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Magic A Is Magic A: Difference between revisions
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== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]''
* The [[Psychic Powers|Expanded Psionics Handbook]] in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' has no less than two sets of alternative rules for running a "Psionics are just different" game - either making them 100% independent of magic (so spell resistance, Dispel Magic and so forth don't work on them), or making them about 45% independent (so you need to make a caster level check to use Dispel Magic on a psionic effect, and your power resistance is 10 lower than your spell resistance). The default (and balanced) setting is the are interchangeable for such purposes and [[Forgotten Realms|at least 1 setting]] has psionics as explicitly a separate type of magic.▼
**
*** Which of course gets rather head-scratchy in some of the official worlds such as Dragonlance, where Arcane magic is totally separate from Divine magic, and yet still comes from gods, and you get it by worshiping them.▼
*** The entire arcane/divine split is just a convenient [[Hand Wave]] to keep wizards in particular from (a) wearing armor and (b) using healing magic (both of which Bards, also arcane casters, do just fine), both purely for purposes of game balance. It's probably [[Bellisario's Maxim|best not to try to read much more into it]] than that.
*** The fluff regarding the difference between Divine and Arcane magic varies by setting, but one ''very'' common tendency is that divine magic requires one to act as one's faith would have it (or at least to be able to convince oneself of that), whereas arcane magic have no such compunctions - that highly religious, saintly wizard can one day wake up and decide to become a [[Complete Monster]] for his own sake rather than for any god, and it would not impact his ability to cast magic in the slightest.
▲**** Which of course gets rather head-scratchy in some of the official worlds such as Dragonlance, where Arcane magic is totally separate from Divine magic, and yet still
** In earlier editions, psionics did not interact with magic. The system was a completely bolted-on addition which barely fit the rest of the game and could be horribly broken when a wizard or paladin, no matter how powerful, was just as vulnerable to a 2nd level psionic character as a peasant. Additionally, the rules for psychic powers required ability score checks against variables and had their own, separate, entirely different mechanic for psychic combat. Defenses against psionics for non-psionicists barely existed. Gaming groups often would rather forget psionicists existed than deal with the headaches you get from averting this trope.▼
** Which leads us to [[Psychic Powers]]. Which were [[Redheaded Stepchild]], in part because of ''not'' having good enough mechanics from step one, and the later versions bending it in every possible way trying to fix the previous bends. So, here's what ''not'' to do:
*** In its earliest form (''Eldritch Wizardry'' to AD&D1) psionics did not interact with magic. Also there was a completely separate, entirely different mechanic for psychic combat.
▲***
*** PO / ''[[Dark Sun]]'' v.2 system (MTHAC) "solved" it, but managed to remove advantages of having it at all, while making mechanics nonsensical, and [[Obvious Beta|simply not working as written]].
▲***
* There are three set rules for magic in ''[[Exalted]]'': "No time travel", "Once Exalted, you cannot Un-Exalt."<ref>Elaborating: Un-Exalting results in death, no exceptions.</ref> and "No resurrections." Of course, this being ''Exalted'', those rules exist mostly for Solar Circle Sorcerers to kick them in the nuts and steal their lunch money, but you will never see official Charms or Spells from White Wolf that allow you to break those rules. Bend, maybe. Break, no.
** It should be noted that the 'no unexalting' rule has found some limited exceptions. It assumes that on a mystical level, the Exalt remains fundamentally human. Green Sun Princes who 'ascend' to full Primordial status with Heresy charms find their Exaltation flitting off to find a new host (not that they need it at that point). Likewise, Exalts who chose to take up a job offer to divinity extended via Greater Sidereal Astrology find their Exaltation moving on once they become Gods. It should be noted that in both of these cases, the exception is allowed because the action of releasing the Exaltation is a choice, and cannot be driven by any supernatural or unnatural compulsion at all else the powers fail to work. The more precise law would have to be "Exaltation cannot be taken away from Exalts, ever".
