[Jade Stage] Request: Be a mage, wreck reality. Please?

[Lmns Crn]

Okay, some of you have seen that I've been working hard on magic issues on the wiki lately. Not everything is final, and a little bit of the fluff behind the various traditions is still incomplete, but I'm really feeling like it's more or less presentable now.

So, I'm ready to ask you folks to give it the daydream test.

Here's the thing:

Take a look at the five main traditions of magic posted on the main wiki magic page: Sorcery, Farras, Irasi, Kudan mysticism, and hen-gan. Now, imagine you're a mage of that tradition. What are you going to do with your supernatural powers?

I tried to design these powers with the creativity and flexibility of players in mind. I want them to be broad and general enough to give creative players the ability to come up with cool applications of them. So, I what interesting uses of magic you folks can come up with. At this point, mechanics and restrictions are deliberately sparse, so go nuts.

Some starting questions to consider?
- How would your magic get used in your daily life, or in your job?
- Can you bend it towards any clever get rich quick schemes, or world domination plots?
- What can it do to help you in a fight against a skilled warrior, or a squadron of peons, or a mage of a different tradition?
- How are you going to set up your lab/sanctum/library/dojo/other place of work or residence?

Basically, I want to get an idea of how this stuff would work in the context of a game or a narrative, and what needs further elaboration, more powers, or stricter clarification.

Thanks in advance, and enjoy the arcane manipulations of reality. Let me know what you can come up with.

[sparkletwist]

Ooh. I'm going to approach each of these from the standpoint of an evil character seeking personal gain/world domination/just to be a pain in the posterior, because, well, it's fun to do that.  :D

:yumm:

Sorcery
My immediate thought with Sorcery when thinking about its "academic" quality and its blending of magic and science is a sort of less whimsical Harry Potter. It's a darker, more stoic magical academy where people train and study the black arts. I see sorcerers as having a somewhat "19th century" view of the world, where everything that can be known will eventually be known (and we are very far along that road), everything is logical, and progress is unstoppable. My character's plot for world domination in this setting would be inspired by Final Fantasy, either 3/6 and its Magitek or 7 and its Mako Reactors... magic is a real, harnessable force. Magic does not require a human mind to weave it, and beyond mere artifacts, entire "magical machines" could be build. The radical visionaries might be trying to bring about a sort of "atomic age" using Magic. That is to say, they would be trying to use its principles to unleash a form of energy more powerful and terrible than anyone could previously imagine. I would also see a truly devout practitioner of Sorcery seeing all other magical disciplines as just superstitions, and quite convinced that with enough careful study and analysis, they could all be proven (mathematically and scientifically of course) to actually just be subdisciplines of Sorcery itself.

Irasi
The first thing I thought of here was wire-fu. Or the Matrix. Or the Jedi Knight charging into laser fire with only a glowing sword... you get the idea. Magic doesn't manifest itself in the form of any magic missiles or ooky psychic powers, but you just become a complete and utter badass. Batman supposedly doesn't have any real "super powers," but I think he actually has this one. To me, this aspect is so cool I'd actually downplay the "fire" aspect of it, to keep the focus somewhat unified. Perhaps to add some more "overt" power, something like telekinesis could work better, and (to me) ties in nicely with "Wind Weaving." I picture a lithe sort of girl, lightly armored, with a sword in each hand, facing down a seemingly impossible number of enemies. They think this is going to be easy, how tough could she be? Of course, but when they try to charge into battle, they're met with a twisting, spinning vortex of blows that they can't possibly hit anything in the meantime. This character's plan for world domination involves just beating up enough to people until he or she is at the top of the heap, and great power in this discipline seems like that can make it happen.  

