Common Magic for a TL3 Wuxia Fantasy Campaign

[Anders]

Fortifications of solid stone raised from the ground itself.

[ericthered]

This isn't an enchantment, but if move earth is extremely common, then canals for transportation become much easier to build.



For transportation magic, there are varying degrees of showiness you can use, from boats and carts that just mysteriously move forward to animated horses to sails that always have the breeze blowing the right way. I'm not sure what the right level for your game would be.



I've noticed your system seems light on ways to effect the body and mind. Is this intentional?

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Anders

Fortifications of solid stone raised from the ground itself.

That's a really good point too, Anders. Fortifications are likely to be a beast within the setting.

Originally Posted by ericthered

This isn't an enchantment, but if move earth is extremely common, then canals for transportation become much easier to build.

That's intentional - there is a huge canal that was made between two of the continents to fully separate them in the distant past. Terracing hills and mountains for farmland is another use of earth magic.

Originally Posted by ericthered

For transportation magic, there are varying degrees of showiness you can use, from boats and carts that just mysteriously move forward to animated horses to sails that always have the breeze blowing the right way. I'm not sure what the right level for your game would be.

Me either. That's why I'm trying to suss it out here.

Originally Posted by ericthered

I've noticed your system seems light on ways to effect the body and mind. Is this intentional?

Healing magic is water magic, while illusions and such are fire. What did you have in mind exactly?

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Kallatari

GURPS Thaumatology - Urban Magics gives a lot of things to consider when making a town or city in a magical world. It's generic to cover all TLs, but it should give you many ideas of what to incorporate.

But real quickly, I would say: water and sewers, waste disposal (disintegrate), light, heating, and food production/preservation/storage would be the primary concerns of a community writ large.

Then throw in transportation of cargo and communication as the next level.

All excellent suggestions! I'll take a gander at Urban Magics again see if it has anything useful.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice

Me either. That's why I'm trying to suss it out here.

Then what's cheaper to enchant per pound of cargo capacity? are we using metatronic generators, or something else? I'd think animated horses would be a weird choice, but is it cheaper to make the wind move, or to move the boat directly? Is it harder to enchant the boat because its heavier, or does size of the enchanted item make it more efficient?

Healing magic is water magic, while illusions and such are fire. What did you have in mind exactly?

Curing disease and infection is a long sought property of magic. If its water-based, a healing pool is a classic.

As is extending life expentancy, that seems best tied to a cup or something.

I was thinking that a chair, wall, or other oracle of truth (at least as the subject believes it) would be really useful to a ruler.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Then what's cheaper to enchant per pound of cargo capacity? are we using metatronic generators, or something else? I'd think animated horses would be a weird choice, but is it cheaper to make the wind move, or to move the boat directly? Is it harder to enchant the boat because its heavier, or does size of the enchanted item make it more efficient?

I'm using the base Sorcery magic item rules for now.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Curing disease and infection is a long sought property of magic. If its water-based, a healing pool is a classic.

Yeah, which is why I used Water as the healing element even though it's Yin-based. Thought I'm still not married to that exactly. I've considered making Wood the healing element.

Originally Posted by ericthered

As is extending life expentancy, that seems best tied to a cup or something.

Also true.

Originally Posted by ericthered

I was thinking that a chair, wall, or other oracle of truth (at least as the subject believes it) would be really useful to a ruler.

A classic.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I was thinking that a chair, wall, or other oracle of truth (at least as the subject believes it) would be really useful to a ruler.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the munchkiest of them all.

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice

"Witchlight" is basically this and something that I've been using in the campaign setting.

Even better if this "Witchlight" is not hot (ie. not liable to set buildings ablaze).

If such "cold light" is common and cheap, a city might even ban torches and in general only allow fire in ovens/stoves and furnaces.

Armies would obviously like access to the "(non-smoking) dark fire" counterpart, which would let them more easily conceal their size and location from enemies.

Edit:
In this setup, making "Witchlight" could even be extracting the light from a flame, thus producing both at the same time.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by WingedKagouti

Even better if this "Witchlight" is not hot (ie. not liable to set buildings ablaze).

If such "cold light" is common and cheap, a city might even ban torches and in general only allow fire in ovens/stoves and furnaces.

Armies would obviously like access to the "(non-smoking) dark fire" counterpart, which would let them more easily conceal their size and location from enemies.

Edit:
In this setup, making "Witchlight" could even be extracting the light from a flame, thus producing both at the same time.

I imagine they remove the heat from the fire and then capture the light in a sphere or crystal of some kind. I like the idea of banning torches in big cities. Though with the ability to work stone and wood and make it tougher via magic it might not be needed.

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice

I imagine they remove the heat from the fire and then capture the light in a sphere or crystal of some kind. I like the idea of banning torches in big cities. Though with the ability to work stone and wood and make it tougher via magic it might not be needed.

And then we come back to cost vs benefit.

If it is easier/cheaper to make "Witchlight" the lawmakers are more likely to lean towards banning open fires.

If it is easier/cheaper to "fireproof" the most important (according to whomever makes the laws) structures, open fires are less likely to be banned.

In any case a city that has experienced many houses burning down is more likely to lean towards no open fires if a safer option is available and affordable. Even if the leaders live in "fireproofed" houses.

And if it's relatively cheap to "fireproof" the entire city you're likely to have no consideration of a ban.

There's also a discussion of politics and influential families having people with either skillset, either directly in the family or as part of a family business.