The Shadows Of Middlemarch OOC (Dark Fantasy, Magical Academy RP)

[ohaidere]

I'm beyond excited for this RP!
I will say that during the week I have school and won't be able to post during the morning/early afternoon but I'll try my best to be active otherwise.

[Adjectives]

We ought to decide if spells will be verbal, non verbal or mixed, won't we? I'd say verbal for beginners and intermediates in whichever school of magic they're using. Non verbal for experts?
However, if they're verbal we'd have to come up with a basic list of words for spells. Or the GM, I dunno. :P

I'm not sure what to suggest for Necromancy basic spells since I'm not sure what is allowed. Are all aspects of Necromancy completely legal in the Obscured World?

[DotCom]

I am gonna suggest the hell out of shit tomorrow. It'll be great and maybe even insightful and/or intelligent!

[Rulaan]

I don't like the idea of 'purely verbal' spells. I mean, I like to envision my characters doing wicked things with a flourish of their hands. Spells could perhaps have a more verbal aspect to it, and include things such as rituals and 'command words'. Spells would be more accessible to magi. The other side of the spectrum would be a mage's natural affinity for something, like a gift. For example, Ezrayn is able to speak to flames and through this bond, he is beginning to learn how to weave the flames with his will. The difference between this and a spell would be, say, conjuring fire using some kind of incantation, although the spell would yield more devastating affects because of the power behind the words spoken.

We could take the Inheritance Cycle route, and have an ancient language used to invoke magic. Perhaps each word is somehow laced with arcane connotation, and the very mention will inspire some kind of effect depending on what the word means or is bound too.

I don't know what I'm typing anymore...

[Antonkun]

Wow, I'm really happy. Thanks Lovejoy!

As for the magic, I've always imagined magic to be channeled through both movements and words - the words used to channel and the movements used to unleash the magic. (I can also imagine that your body would be physically damaged if you try to unleash magic too powerful for your body to handle.)

The schools of spells you wrote about are fine for me - I like how they are grouped. However, I would also like something regarding affinities. I hope it's not too overused to say that I like elements when it comes to magic, but I'll say it now anyways. I think it adds much more depth and possibilities with elements.

[Celowein]

hmmm....not too fond of the verbal commands of magic myself. but if that is what people want, I certainly won't argue!

Ruulan: i like that if there were words, you'd have to mix it with some body movement. it reminds me a bit of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which in my opinion, everything should strive to remind me of! my only question is: would the more subtler schools of magic, like Divination, require movement? i think it would sort of ruin the surprise of mind-reading if someone could recognize the "mind-reading stance", but maybe that's something characters try to move past?

however, for the more "intense" schools of magic like Summoning, I definitely think movements and gestures should play a huge role.

[Rulaan]

Well, perhaps we're thinking of this the wrong way. Why not make it more complicated, and separate the schools more? Like Celowein has brought up, Summoning and Divination would be incredibly different. Divination, in my eyes, is a lot more intimate and subtle. Things like foresight, crystal balls, mind reading, etc. are more passive and focused on one's mind while Summoning would require a lot of the casters attention, perhaps mixing gestures with chants, etc.

[februari]

It seems like there's a common acknowledgement that magical acts could be brought about in a number of ways and the same effect could likewise be accomplished via different methods. How many ways could one breathe underwater? More complex things like divination could have literally dozens - tea leaves, chicken bones, crystal ball, speaking with the dead, etc. In a world where magic has been performed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years it makes sense that it would have richness, depth, and variety. I fear that if we attempt definition, we risk losing that.

[Rulaan]

I agree. We should set up a framework, then build the house as we go along, if that makes sense.

[februari]

Would it suffice, at least initially, that we agree that most acts require some type of verbal, gesture, or material component and that more sophisticated effects require more sophisticated components? Each of us, then, would be required to act consistently in our character's use of magic. For instance, if one uses gestures a majority of the time, they couldn't simply switch to verbal because their hands are in their pockets. They might, however, be able to achieve a significantly reduced effect that way, depending its nature.