Kudan Mysticism
This makes me think of the archetype of the "wise old wizard." There can be a good deal of power here, but it's subtle, and has more to do with boosting other people's abilities than directly using his own abilities. Still, of course, the others would not be able to succeed without him, so he takes his place as the overall leader of them all. I see an interesting compliment to Sorcery in this one. Where Sorcery is the "science" of magic, Kudan Mysticism is the "humanities" of it. It seems like it, too, can be attentively studied and exhaustively researched, but not quite as rigorously. Instead, an intuitive understanding must be reached, as all things are flexible. Everything is based upon the ancestors and of course ultimately the supreme power of the Cho, after all, so it's foolish to try to reduce things too much to laws and formulas. Beyond a certain level, everything, like the Cho, simply is. Using this particular aspect of magic for world domination would involve trying to tap into this great power at the root of all things, I think. I'd also see my evil-doer's research wandering into some of the darker, more forbidden areas: expanding the use of the Quickening to create more stable undead, for example.

Farras
I'm reminded of a character I used to play a long time ago. It was a rather freeform game, and the powers of this character are best described as a sort of ice mage. (The character was a bit of a sub-zero knockoff, admittedly, but the abilities described here immediately made me think of him) To me, the obvious connection between water and living souls is some protective ability, to turn oneself into a mist to avoid harm. This would definitely be a power my character would have-- it would have to be used carefully so as not to cause one's life essence to get spread out past the point of being able to reconstitute one's physical body, of course. My ice mage was rather loud and brash, and the word "goblin" gives me connotations of the same (though I have not read up on your specific portrayal of them, so I could be totally wrong!), so this tradition seems an excellent fit for him. The character would be bold, aggressive, but not necessarily reckless. He might not be overtly evil, but more selfish. He had quite an ego, and I can this working into the concept of "intangible gifts" quite nicely, demanding boosts to it.

hen-gan
I like this one. I have a general feeling that magic should generally (and in general) not involve large glowing explody rays shooting out of people's fingers. I mean, it's fine once in a while, but, to use another Star Wars analogy, the reason it was so cool the Emperor could shoot lightning was that nobody else could, you know? When stupid Count Dooku was able to, too, well... that's why the prequels sucked. Anyway. I like this tradition. I picture a rather slender, black haired woman, with a demanor best described as "sultry." She would speak slowly, deliberately, and in a somewhat quizzical fashion. Misleading and misdirecting with her words would be just a matter of course, and when her words wouldn't suffice, her powers would step in. She would not be a ruler, but rather, the power behind the ruler-- there's no need to be king if the king does exactly what you say. Doing the dirty work is for other people! She would, ideally, want as few people as possible to even know who she was. I'm sure some extension of this power would help with that, too. The "Mask of many strands" matches an ability I thought up before I'd read it, so it seems like with this character concept I was definitely thinking along the same lines as you were when you created the magical tradition. It just seems so natural for her to not care so much about being seen, as such, as long as she's not "noticed." With its reliance on feelings and thoughts, I could see hen-gan as the natural opposite to Sorcery. While Sorcery posits everything can be analyzed and explained, a truly devout practitioner of hen-gan would likely try to reduce everything to brief thoughts that carry with them many varied connotations. Various "eastern" forms of expression like koan, haiku, etc. come to mind, in stark contrast to the "19th century European" outlook of Sorcery.


 

[Scholar]

this sounds like fun. i'll take the hen-gan and look and my daily lfe, if i was evil and exploitative.

-what i would do:
knowing everything someone thinks is fun during finals: "hey prof, can you look at this?" he'll look and even if doesn't answer, he'll think about wether my answer is right or not.
on the other hand: party time! you could get any woman you want when you play to her likes. or you just make her do what you want.
who needs a job when you can just walk up to the cashier at the bank and say "hey there. lots of money you got here. how bout you give me 10000 in unmarked bills and forget you ever saw me?"
-fighting:
just force your opponent to forget about you, make him turn on his allies or force him to kill himself. can't get at the enemy mage? dominate his best friend and make him stab the spellslinger in the back. happy times.^^
or if someone is more powerful than me, i could force some peasants to think i was their long lost favourite son and use them as a meat shield. also works on other wizards.

i think of all kinds of magic, thought control is the most insidious and powerful. sure, you can't raze entire cities, but you can make other people do it and have THEM take the blame!
-sanctum:
rich decor, antiquities, works of art. servants and many many books. after all, if i can get anything, why not enjoy myself?^^
(this is exactly what one of the mage lords in my setting does. that's why i knew at once what to write. not that i think much about world domination...^^)

[psychoticbarber]

I'm going to write specifically about Kudan Mysticism.