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** '''Adepts''' are limited to one type of magic; this can be casting spells (sorcerers), summoning spirits (conjurers), or enhancing the capabilities of their own bodies ("Phys-Ads").
** '''Magicians''' can both cast spells and summon spirits. The exact style and trappings of each magician's talents varies from one practitioner to the next, but the two most common catchall terms are [[Hermetic Magic|hermetic mages]] and [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|shamans]]. It should be noted that, despite the names, there's no arcane/divine magic split; anyone capable of sorcery can learn and use any spell.
* The indie superpowered-sleuth system ''Mutant City Blues'' elevates this to new heights. Sure, there are mutants in the setting, and they can fly, shoot assorted kinds of energy bolts, read minds and even steal each other's powers. All these powers, however, are meticulously catalogued in the so-called Quade Diagram which provides solid insight about what powers can concievably coexist in a person. Some, like supernatural analytical abilities and remote control of electronic devices, are very *close* so that the person posessing one can be routinely assumed to posess another. Others, say, the ability to fly and become invisible, are so far apart in the chart that it is impossible for one man to have both (without breaking the setting and/or having Infinite Experience Points). This diagram, along with more conventional investigative methods, makes the task of solving "Heightened" crimes more of a usual analytical exercise and almost none of the "whoever got more control of The Force" challenge common for less defined supernatural settings.
* [[GURPS]] Thaumatology is a sourcebook dedicated entirely to making up bizarre, yet internally consistent, magic systems. GURPS ''also'' has a completely separate system for "psionics," which can be the same exact force as magic, but which are administered in the form of traits specific to a given character, rather than general rules that all magic users have to follow. That's where you go for [[Wrong-Context Magic]].
* ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' has a very simple magic (all right, 'psychic powers') system
** ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]'' has a more detailed system that has most people drawing on a collective library of spells, though Lizardmen, Chaos, Undead, Orcs and Goblins, High Elves, and Dark Elves all have access to an extra group of spells.
* In ''[[Ars Magica]]'', wizards can do virtually anything, but every spell they case must be formed by combining, basically, constructing a Latin sentence consisting of one of five "techniques" (the verbs, all with the subject "I") and one of ten "forms" (the direct objects). For example, throwing bolts of flame would be "Creo Ignem" ("I create fire"), while making someone forget something would be a "Perdo Mentem" spell ("I destroy the mind"). Every wizard has varying levels of ability with each form and technique which determine how powerful of an effect they can generate (someone with a high score in Creo is good at making things in general; someone with a high score in Mentem is good at working with people's minds in general; someone with high scores in both Creo and Mentem would be extremely good at putting thoughts in other people's heads). Each edition of the game also has a few hard-and-fast rules beyond the verb/object format, such as it being impossible to raise the dead or travel back in time, although whether those things are literally impossible or simply unknown or forbidden to members of the Order of Hermes (the organization player character magi are assumed to belong to) is generally unclear (by design).
** ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'' (which draws from ''[[Ars Magica]]'' to some extent) and ''[[Mage: The Awakening]]'' have spheres that work like the "mind" side, and can also be combined (e.g. Correspondence + Mind to mess with someone's head from a distance). ''[[Changeling: The Dreaming]]'' uses a two-factor system (along the lines of "the mind of a human" or "the mind of another fae"), as does ''[[Geist: The Sin Eaters]]'' (where a Key determines general dominion and power source and a Manifestation determines what you can do with it).
* ''[[World Tree RPG]]'' uses a noun/verb system (7 and 12 of each), but lets several of each be combined in one spell. Eg. a life-extension spell involves "Sustain/Body+Mind+Spirit". And that's the standard "pattern magic", one of several systems the main races know, each with known rules. The trope is played straight in that the rules exist, but subverted in that ultimately the gods control magic and don't do it predictably.
== Theatre ==
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