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Thread: Crossover Mages

  1. #1
    Ed Stark
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    Crossover Mages

    I've been thinking about the issue of planewalking wizards visiting Cerilia
    (look out! He's thinking again! DUCK!) and I've got my take ready ...

    Okay, all wizardly magic cast on Cerilia is powered by the force known as
    mebhaighl--not just realm spells, but conventional magic (and battle magic,
    if you touch the stuff) as well. That's a fact of Cerilian life. It's
    probably a fact of Aebrynian life as a whole, but let's not open that can
    of worms until we have too, okay?

    There's no definite reason for it--that's still in the theoretical stage.
    It might be "something in the land and air," like the Red Curse of the
    Savage Coast (RED STEEL), or it could be similar to the situation they have
    on Athas (all that corrupting and such). It's not like Toril or Oerth,
    however, where anybody with a high enough intelligence can become a wizard
    of any school they want (social constraints notwithstanding). If you don't
    have the right connection to the mebhaighl of the land, you just can't cast
    most wizard spells. The best you can be is a magician--an illusionist/diviner.

    I would say then, that wizards who visit from other planes do NOT have the
    connection to the land--they aren't blooded and, even if they are elves,
    they aren't CERILIAN (or Aebrynian) elves. They're different. They look
    different, have different special abilities, and, while they're certainly
    more closely related to Cerilian elves than humans, dwarves, or halflings,
    they just aren't the same.

    In my campaign, I'd allow visiting wizards to cast whatever spells they had
    memorized when they arrived normally but, when they tried to relearn the
    spells (if they weren't spells castable by magicians), they'd find
    themselves unable to draw upon the necessary magic they may never have
    really known was there. Cerilia (Aebrynis) isn't a magic-poor land,
    however--it's just a place where you need an extra key for the lock and,
    being from another plane, those unfortunately planewalkers just don't have
    the right key.

    Now, fiendish and divine creatures have visited Cerilia. Have they had all
    their spellcasting abilities? My answer is ... probably. The more
    "connected" a fiend or divine creature is to its source of power (the deity
    that provides it with its spellcasting ability), the stronger the
    connection. Since most of these creatures appear to be direct creations of
    some Power or other, most of them will have the divine "key" that fits in
    the Cerilian spellcasting "lock." Even though their Powers may not be
    worshiped or even known on Cerilia, they are still Powers and the godstuff
    works.

    This would go for wizards of other lands who have been "touched by the
    gods" as well. There are several FR and DL wizards, I understand, who have
    god-essence flowing through them. They'd be okay. Your average PC, though
    ... fzzt.

    That's my take on the situation. Do with it what you will (not in the face!
    Not in the face!)

    -- ->-- ->-- ->--@
    Ed Stark
    Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
    Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
    TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com

  2. #2
    hobbychest@pcsia.co
    Guest

    Crossover Mages

    BI>The way I see the use of planewalking mages reminds me of reading languages.
    BI>I believe myself to be a proficient reader of English, able to read at a
    BI>very high level of comprehension. But if you were to place a grade school
    BI>primer in front of me that was written in Russian, German, Italian, etc. I
    BI>would be at a total loss. I know that the words are there and that they each
    BI>have meanings, but I would not be able to understand them. I would have no
    BI>idea what I was reading, but would see the words right infront of my eyes.

    BI>I believe that it would be the same for a mage. He would be able to feel the
    BI>magical power flowing through the land, but would have no idea how to
    BI>control it, shape it into magical spells familiar to him or her. Its power
    BI>would be out of his reach, his abilities diminished to the lowest
    BI>mainpulation of magic, (1st and 2nd level spells).

    BI>As I said in an earlier post, elves would not be able to cast higher level
    BI>spells at first, but due to their connections to the land, eventually they
    BI>would adapt, able to manipulate the flow of magic at full power. This is
    BI>like groups of related languages, such as the Romance languages. Although
    BI>knowledge of one does not instantly mean you can read a related language,
    BI>with time and practice, it is easier to pick up then it might be for others.
    BI>For humans, their BL acts almost like a translator, working to convert the
    BI>flow into a usuable form. Otherwise, they cannot understand the flow, except
    BI>for rudimentary magic. Therefore, without a BL, a 20th level planewalking
    BI>human mage would be almost helpless. ::evil grin:: Come here, Elminster....

    BI>All this is IMHO, of course. Any other comments?

    I deal with planeswalkers the same way. I believe every world should
    have its own unique laws of magic. Until a mage adapts to the new laws,
    they can't use spells. I also feel priests should lose spells since
    they lose connection to their god. Gods don't have universal influence,
    just influence on some planes and worlds.

    Robert Thomson

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