From: [M--O] at [infoboard.be] (mathew lowry) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.advocacy Subject: Fantasy Europe: IIA. Intro to Magic (LONG) Date: Sun, 28 May 1995 13:44:46 Summary: Strength of Magic in Fantasy Europe Fantasy Europe: IIA. Introduction to Magic PREFACE This posting and its sequels - IIB & IIC - follow on from my previous one (Fantasy Europe: I. Introduction). They explore in more detail one of the issues raised in that article - the 'introduction' of magic into European history to create a potentially limitless series of 'Fantasy Europe' campaigns. As always, I'm hanging out for comments, criticisms and helpful suggestions. The treatment of Magic is split for reasons of length - this one introduces the subject and the possible 'strength' magic could have. Basically, I need some ideas for the 'power levels' for magic which allow it to be safely integrated into Fantasy Europe without disturbing the balance of society too much. This, more than anywhere else, is where I'd like suggestions and peer review! HOW POWERFUL CAN MAGIC BE? To integrate magic into European history to create a Fantasy Europe campaign there's only one rule - the magic should not alter *too much* the society or balance of power (economic, political, demographics) that actually existed in Europe. If it does, the usefulness of all that historical material would be destroyed - one of your players is certain to say 'If Charlemagne really had access to Level 8 fireball he'd ...' (fill in the blank). On the other hand, perhaps you *can* have fireballs, as long as you make sure that the other side had some way of counterbalancing them on the battlefield. But if combat magic reached such a high level, wouldn't other forms of magic reached the same strength? It may prove quite tricky to square all the circles which would crop up. So what sort of magic would have changed society? Let's do the easy stuf first... EASY 'Big Magic' - Consider shapeshifting, flight, teleport, raise the dead, etc etc. They would not affect much if you limit their effect to the sorcerer/priest/shaman casting the spell. This is magic which, although major in effect to the caster, will not change society unless it can be cast on huge scales - flying armies over the Alps, causing earthquakes, etc. Keep it, or the casters, rare and nothing much changes. So, no huge colleges of sorcerers moving mountains. Maybe they could do it if the church would let them ... society can help you limit excesses in magic. Combat Spells? ('Take That You Fiend', Bladesharp III, Shields, etc). Not my favourite type of spell personally, but obviously would have been pretty popular with the generals. I actually don't see these being a problem, because appropriate defensive spells would have been developed in parallel, neutralising any history-changing effects on the battlefield. Yes? Demonology? If there were sorcerers or diabolists summoning demons, how much difference would that have made to the big picture? Probably not much if you kept it to isolated incidents. Balance it with priests calling Angels. Agricultural Magic (Bless/Blight Crops, etc): would have been very popular, an integral part of society. To ensure that it doesn't change European history too much, simply say that 'natural' soil fertility was actually lower than it was. Then say that these soil fertility spells work, and integrate the rituals into the society, boosting soil fertility to the levels it actually was. Make 'super-boosting' either impossible through the rules of either the magic system or the society. Does that work? Heat/Light: Make the creation of heat and light more difficult with magic than with burning wood. TOUGHIES - Healing is a tough one. Healing magic, logically speaking, would have been very popular if it was at all possible. What would this mean to European history? Would the Plague have happened if the priests If you make healing difficult, *why* is it difficult - where there's a demand ... Who has healing? How do they dispense it - what would happen if only the rich had healing? Or if all armies had it? Alchemy: If someone found the Philospher's Stone it just might change the balance of economics! But if someone did do this, would they flood the market? Not if they had any sense. Again, make it difficult. And moreover, make it temporary. - Truth: 'Spot Lie' is a common spell in many FRGs, probably only because noone's really thought of the consequences. Can you imagine the difference that would make? The entire spectrum on human activity would alter, from petty theft to marriage to state-toppling conspiracies. It would have to be countered by other magic, but that would probably be considered as evil or diabolic ... help. Any help with the toughies? Any other spell types I've forgotten? Answering these questions helps define the limits of magic. From the preliminary ideas above, it seems necessary to make really significant magic quite difficult and temporary. Teaming up in large groups of priests/sorcerers should not be useful. The trump card in limiting magic's effects on European society, however, is the Church, which could limit the 'excesses' of sorcery and (perhaps) pagan magic more than any Rules of Magic you may care to develop. You could even say that the Romans flocked to Christianity because they had seen the danger of their style of magic. Most countries these days don't believe in allowing citizens easy access to dangerous weapons - maybe the Church provided greater social stability than a society based on sorcery?