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Old 05-20-2009, 10:18 AM   #4
chaosprime
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Home MUD: Lost Souls
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Re: The Lost Cause of Magic

You might want to look into how magic is handled in George R.R. Martin's books. He definitely bucks what's been the dominant trend in fantasy novels for a while of having technicalized magic systems where you can pretty much hear the dice rolling. SoIaF magic is weird, threatening, and mysterious. When was the last time you saw those attributes to it?

One model that leaps to mind for magic that isn't effing boring is the (really very traditional) one where the magician has no innate power, rather all magic is performed by negotiating the services of spirits or similar agencies who have the powers required. This suggests a system where the cost of magic isn't measured in "spell points", but rather obligation; when you've called upon the services of some being for a while, you need to perform some services for it before it's going to help you out any more. Or possibly you'll have to prepay. Or possibly if you don't meet your obligations, their cost will be exacted from you whether you like it or not. "Some being" might be a faerie, a ghost, a demon, or "the North Wind" or "Winter" in a sufficiently animistic universe. A recent novel where magic works this way and is examined in some detail is .

Or, for more ideas, systems and models than you'll ever need, go out and grab a copy of .
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