 How would I use this in my everyday life, or my job?

I probably wouldn't, much. Sparkletwist mentioned the Jedi in reference to the Irasi tradition, but I think it applies more here. I think with wisdom and experience, one uses one's power less and one's wits more. I read that in a Star Wars book, I think.

 Get Rich Quick/World Domination Plots

I don't really personally feel that the Kudanites (I don't know your word for Mages in the Kudan Tradition) are really set up to get rich quick. They're not really set up to do anything quickly. They are, however, set up to take over the world by long, slow, quiet conquest, of the sort that nobody ever sees until it's already upon them. Information is the currency of the elite.

 Skilled Warrior/Group of Peons/Mage of another tradition

Against a single skilled warrior, the patience and endurance is useful much in the same way that Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman: He stood there and took it until Foreman got too tired to fight back.

Against a group of peons, the powers of endurance and patience are equally important, though the tactics are more suited to waiting for the appropriate opportunity, rather than outlasting your opponents.

Against a mage of another tradition, it is the patience and the knowledge that will prevail.

 Place of Residence

I imagine as being a place of quiet contemplation, comfortable and reserved.

[Lmns Crn]

Thanks, you three. This is just the sort of mental working-through that I was hoping for. I'm going to reply to a couple of things, and hope that I don't squash the discussion-in-progress.

this sounds like fun. i'll take the hen-gan and look and my daily lfe, if i was evil and exploitative.

The "Mask of many strands" matches an ability I thought up before I'd read it, so it seems like with this character concept I was definitely thinking along the same lines as you were when you created the magical tradition. It just seems so natural for her to not care so much about being seen, as such, as long as she's not "noticed."[/quote]With its reliance on feelings and thoughts, I could see hen-gan as the natural opposite to Sorcery. While Sorcery posits everything can be analyzed and explained, a truly devout practitioner of hen-gan would likely try to reduce everything to brief thoughts that carry with them many varied connotations. Various "eastern" forms of expression like koan, haiku, etc. come to mind, in stark contrast to the "19th century European" outlook of Sorcery.[/quote]Here, again, is a fascinating comparison. I guess I don't have any kind of "eastern" analogue in my setting at all, unless it has snuck in without my knowledge, so it's interesting that you should come to that conclusion.

[sparkletwist]

This is pretty much right in line with the images I had in mind, with the possible exception of the magic/technology link. (Despite the current topic of conversation, I'm keeping magic comparatively subtle-- Final Fantasy is not what I'm shooting for.)

Part of my problem that I think is hindering my understanding is that I have a pretty one-sided view of the boru, the culture that calls Kudan mysticism its own. I try to see everybody from both sides, but I can't get past this idea of the boru as "good guys," who live in natural harmony, etc.[/quote]
Does your campaign, generally speaking, have absolute good and bad guys, or is it foggier? If it's one of those fantasy worlds where the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad, there is of course no problem with this. :D

[Lmns Crn]

Something like Sorcery seems fundamentally different. I'm thinking more like a prestigious academy, and part of mainstream society. Sort of the "Royal Society" of mages. It's completely opposite to the goofy, underground take on spellcasting the Potter books take.

