O crap, I'm a magician!
Hi and welcome to our first in-game dev diary.
As the game continues, and more people develop their magical abilities, the essence, limits and problems with magic begin to come clear. Thus far, there are many different types of magic represented in Rowan, but the most common is magician's magic.
Magician's magic is wild magic, as some of the NPCs have stated. That's true, but it's true in the way that the Library of Congress has some books in it. Magician's magic is present in all of Rowan. It is a force in itself, embedded in the nature of Rowan's reality itself. When a magician taps into it, they're channeling pure energy through themselves - not through symbols, not through rocks or herbs, not through elements, but through themselves.
This makes magic very tiring to use. You wonder why you felt worn out that first week of twitchy telekinesis? This is why. Ladies and gentlemen, when you begin working this sort of magic, you are given a figurative tiny teaspoon with a hole in it and sent towards the figurative Niagra Falls with an encouraging "GO GO GO".
Yes, this magic hurts. Yes, it can easily go out-of-control. Yes, it is undisciplined.
These factors combined, in Rowan, mean that magicians are often uneducated, on the streets, using what magic they have to make a living with simple cons, illusions, party tricks. The stereotype of a magician at a children's party isn't so far wrong. However, when discipline is applied to the magic, it can go very far.
This magic, in itself, is incredibly flexible.
It CANNOT:
1) Influence the human mind. This is an entirely different realm of magic, reserved for enchantment.
2) Change something's natural form without a great deal of effort. Form-changing is hard, in Rowan. Objects tend to revert unexpectedly, and it takes a lot of excess energy. If you don't want to bleed out your eyeballs, you might want to stay away from this.
3) Mess with the elements. Magic can manipulate fire, water, earth and air, in some ways, but the elements are keyed to mages. If you start messing with them, expect failures and backlashes.
Telekinesis is limited to line of sight and sense of touch. If you cannot see or touch an object, you cannot manipulate it with your mind. This may apply to other spells.
Beyond that, go to town. Magicians tend to specialize in telekinesis and physical illusions - as in, illusions that mental power cannot break, and that anyone with eyes can see. However, those are just the easy powers. For the most part, beyond this, name a spell and it'll work.
Specific questions? Direct them to a narrator, or to this post.
As the game continues, and more people develop their magical abilities, the essence, limits and problems with magic begin to come clear. Thus far, there are many different types of magic represented in Rowan, but the most common is magician's magic.
Magician's magic is wild magic, as some of the NPCs have stated. That's true, but it's true in the way that the Library of Congress has some books in it. Magician's magic is present in all of Rowan. It is a force in itself, embedded in the nature of Rowan's reality itself. When a magician taps into it, they're channeling pure energy through themselves - not through symbols, not through rocks or herbs, not through elements, but through themselves.
This makes magic very tiring to use. You wonder why you felt worn out that first week of twitchy telekinesis? This is why. Ladies and gentlemen, when you begin working this sort of magic, you are given a figurative tiny teaspoon with a hole in it and sent towards the figurative Niagra Falls with an encouraging "GO GO GO".
Yes, this magic hurts. Yes, it can easily go out-of-control. Yes, it is undisciplined.
These factors combined, in Rowan, mean that magicians are often uneducated, on the streets, using what magic they have to make a living with simple cons, illusions, party tricks. The stereotype of a magician at a children's party isn't so far wrong. However, when discipline is applied to the magic, it can go very far.
This magic, in itself, is incredibly flexible.
It CANNOT:
1) Influence the human mind. This is an entirely different realm of magic, reserved for enchantment.
2) Change something's natural form without a great deal of effort. Form-changing is hard, in Rowan. Objects tend to revert unexpectedly, and it takes a lot of excess energy. If you don't want to bleed out your eyeballs, you might want to stay away from this.
3) Mess with the elements. Magic can manipulate fire, water, earth and air, in some ways, but the elements are keyed to mages. If you start messing with them, expect failures and backlashes.
Telekinesis is limited to line of sight and sense of touch. If you cannot see or touch an object, you cannot manipulate it with your mind. This may apply to other spells.
Beyond that, go to town. Magicians tend to specialize in telekinesis and physical illusions - as in, illusions that mental power cannot break, and that anyone with eyes can see. However, those are just the easy powers. For the most part, beyond this, name a spell and it'll work.
Specific questions? Direct them to a narrator, or to this post.