|
THE |
|
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects. |
|
|
THE |
|
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects. |
To: alt.magick.tyagi From: tyagI@houseofkaos.Abyss.coM (tyagi mordred nagasiva) Subject: Spells, Magick and RPGames (Was Re: Games) Date: Kali Yuga 49941006 Quoting: |hans0174@gold.tc.umn.edu (Gregory L Hansen) |Is anyone on this group familiar with role-playing games? I suspect most mages are familiar with them. |I need help designing a magic system for role-playing games that follows |contemporary occultic thought. There are a few that are worth a look already, from what I understand, including the system in Paul Hume's book for Shadowrun, _The Grimoire_, and that within the Ars Magica RPG. I've not yet procured 'Mage', but will have to based upon recommendations. |The problem I've always had is when I try to fit the system t, it becomes |very vague and hard to quantify. Sounds like you just need more study of that which you are attempting to translate to RPG. |There is no moderation besides "game-master's discretion", Similar to how psi was treated in AD&D and otherwise. Compare with 'wishes' and 'spell-creation'. These are places where the boundaries between Player and Game Master begin to blurr (wonderfully so!). |and no abstract game-mechanics for use by players not familiar with some |specific magical system. In some ways this is what I'm attempting to derive within discussions on the philosophy of magick in alt.magick (completed a model on magick's relation to science and I'm still brainstorming the relation to art). The problem is that there aren't very many good philosophers of magick who've written their ideas down. Crowley was good, though overly complicated for one who merely wants to translate from nongame to game. You might take a look at Bonewits' _Real Magic_, which has an entire cosmology of magical energy, including his principles and colors. I thought it was a good first attempt following on Frazer and others. |I'd also like some specifics, like what can be done and what can't, Ha! You'll get lots of argument on this one. The minimum of course is that it is all a sham and designed to fleece newbies. Have a look at the history of magick (so-called) sometime, including the shysters like Cagliostro and (perhaps) Blavatsky. While these folks may well have been mages, they had a penchant for deception which calls into question their abilities to manifest. The maximum is told in religious tales quite well: Moses parting the waters of the Red Sea, Jesus turning water into wine, etc. These days there are perhaps less powerful mages about (or maybe the power is finite and more spread out). |how difficult it is, That would depend on what is being attempted and how long one has taken in learning the art. At first even minor effects come at a very slow and inconsistent rate. Later, things appear to work of their own, and the Master moves within a perpetual field of magick. |how much time it takes to cast, Again, this varies depending upon the working and artist. Beginners attempting difficult spells will never succeed. Even with simple works the beginner must struggle to focus the will and so the work takes a greater amount of time, not to mention that she may need particular circumstances, such as tools and magic-space, etc. As one becomes adept, cantrips may be performed with but a thought. The Master moves beyond the concept of 'casting' or 'not-casting', for hir entire life is imbued of the Great Work. |how much time it takes a spell to work, etc., Same as above. Beginners attempting simple spells may never find that the spell yields. HOWEVER, it may 'work' in that their will is becoming honed to a sharper focus. That is, though the working may not yield the desired outcome, there is a personal result which should not be overlooked (some say this is the only result which takes place). The particular situation plays a large part in determining when the spell shall manifest. It may be that what Crowley called the 'Magical Link' is either not present or not in sufficient proximity to the work that it will be usable by the mage. Therefore a quite powerful spell may take several PREPARATORY workings in order to 'fix' the composition. A mage may work for 20 years on the foundation and in one night the spell may be cast. Look into alchemy for their models of timing and configuration (of the astrological planets, for example). Some authors of fiction also have decent systems worked out (see Peggy's list, of which I think that _A Wizard of Earthsea_/LeGuin and _Master of Five Magics_/Hardy are my favorites). The Master's work is never done, of course. :> tyagi nagasiva tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com
|
The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org. |
|
Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site. |
|
|
The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories, each dealing with a different branch of religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge. Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit: |
|
interdisciplinary:
geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc. |
SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):
|
OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST
Southern
Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo,
including slave narratives & interviews
|