Well, it all depends on what you mean by "subtle." A lot of the technology in our lives nowadays is pretty subtle, but it would be some pretty gee-whiz stuff to someone from the 17th century who'd never seen anything like it. There's always the possiblity that magic has become like that, especially with Sorcery-- it's not that it's less impressive, people have just gotten used to it.[/quote]So, what's wrong with adapting Irasi along those lines?
One thought could be that their powers only boost their speed, strength, and such to a certain degree, and they still need weapons to cause any decent amount damage. Granted, this would sort of reduce the value of the nonmagical "brute force" fighter, so I guess how far you want to go with this depends on whether you want to run a world where there are nonmagical types, or one where all PCs have some sort of spooky mind powers. (part of what makes them special enough to be PCs, I guess!)[/quote]Does your campaign, generally speaking, have absolute good and bad guys, or is it foggier?[/quote]Way, way foggy. :yumm:

[Nomadic]

Ok well I just took a look so I am going to start from the top and take a crack at it (hope you don't mind).

Sorcery

How would your magic get used in your daily life, or in your job?
From what I see of sorcerers they seem like they take their study quite seriously. I actually can see them with their nose in a book throughout the day. This might get them labeled as bookworms of a sort. I do see them practicing their magic in their daily life in order to improve it. Perhaps a master will have an apprentice dust a room with a feather duster... but he isn't allowed to move it with anything but his mind.

Can you bend it towards any clever get rich quick schemes, or world domination plots?
Sorcery is such that I can see a sorcerer who has broken away from the order making a great con man. Using magic he can manipulate all kinds of cons to always be in his favor. And if someone has found him out his perception and his powers mean that he can get safely away before he is caught. For world domination I see a sorcerer as the type that studies his potential enemies and then enacts an elaborate plot, taking them down one by one as he rises the chain of power. Eventually he is on top of the heap, with his powers protecting him from would-be assassins.

What can it do to help you in a fight against a skilled warrior, or a squadron of peons, or a mage of a different tradition?
Well for one their sharpened senses would be invaluable in helping them avoid sneak attacks and ambushes. Not to mention dodging ranged weapons would become a viable option for an experienced sorcerer. Against a group of peons it would be similar. It would take both more and less skill though. Peons wouldn't have the combat experience of a trained fighter, but there would be alot more of them to keep track of. As to a magician of a different tradition I see a sorcerer lashing out with their mental disrupting attacks and using their polarized lines to cut off magic from the other and draw it towards them.

How are you going to set up your lab/sanctum/library/dojo/other place of work or residence?
A sorcerer would most certainly have a large library of books oriented towards the teaching of magic. Their more scientific approach to magic and their ordered libraries would likely place them in the large cities where they could best recruit new members and find supplies for their place of residence. I see sorcerers in these cities as having some form of influence on the local politics because of their powers of perception and the vast knowledge they have accumulated.

Farras
How would your magic get used in your daily life, or in your job?
I see these magicians as the fortune tellers and witch doctors. I could see them offering such services to people. Reading fortunes, talking to spirits, doing other strange things that might unsettle or amaze most people.

Can you bend it towards any clever get rich quick schemes, or world domination plots?
Most certainly. You could make a great deal of money becoming the personal magician of a wealthy noble, charging money instead of intangible gifts. As for world domination I see them using their magic to help but using their minds and their speech to influence. A practitioner of Farras might take on the role of mighty messiah, using his powers to perform "miracles" and inspiring the populace to rise up and put him into power, throwing down the "corrupt oppressing" government.

What can it do to help you in a fight against a skilled warrior, or a squadron of peons, or a mage of a different tradition?
I am not sure it is so much designed for combat. They seem more like the person who uses politics and mind games to come out on top. But as magic users they do have some useful abilities for combat. I see them summoning spirit guardians to help fight off attackers of all shapes and sizes. By speaking with spirits they might discover someone who is out to hurt them and call down a curse, weakening them. On the open sea I see them as truly devastating. A masterful Farras could sink an entire enemy fleet with enough concentration. Making these people invaluable assets in naval warfare. I could see a couple of these duking it out mentally in the middle of a pitched ship to ship battle, each attempting to sink the other while also trying to prevent the other from sinking them.

