'supernatural powers', then I feel psionics already is science magic.

As for an actual answer, the big difference between 'mundane science' and 'magic' I've seen from a conceptual point is that mundane is extremely inconvenient. Magic can enchant a carpet to fly, but a car has a ton of moving parts that must be maintained, fuel that has to be added to actually drive anywhere, someone with skill to actually pilot it, and all sorts of small things that can go wrong or must be accounted for (like waiting for a car to heat up in winter or having to worry about how strong your shocks are versus the environment you're on).

Secondarily, 'science' in IRL is 'tools' (like Saint said above). It's building yourself tools for more and more situations on the course to progress through theory. If 'magic' must come from tools, theory, and slow progress, then at a certain point it's not even magic anymore and merely science in fantasy physics. We might find it unrealistic that someone might have an automatic crossbow with sun-hot tips while they might go "What is gunpowder?"
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Originally Posted by cosmicfish View Post
While I do not think that GURPS is perfect I do think that it is more balanced than what I am likely to create by GM fiat.
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