[Magic] Development of Spell-based Magic through TL0

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Around the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic, mages of the genus Australopithecus and other higher primates begin using very simple, IQ/A or even IQ/E spells (still used by modern non-human Great Apes, and possibly other animals in the IQ 6-7 range), perhaps ceremonially; a few spells based on other attributes may have existed in this era.

It might be simplest in GURPS 4E to represent these sorts of magical powers as Perks or magic-based advantages which represent evolutionary precursors to actual Magery/ Power Investiture.

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Advancement would be quite through the Paleolithic and Mesolithic, as any time spent on learning spells was time that could not be spent on other things needed by the tribe, and job specialization beyond 'hunter or gatherer' was far more common in later eras than in this one.

Remember that small bands of people living in prime environments only need to spend a few hours each day foraging for food. That gives people lots of time to do other things, especially given that the idea of generating excess goods for purposes of advertising social status or for trade probably doesn't catch on until the Upper Paleolithic.

Magical rituals might also be incorporated into daily routines, such as chanting incantations while fishing or foraging.

Imbuements might be precursors to formal Enchantments.

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

First, specialization and what would otherwise be leisure time increase in this era, along with intellectual concepts like mathematics and proto-writing

Actually, there's good evidence that free time and quality of life actually dropped considerably for many neolithic farmers (and possibly pastoralists). The tradeoff was that agriculture allowed much higher population densities, but at the cost of poorer health and increased disease risk for most of the population.

The benefits of neolithic agricultural society for magic are a more settled lifestyle which allows better access to specialized magical equipment and places of magical power, as well as the rise of dedicated mages/priests who could just focus on their magical training.

Neolithic settlements might spring up near places of magical power in support of dedicated a priest/mage caste, like the communities associated with Stonehenge and associated "henges" in SW England.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

It might be simplest in GURPS 4E to represent these sorts of magical powers as Perks or magic-based advantages which represent evolutionary precursors to actual Magery/ Power Investiture.

Maybe. I mostly thought of IQ/A spells because they were introduced relatively recently, and IQ/E spells followed from that.

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

Remember that small bands of people living in prime environments only need to spend a few hours each day foraging for food. That gives people lots of time to do other things, especially given that the idea of generating excess goods for purposes of advertising social status or for trade probably doesn't catch on until the Upper Paleolithic.

I vaguely think that passed through my mind earlier, and then I forgot about it while typing it up. So, the number of spells per tribe could be larger in the Upper Paleolithic, then.

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

Magical rituals might also be incorporated into daily routines, such as chanting incantations while fishing or foraging.

Imbuements might be precursors to formal Enchantments.

Both good points.

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

Actually, there's good evidence that free time and quality of life actually dropped considerably for many neolithic farmers (and possibly pastoralists). The tradeoff was that agriculture allowed much higher population densities, but at the cost of poorer health and increased disease risk for most of the population.

The benefits of neolithic agricultural society for magic are a more settled lifestyle which allows better access to specialized magical equipment and places of magical power, as well as the rise of dedicated mages/priests who could just focus on their magical training.

OK, so I was wrong about part of why, but the Neolithic Magical Explosion is still plausible.

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

Neolithic settlements might spring up near places of magical power in support of dedicated a priest/mage caste, like the communities associated with Stonehenge and associated "henges" in SW England.

Yeah, I can see that. Also, the number of Neolithic henges in the British Isles is pretty impressive, even limiting it to the ones that survived long enough to enter history. Presumably, the more powerful magic sites would have larger populations around them, especially if they're stable and powerful (though a site or set of sites that vary in power in a predictable way would still be important, especially if there's a set of sites near each other that wax and wane at different times of the year, as perhaps at Stonehenge and Woodhenge).

[Prince Charon]

Expanding on the above a bit, what do you think the magical significance of Göbekli Tepe might have been in this setting? I mean, it's very old, very well-made for the era, large, and was in use for a long period. Probably a lot of work went into making it.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Expanding on the above a bit, what do you think the magical significance of Göbekli Tepe might have been in this setting?

I was thinking the same thing.

Ideas:

* It could be a place of power set on a Very High Mana Zone.

* It could be the source of some sort of portable magical energy like Paut or Ars Magica's "Vis".

* It could be a community of mages or other magical specialists, sustained by magic or by donations/gifts/tribute from non-mages in the surrounding area.

* It could be a community of non-humans who either shun humans or keep them as slaves or servants.

* It could be a community of ghosts, sustained by the link to their bones (which were buried beneath the floors of their former dwellings).

* It could be a place of sacrifice or worship, where magical power or effects are generated by various human activities.

* It could be the magical equivalent of a library where ancestral spirits abide. Would-be mages access ancestral magical knowledge by handling their ancestors' skulls, which are stored on site.

* It could be a prison where malign supernatural entities, or the spirits of evil mages, are imprisoned. The deliberate burial or destruction of some parts of the site could be parts of a containment or banishment rituals.