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| What side would you be on? |
| Magic |
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50% |
[ 17 ] |
| Technology |
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[ 17 ] |
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| Total Votes : 34 |
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 Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 1:07 am
I see this conflict time and time again in steampunk movies, roleplays and especially games. The battle between Magic and Technology. Nature and Industrialization. If we lived in a steampunk world divided into these 2 factions, what side would you choose?
just for fun and reference. here are a few faction values and specializations as I see it (I apologize if I sound like too much of a nerd XD)
=Magic=
Nature
Arcane Arts
Worship
Preservation of Life
Natural Balance
=Technology=
Progress
Innovation
Problem Solving
Expansion
Invention
This topic is for discussion on conflict between magic and technology. From games to roleplays to things from your own imagination. Choose a side and explain why. The rest is up to you
[EDIT] Since your all talking about it, I made it either magic or technology instead of both for 2 reasons. 1- almost EVERYONE would choose both. I want to see which side you prefer most. And 2 - I want it to be like a faction thing. It'd be like trying to be both Jewish and a Nazi at the same time (yea, I know. poor analogy XD) But yea. I would choose both too if it where an option. But I prefer technology, and if we lived in a world devided into these 2 factions I would side with the techies. So sorry for not providing the option to be both.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 3:34 am
I, personally, would prefer "technomancy" - which is a mix of magic and technology.
But if I had to choose...? I don't know.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 4:05 am
im working on a webcomic "Chrono-Arcana" (which means Time and Magic)( LINK) which involves a mic of magic and technology in a steampunk setting. the tagline of the comic is "Steam-Powered Airships and Magic-Powered... Magic?" although to make the magic fit in more with the setting, since this is set in the future, scientists have discovered that human evolution has unlocked potential locked within the brain, which allows some humans to be perceptive to the elements (Fire, Water, Air, Earth) those scientists have dubbed this the Elemental science. and some scientists practise variations of the science (such as using a fire controller to control the properties of metals)(called Elemental Sub-Sciences)
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:12 am
Since I'm the Steamfantasy fanatic here, I'm with Lady Reflex on this: steam-powered magic or magically enhanced technology is the way to go. The thin line between life and technology, nature and innovation, heart and mind.
(And I DEMAND a vote option for that! whee )
Though if I really had to choose, I admit I'd have to go with magic. Sorry, Ladies and Gentlemen, but I AM of the Fae after all... xp
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:08 am
I follow the Call of Chluhulu by gaslight school of thought; all arcane is alien tech that the human mind isn't equipped to understand and thus drives us insane.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:01 am
I have to say Technomancy. Most of my steam-punk characters are, infact, witches who work on airships as mechanics.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:23 pm
I choose magic.I tend to be the shaman in the group who can actually heal instead of the usual"O'h you leg is bleeding from a deep gash from the exploding boiler...time to amputate this wont hurt a bit".
Technomancy is a good off shoot and so is rune casting(Use of runes and sigils to reinforce armour or effects) this is just my opinion.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 5:08 pm
Magic.
I generally RP as either a mage or a ranger/scout...the arcane arts and nature are pretty high on my list of "awesome things".
Although I love technology (I'd be a horrible Computer Science major if I didn't), I love magic more.
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 12:51 pm
I must say I'm a pro-technology type of person.
while magic can do wondrous things, being able to acomplish the same with a device is far more impressive.
If you can jump through time with a chanted phrase, I'll take a chronal Displacer device instead. I see magic as a strange craft, that can often have corrputing consequences. Technology I can rely upon.
As such, I tend to lack a magical counter, having surrounded myself with clockwork and devices...
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 4:00 pm
@ SPI-14: Well, I'm a fan of the type of magic that's not really "easy" anyway. I hate to say I'm in the middle, but it's rather true. The best "magic" is the kind that you have to put love, sweat, and blood into; the kind that doesn't come easily but requires effort. For that reason I'd say magic and technology are about equal in difficulty in my book. But you're right, screwing with a TARDIS will have specific effects you can understand; mispronouncing a spell of forgetting to throw salt might make the spell HALF-work. Which could be way worse... xd
@ Akonite: While Lovecraft's world is often SEEN that way, I consider it a misconception. I'm a pretty big Lovecraft nerd, so here follows some pretty random crap you might not be interested in.
