|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:27 am
Before I get into the real intro of this thread we're going to answer the first question and discuss the main concerns of it's two options.
How does Magic work?
In the most abstract possible interpretation of this question you get two options:
A, It just does, don't ask why, don't ask how, it just does.
B, By a well defined, if completely fictional set of rules and guidelines.
If you answered A, I feel sorry for you and your endeavors but that is your choice. By using magic in a willy nilly, no holds barred, no logic way you're basically saying anybody can do anything, for any reason or none, this might be fine for a single author work, such as a book, comic, etc, but if you have multiple people involved such as in an RP it just opens the door for confusion and chaos that could very easily create an environment where nobody can figure out what they should or even can do, possibly within just a handful of posts.
Even if you're pretty lenient, having a system, explanations, definitions, and generally having worked things out you place a good level of control on the situation, this person is capable of X amount of magic, which is accomplished in such&such way, etc.
For instance, Dragonball Z. Need I say more? For most of you I probably don't but I will anyways. Any time Goku runs into a situation he can't handle, or is even pushed near a limit, he is so inspired to push himself forward that he simply invents a new level of power, new move, or generally does whatever it is harder. See the problem with this? This one character simply becomes powerful enough to overcome whatever he's been presented with, for no reason! Now imagine that's one of your characters, or all of your characters, they're in a fight, continuously 1uping each other, trading moments of solitude that inspire them to become stronger, inside a two minute battle they could go from naked hobos wrestling over a cheese danish, to flying gods of godly godliness shooting lazers our their arse and destroying communist russia with the hardness of their nipples.
I've seen it happen. Ok not quite like that but still, you get the point. Regardless, if you want to do it that way, by all means do it, and good luck to you. Now shoo.
The Intro
For the rest of you, this guide aims to lay out the big questions, the big answers, and what they all mean to your story.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:32 am
This will all get elaborated over time as I work on the thread
The Basics
The 3 Great Questions
1. How does it effect the natural development of your society?
2. How does it effect the sort of characters you'll likely get?
3. How does it effect your plot?
For instance, Full Metal Alchemist. Their magic is based on a strict set of rules and rituals that have no real connection to the user, therefore any person can learn to do any feat given enough time and proper training (unless they're a total idiot).
1. Since the ability is based on training and study, it naturally develops into institutions that train others and research further methods.
2. These institutions are costly to run, so they are also costly to enter, meaning the vast majority of magic users will be from well off families in respected castes, with a minority of the extremely talented from the rest of the world.
3. Since actions are based vaguely on the true limitations of the elements involved you can only create a sword if you have sufficient quantities of the right elements to create enough steel, then you need the understanding to form the steel into a strong crystalline structure. To create an atomic explosion you would require the elements to create the core, and enough energy to cause it to fuse, as well as the very detailed calculations of exactly how to put it together. Trying to do things outside the realm of these elements will ether fail, or in the case of more abstract concepts such as the soul, fail in a very spectacular way that probably kills you and initiates the apocalypse because you ******** with the structure of the universe without understanding how it was to begin with.
You would not be able to summon golems without puppeting them, you would not be able to talk with animals, you would not be able to shoot lasers from your eyes, but you probably could make your hair glow and shoot fire from your palms. Really though, if you think hard enough, you can find a way to do just about everything, you might have to sacrifice other parts of your story to do it though (FMA had no computers, so you wouldn't be able to give the golem a robot brain to puppet it)
Where does the energy come from?
For the sake of your own sanity and the general understandability of your RP, it's always best to explain this, even if just briefly enough. Why you ask? Because the implications of where the energy comes from are so big that some methods could use the draw as a weapon in itself, and because if you don't people won't understand the basis for their power's limit.
For instance, say we have a system where the person draws upon some inner personal well of power, and let's call it their soul. In some interpretations the soul would be the person's life force, most even, so we'll go with that.
If a person were to use a large portion of the energy from their pool of life, they would feel exhausted, maybe even pass out, but if they were to empty their pool, they would surely die.
How does the user access that energy, and what defines their ability to do so?
What is capable of being done with that energy?
What method is used to do so?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:34 am
other stuff I'll figure out
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:34 am
the third group of things that probably exist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