How are you going to set up your lab/sanctum/library/dojo/other place of work or residence?
I see these as more of loners. They have a small house, or a tent. They might have an apprentice or two, but for the most part remain to themselves. They would be the fortune teller tents sitting along the marketplaces, only interacting with people when they come in to ask for a favor.

Irasi
How would your magic get used in your daily life, or in your job?
I see them like the description says, as bodyguards and soldiers. Using their powers they could defend prominent figures from assassination attempts, while on the battlefield their powers would allow them to eat through entire battalions of soldiers.

Can you bend it towards any clever get rich quick schemes, or world domination plots?
I could see them becoming mercenaries of great renown. A powerful enough Irasi who broke off from the military would become a greatly sought after commodity by various nobles looking for personal guards or captains for their troops. As for world domination plots, not so much. Sure they could kill alot of people, but I cant see even a master Irasi lasting forever against a vast army by himself. Perhaps they could assassinate their way into power, but I am not sure how likely that would be.

What can it do to help you in a fight against a skilled warrior, or a squadron of peons, or a mage of a different tradition?
These guys are the best equipped to fight off non-magic users. They would pretty much carve through another fighter or a group of peons like they weren't even there. Against a magic user though, with their lack of defense they would assume an aggressive defence, looking to take them out before they can use magic.

How are you going to set up your lab/sanctum/library/dojo/other place of work or residence?
For the most part I see them as being in personal rooms or tents in the palaces and military camps. They would be commanders of soldiers and overseers of the protection of royals. The rare mercenary though might have a house of his own, out and hidden away from the general population.

Kudan Mysticism
How would your magic get used in your daily life, or in your job?
These are similar to the Farras. However their role as leaders and elders would change the perspective they are viewed in. Playing the part of advisers to the people. Their powers of healing and strengthening would also make them natural doctors for the tribe.

Can you bend it towards any clever get rich quick schemes, or world domination plots?
For a Kudan Mystic looking to make money I see them selling their services. I am sure their runes of earth would be sought after by many warriors, as would their quickening. Their runes of bone would also make them much sought after healers. They could use all of this to make a great deal of money. As for world domination plots, I could see them leading bands of warriors, looking to take down enemy forces piece by piece. Their gifts of strength making their soldiers virtual juggernauts. They would eat away at the enemy forces and then mop up what was left with one final sweep, all before marching in and taking control of the now helpless opponent.

What can it do to help you in a fight against a skilled warrior, or a squadron of peons, or a mage of a different tradition?
Their ancestral patience would make them capable of holding up against all types of attackers. Where they really shine though is when in the presence of other fighters. The warriors doing the fighting, but the mystic empowering them, making them far deadlier.

How are you going to set up your lab/sanctum/library/dojo/other place of work or residence?
Pretty simple here, I see them as an integral part of the community. Setting up their tent near the tribes place of meeting where anyone is free to come and ask wisdom from them.

Hen-gan
How would your magic get used in your daily life, or in your job?
These guys are spy material through and through. Their powers enable them to be masters of disguise and to listen in on all sorts of conversations. They would be espionage and counter-espionage agents working for all manner of people in need of discovering or hiding things.

Can you bend it towards any clever get rich quick schemes, or world domination plots?
Most definately. A Hen-gan could use their powers to glean information with which to uncover all kinds of treasure. Discovering a nobles dark secret could lead to blackmailing. Uncovering where a person keeps their valuables as well. Hen-gan would also make excellent con men, pawning off useless trinkets that have been made to seem highly valuable for great deals of money. As to world domination I can see them using their powers to worm their way into the workings of the nobles and royals. They would become the puppeteer and the rulers their puppets.

What can it do to help you in a fight against a skilled warrior, or a squadron of peons, or a mage of a different tradition?
It can't help you fight directly against anyone, however it can show you who is hostile and thus let you avoid conflicts.

How are you going to set up your lab/sanctum/library/dojo/other place of work or residence?
I don't think they would set up living quarters any differently then a normal person. They seem to be the type to hide their powers from others by blending into the normal crowd.