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Yeah sure. I'm not familiar with a lot of D&D stuff because I never got into tabletop. Their structures work well though.

We could discuss all different types of magic (schools of) here, or would anyone be interested in a subforum entirely about magic?

Never really played FF, so... sweatdrop

But if crystals don't count, isn't there a lot of variations of magic that don't as well? Like D&D magic - D&D is pretty old as well, after all, and the magic system well-used.

Magick is, according to Oxford's Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the verb for doing magic. I've also seen magic spelled as magik, and some fantasy books use magi instead of mages (rather funny since magi is magic in Norwegian). I don't quite see the need either.

I found a rather interesting essay today by Brandon Sanderson, about magic systems. Well, his first "law" of magics. It's a bit too long to quote, so I'll just provide a link here.

'Tis an interesting read. I have to agree with him; if your magic has no rules, you really shouldn't use it to solve problems. No rules equals no limits, no limits equals Deus Ex Machina. Magic like that is really great as a tool for chaos, though. Fun!

I'm not sure exactly where my magic is on the continuum. Most likely 60-70% hard magic. I have a lot of rules yet I also have a second (illegal and mostly forgotten) magic system where the possibilities are practially endless. My world is still fairly young so magic hasn't been thoroughly researched yet, either.

Ok, where were we on this topic? Revival time!

My thoughts on magic are similar to Mel's second to last part: Magic being a part of an individual's soul to be drawn into use at any moment of need. I've always thought, though, that this use did not always guarantee success in the usage, and that intelligence and wisdom in the precise ways of |Magic in all its forms gained not only a deeper intuition, but deeper fluency with it, like the thing was a language. Only time could bring potential, and training.

Not only that, but the magic is stretched into everything surrounding us: trees, soil, storms, fire, and even a person's anatomy. One need only connect their own reserve of Magic with that of what's around them (already imbued into the object at the moment of natural creation) so the magic can be shaped to fit their own desires and needs.

I won't argue that point: my inspiration was drawn from the Force. It was how the idea formed, but like any individualist, I wanted a personal touch, that difference being influence from the Superior Lord (or God). Magic had to come from somewhere; logic states that one can not create something from nothing, and that something can not simply disappear entirely from existence. So the Magic has to come from some unknown source, and my belief is that the source is this world we live in, at its own natural creation.

To address the other topic, that people could not be born without Magic, I want to believe that at every natural creation a bit of that Magic is stretched into the created thing, but I'm struggling with discovering some reason why some being would be born without its promised reserve. I can imagine the consequences (colorlessness, in other words, a stark white appearance), but the reason escapes me. Some fate that would befall the person had they possessed Magic, perhaps, or dislike of the individual being created, but neither entirely make enough sense. Magic is a gift. The Superior Lord gave it to us as a permanent aspect, emphasis on permanent. Why he would choose to so lightly take it away from a singular individual right at their creation is, if I may say so, uncaring. Spontaneity of the Magic, perhaps, since it is its own separate entity with no true ruler.

I have no game system of any kind (and am rather glad of this), and have never played any Final Fantasy. The Magic imbued into the world's minerals alone, you say. Does this mean only select individuals can harness the powers in the crystals, or are they available to all with a desire to gain access?

I had a similar thought as yours on the topic of Magic being only available to a certain percentage of the world's population, and also the possibility of civilians disbelieving in it, even fearing/hating those who used it for their own gains (thus giving birth to prejudice, rebellions, revolutions, civil wars, etc.). I actually rather liked the idea at first. The only thing that persuaded me against using it was its often usage, but then again, the idea of Magic belonging to everyone is also fairly used.

Okay... I'm attempting to put your thoughts in other words. Tell me if I screw this up at all.

Magic is its own sentient being that requires training to know what it needs to do for each individual user, as if each person has their own section of Magic. (Or, to use your analogy, each person has their own pet that the individual must train to perform tricks or act obediently all in order to please their master.) After this is where our opinions split off if I'm correct. You're saying that our essence is "anchored" to Magic, rather than the Magic being spread to fill us, and that lack of training, I'm guessing here, forces that "anchoring" to lessen and the individual's soul to drift apart, or at least become weaker? In this case, it becomes similar to athletic training (running for example). If the runner fails to keep up with his/her exercises then, predictably, their fitness level is going to significantly decrease. On the other hand, the athlete who dedicates themselves to running, who goes out for training every day, becomes significantly stronger than the former. Other factors would play into this as well: mindset, life-style, inherited genes, and of course a trainer. As you said:



So I think this is at least something we can agree on, yes?

Now, considering your theory of planar Magic, being called on from their own relevant Plane (in your example, Elemental Plane of Fire), to us on the Material Plane. Your analogy using respiration was surprising, but nevertheless eye-opening and helpful. I'm personally glad you used it to help understanding the concept. Except for one thing: an entire Energy Plane used only for channeling the elements? For one reason this seems somewhat redundant, and that's most likely because my own belief of Magic being within us conflicts with this. In fact, I'm absolutely sure that our views openly oppose each other in this.

I recognize that the alveoli in the lungs represent this Energy Plane, but personally I do not know why the fire would be forced to go through the dimension unless the Energy Plane is in a "connector" position uniting our Material Plane with the Plane of Fire. What I'm gathering from your thoughts is that the Energy Plane is almost coexistent with our Plane, but also with each other Elemental Plane in the universe. The alveoli in the lungs are not directly related to the body's skeletal structure, so why should the Energy Plane be directly related to a plane such as, for example, a Plane of Chaos, or Law, or even an Elemental Plane of Space? So two reasons why I believe the Energy Plane really is not an all-encompassing factor: single-concept-use and width.

To briefly address your statement on the benefit of video games, I do believe that using other medias can allow one a breadth of perspective on the fantasy genre, but I avoid video games purely due to how I was raised, and my tendency to use nearly exactly the system used in said video game for something to entertain me for a time. I may change one or two things, and then find out later that my ideas do not fit the concept perfectly and abandon it.

When you say "everything" in your belief...



...are you including people in this, or do you mean the world: sea, mountains, clouds, desert, sun, etc.? Just something I would like cleared up. What with this debate of people's souls being anchored to Magic being as large as it is, getting this question cleared up now rather than later would benefit the argument.