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Old 01-07-2019, 10:12 AM   #47
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: [MH] Caribbean by Night

I'm curious...

This lack of magic functioning. How often has it happened before? Is this the first time? Is the return of magic something that can be predicted?

If there is a Divine aspect to all things, does the aspect of Divine miracles preclude a prophet from being able to function in the absence of mana?

Is it possible that the Church knows more than it is letting on?

In this campaign universe, are there others who hold deific powers where they too might know of the coming "dry spell(s)" and the return of magic that they might provide for the future dry spell and preserve knowledge and capabilities?

One thing that might be worth mentioning, that if the Church is in this for the long haul - it would have evolved something rather subtle in dealing with those who might traffic in magic.

For instance, accumulating vast historical treasures over time, it wouldn't be hard to create a false primer of magic with just enough information in it to mostly fail. This has a two fold effect on making reliable magic less reliable - after all, the spells do not work as constructed in the first place. It would discourage anyone from wasting any further time exploring magic. And secondly, because it does have a few germs of truth in it, someone who could actively practice magic might be able to make magic function despite the inherent flaws. Either way, the church, by knowing what book stores are actively buying their books, at least get an idea of where an "infection of people interested in magic" might be starting up.

But then it gets even nicer from their point of view - if they are also a supplier of material that are used in spell casting. With two sources of intel to cross reference - sales of books and sales of material components, they may have the ability to cross reference information for even better accuracy. Best of all they need not act on the information just to see whether or not the person is moving about, remaining stationary or what have you.

Now, what if Magic works best with certain materials? What if the inherent properties of metals and/or ingredients are such that the church begins to seek a monopoly on those things? Many assume that gold and silver being hoarded by the Church might actively be a sign of corruption. Maybe it is, but what if there was a strategic reason towards the hoarding of certain things that transcends "greed"?

Just as the sources of evil might try to infiltrate the system for the creation of priests and other personnel connected to the church, so too might the church infiltrate those that are aligned towards evil. Sometimes one uses a fire to fight fire. In the act of fighting fire with fire, perhaps evil manages to take a deeper hold in the fight along the lines of wrestling with a pig - it only makes you and the pig dirty.
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