As far as I can tell, most of the Deep Ones and Great Race's technology is never explained as either science nor occult, and while there are arguments for and against, my main point is simple; Azathoth. The god to whom "thin flutes pipe mindlessly" constantly is never called anything BUT a god, and is served by several characters throughout the mythos. Because of just that alone, I think the magic IS magic.
And something that's always interested me; people seem to think you could be doing science while THINKING you are doing magic. Okay, I get that; why can't you be doing magic when you think it's just science?
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:12 pm
fickle lamia @ SPI-14: Well, I'm a fan of the type of magic that's not really "easy" anyway. I hate to say I'm in the middle, but it's rather true. The best "magic" is the kind that you have to put love, sweat, and blood into; the kind that doesn't come easily but requires effort. For that reason I'd say magic and technology are about equal in difficulty in my book. But you're right, screwing with a TARDIS will have specific effects you can understand; mispronouncing a spell of forgetting to throw salt might make the spell HALF-work. Which could be way worse... xd @ Akonite: While Lovecraft's world is often SEEN that way, I consider it a misconception. I'm a pretty big Lovecraft nerd, so here follows some pretty random crap you might not be interested in. As far as I can tell, most of the Deep Ones and Great Race's technology is never explained as either science nor occult, and while there are arguments for and against, my main point is simple; Azathoth. The god to whom "thin flutes pipe mindlessly" constantly is never called anything BUT a god, and is served by several characters throughout the mythos. Because of just that alone, I think the magic IS magic. And something that's always interested me; people seem to think you could be doing science while THINKING you are doing magic. Okay, I get that; why can't you be doing magic when you think it's just science? that makes sense too. Also, you read Sune... I declare you awesome.
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 6:29 pm
fickle lamia And something that's always interested me; people seem to think you could be doing science while THINKING you are doing magic. Okay, I get that; why can't you be doing magic when you think it's just science? That's exactly what happens to one of my main characters - he was head mechanic on a project dealing with an experimental technology that is based on an invisible force (kind of like electricity, just far more unstable and... well, magic-y - still looking for a nice name, though rolleyes ), until the day he found out his special knack for dealing with this force was simply his talent for channeling magical energies... xp (Mind you, in a world where you get thrown into a "sanatorium" simply for THINKING about magic.) @Amossk: You can bet that even if this was about factions, I would still choose both (always up to take the risky border-line path wink ). This is the point where I would have to cheer for Yewish Nazis, but... heck, yes, that's a sick analogy! xp
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:53 pm
General Statement: I would always ALWAYS pick magic in a heartbeat. Not even a competition to me, not even a thought to it; it's cliche but I thought Hellboy2 had some good messages, the foremost of which was that magic make the world rich and humans make it poor.
@Akonite: Hells yes, Sune fans unite to RULE THE WORLD! And, you know, drool over his fishnets.
@Nisha: Very cool, is there a site for it or a way to read it? Cuz it sounds quite cool.
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:28 pm
While I really believe most of steampunk is about the "ghost in the machine", I think that if I absolutely had to choose, I'd prefer magic. While we find so many things fascinating that were great technological advancements in Victoria's day, to the layman, it seemed simply to be magic, explained away with cogs and steam. I prefer living in a world where I can't comprehend everything- life would be depressing if not for the unknown.
"There is something inside all of us that yearns not for reason but for mystery... not for penetrating clear thought but for the whisperings of the irrational... not for science but for wizardry disguised as science... not for rationally founded influence but for magic. " ~ Karl Jaspers
"I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it." ~Harry Emerson Fosdick
(If you couldn't tell, this is something I believe in strongly. Heh. ^^; )
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Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:55 am
fickle lamia @Nisha: Very cool, is there a site for it or a way to read it? Cuz it sounds quite cool. Sadly, no. I have/had one in the making, but life found me, dragged me away, put me in irons and made me work for it. crying (It's VERY slowly progressing, since writing both stories and background info in a foreign tongue can be rather tedious at times - but of course the guild will be the first place I'll post it once it's in any presentable state whee ) @Iseult Afire: Those are quite ingenious quotes, and just so true!
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