From: cassidy@cps.msu.edu (John J Cassidy)
Newsgroups: rec.games.design
Subject: Re: net.rpg: magic.ideas
Date: 17 Dec 92 20:55:17 GMT
Reply-To: cassidy@cps.msu.edu (John J Cassidy)
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, Michigan State University
Originator: cassidy@persimmon.cps.msu.edu

In article <naam.724188816@terra.cecer.army.mil> naam@cecer.army.mil (Ramez Naam) writes:

[bits deleted ]

>System 2.) Invocation [bits deleted ]
>...Basically, a character buys up skill in invoking a certain god or
>power. When a character wants to do something, he rolls on his
>Invocation skill, and I crossindex it with how strong his god is in
>that field, how important this is to his god, and how well the invoker
>has behaved, in his god's eyes  Most of these will refuse to grant any
>power at all to a character that has invoked another god/power (unless
>it's a 'brother god' or something like that.)  These gods are also the
>ones that pay the most attention, and who are most likely to change in
>the level of power they grant based on the situation.  Other
>gods/powers could care less (indeed, many of them aren't sentient in
>the way that we understand it) how the character lives his life, and
>whether or not the character invokes other powers.  Typically, Invokers
>break into two types--one type that Invokes a certain god, and are
>basically priests;  and one type that invokes several primal powers,
>each of which is very strong in a certain area, and call themselves
>'mages'.

	In the Greek idea there is an interloper among these classes
called a "Theurgist".  Historically, he was a kind of a "Rainmaker" --
he had a reputation for being better than most at petitioning gods for
favors.  He usually led a moral life, fasted and meditated.  I got the
feeling, as I was reading about these magicians, that they held a
disciplined life and learned much about the gods, and so they earned a
type of respect from the gods.  I became enamored of this mythological
character quite a while ago.  And since then I`ve noticed that this
idea is not contained in any system of gods.  I've always been
interested in incorporating this concept into a "divine intervention"
system.


>System 3.) Psionics [bits deleted ]
>Psionics in my world are based on the idea that the universe as a
>whole is sentient and that everything we normally percieve is sort of
>a figment of the imagination of the universal sentience.... if a
>psionic changes his view of what reality is, and concentrates hard
>enough 'reality' will actually change.  The biggest problem with this,
>though, is that any other sub-sentience is likely to be very convinced
>that the universe actualy is the way it seems, and is going to be
>increasingly sure of that as the piece of the universe that the
>Psionic is trying to change becomes more and more important to the
>observer.  Thus, it's almost impossible to use Psionics to affect
>another person against his will and fairly difficult to manipulate
>things that other people are very aware of and/or familiar with.
>However, it's very easy to manipulate things that the Psionic is very
>familiar with.  Thus, Psionics are used almost entirely in private, on
>possessions of the Psionic, or on a target who is not just willing,
>but who _believes_ that something miraculous is about to happen.  
>--
>Ramez Naam
>naam@terra.cecer.army.mil

	But then it should be easier in a setting that throws people
off a bit:  like a haunted house.  Psionics should be easier at night, 
when people are not so sure about their perceptions, and are not 
necessarily willing to stop and check their perceptions.  I mean face it
haven't we all, had a time that we feared something in the nighttime that we
wouldn't believe in the daytime.  I think that your idea is an interesting
slant on psionics, and possibly a good setting for a horror campaign.


	John J Cassidy		        cassidy@cps.msu.edu
	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	"The ice-cold knife has come to decorate the dead."
		-- Genesis