Post by tetramorph on Jun 2, 2015 19:19:11 GMT -5
Imagine nested spheres of reality with the physical plane as the lowest and the only one consciously occupied by characters. Imagine the spheres of the heavens as themselves the merely physical manifestation and living symbols of intelligible planes of pure form, the highest of which is the astral plane, down to the lowest above the earthly, the ethereal plane. The very elements of earth are formed from the interaction of prime material and these intelligible forms. Heaven and earth are one. Heaven manifests in the earthly, the earth participates in heavenly forms.
Thus alchemy and astrology are, at their highest theoretical levels, one science with one fundamental principle: “as above, so below.” Thus the same symbols are used for astrological and alchemical realities, and these correspond to one another: the sun and gold, the moon and silver, Mercury and quicksilver, stars and gems, etc. This cosmological knowledge forms the foundation of spell-based or arcane magic. But mere book-knowledge is not enough. The mage must pass through initiations into the mysteries of the unity of heaven and earth that they may gain personal familiarity and not mere data. The mage must know and “feel” astrological positions and “constellations,” in the richest sense, which is to say the particular formations in the heavens at any given moment, together with the ritual manipulation of the proper earthly, alchemical elements. The proper ritual action unites the two and causes cross-planar “resonance,” which opens out prime material from these basic elements and reshapes them according to the spells prescribed “form.” Within and related to these two fundamental arcane disciplines of astrology and alchemy are those of geomancy, numerology, herbology, the interpretation of signs and oracles, knowledge of legend and lore, flora and fauna and especially knowledge of “words of power,” and their written forms, “runes.”
Nothing occurs within the physical sphere until it manifests a pattern or form from one of the higher, intelligible spheres. In a certain fundamental sense, all actions and events in the lives of characters are affected by patterns and events within higher spheres of reality. While an easy enough notion to grasp, the full implications and, more to the point, applications of this truth are available only to those initiated into its mystery, such as arcane magi.
Spells possess two key events: the ritual preparation and its final physical manifestation. These two phases of an arcane spell represent the fundamental principle behind the adventuring mage’s capacity to prepare spells for later execution “in the field.” For low-level magi attempting higher levels spells, and for any non-magic-using character attempting magic, the manifestation immediately follows the ritual performance. Only magi who have been initiated and trained are capable of separating these two phases of action from one another.
By “preparing” a spell, the mage performs the ritual aspect of the spell that “sets up” the desired intelligible pattern on a higher plane. Once the caster utters the words or runes of power and makes the appropriate “signature” gestures the spell's effect manifests on the physical plane. This is what one means by “casting a spell.” The spell has already been performed. Through words or runes of power, its physical manifestation is now “cast” into actuality. The “mold” is “broken,” and the new “object,” or, rather, event, is now “cast” in physical form. Once “cast,” the spell is complete and no longer available. The mage must “set it up again,” through a renewed ritual preparation.
Arcane magi must therefore undergo powerful and mind-altering ritual initiations into cosmic mysteries: many of which they themselves do not comprehend in a discursive way, but only “know” in the sense of almost bodily familiarity. The mind-altering aspect of arcane magic demands a saving throw against insanity for those who have not been initiated and the corresponding game mechanic is that of saving throws or higher-level spells and magi requiring no less than average intelligence.
As with many things in this campaign, I wanted an approach to magic that any character could attempt. But there is always a price for valuable things. On the one hand, a character might go insane. On the other, a magic spell that goes awry could be as dangerous as nuclear reaction! So magic comes with costs. But these costs are different for men than for fay. For human characters, arcane magic costs mental effort, time and resources, which is to say, money. For fay characters such as elves and dwarves and sometimes even human “bards,” this cost is less tangible and more personal. Fay casters cast by their inherent nature as fay, and not through arcane knowledge or initiations. Elves “learn” a spell, within their person, once they find out that such a spell is possible, through deep inner meditation. After this period of contemplation they recall the spell forever, but at the cost of much “vital essence” (XP). Each time they cast a spell, they must pour their own, personal fay into its manifestation, causing them to loose much “energy” (HP).
In a certain sense, then, there is no “magic,” in this campaign setting. Only Chaotic clerics and necromancers conjure and invoke “magic” in its modern connotation. Neutral and Lawful magic use is more like harmonizing with the fundamental nature of things than like super or preternatural powers – although it would seem like such, like Frodo’s conversation with Galadriel. The infamous point that one culture’s technology is another culture’s magic assumes that magic is technology-like. In this campaign setting, magic is more like art than craft, more like wisdom than science.
And this also explains the waning of magic and fay. At one time, this art and wisdom would have been far more wide spread and come much more naturally to the races of earth. Just as an artist perceives forms and patterns in unique ways and can even bring new patterns into the world, and just as an artist has subtle skills in working with various media, so too the ancient masters of magic were like artists who from their own imagination could bring forth new things into the physical world through subtle skills with the prime material in all things. In this context, the making of “magic items” would have been similar to a carpenter building a chair. Hence there are a great number of magic items, but they are also quite antique. For the aging of the world means the waning of fay and with it the wisdom and arts that unlock the hidden power in all things. Fay creatures, and especially elves, may no longer simply “sing” their cities into existence. They must purchase their magic-use at grave costs to themselves. They no longer even excel the magic use of men in capacity and power. Magi maintain the ancient initiations and mysteries, mumbling ancient formulas now long since intelligible even to themselves. They “paint by number” repeating the ancient magnum opi discovered and passed down. Only the most powerful wizards can divine new spells through research. And only a dying few can dance out new magical forms by intuition and true knowing.
