The Stuff of Raw Magic

[DemiBenson]

What's your favorite word for the material form of pure magic? Vril? Vis? Quintessence? Flux?

Why do you like that word? What about it speaks to you?

[Dragondog]

What is "the material form of pure magic?"

[Mylon]

Originally Posted by Dragondog

What is "the material form of pure magic?"

Thaums, the study of raw magic being thaumaturgy.

A little nod to the Discworld, but it makes mages sound... Scientific.

[Anaraxes]

Does pure magic even have a material form?

[Randyman]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Does pure magic even have a material form?

Depends on the setting.

[Anaraxes]

That's my point. I could also quibble about the word "pure", but I won't :)

So in the best White Wolf tradition, you choose the word that lends feel and atmosphere to your setting.

[Jovus]

Now that you've said it, I like flux. Reminds me of Maxwell.

[D10]

I like to think of magic as the space between the atoms

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Mylon

Thaums, the study of raw magic being thaumaturgy.

A little nod to the Discworld, but it makes mages sound... Scientific.

As an aside, I've thought a little about measuring the magical damage bonus (permanent plus temporary) in grams. In Sagatafl, a +3 damage-per-Success bonus would be 1 gram. In GURPS, either Puissance +2 or +3 would equal 1 gram, depending on exactly how powerful +2 is in that system.

Not something I'll be doing in my Ärth setting. It's too silly. But it could work in a spoof-type setting, such as GURPS Dungeon Fantasy. Or in a fantasy genre short story written in the style of techno-thrillers.

(A magical weapon skill - or to-hit bonus - should of course have a different unit of measurement, but I'm not sure what it should be...)

[sgtcallistan]

Magic made material... I imagine something like a powerstone, a magical jewel or other great talisman.
A simple form might be any enchanted object, but the 'made of pure magic' form I feel would present itself as something perhaps the local standard of a magical thing.
Frex; a unicorn, a wellspring, a soulstone, a dryad, or a psi-crystal.

If they are useable as batteries to power magic spells (brute force) or act as foci for invoking greater powers (more subtle), I feel then it's a mattter of degree; what does possession grant the possessor?
If it's power, then it's a battery; if the result is enlightenment or furtherance of your aims, it's a focus.

Hope this is useful.