Doing In the Wizard: Difference between revisions

Another problem this trope might encounter is that, while fans only expect [[Magic A Is Magic A|magic to have the same effect while used in the same way]], the audience may be less [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief|willing to suspend disbelief]] when converted into [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness|hard science]], unless it is prefaced with [[Green Rocks|some kind of]] [[Minovsky Physics|pseudoscientific material]] [[Unobtanium|specifically stated not]] [[Phlebotinum|to follow standard physics]] (of course, doing this still keeps the stuff ''[[Clarke's Third Law|technically]]'' magic, just not, you know, ''[[Functional Magic|magic]]'').

 

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== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Conspiracy X]]'', psychic phenomena are simply another aspect of physics which mainstream human science still haven't figured out. All humans (excluding extremely rare mutations) are psychic, to a degree (explaining things like "intuition" or "empathy"). "Magic" and most magical creatures are actually also a result of this: the vast majority of humans produce more psychic energy than they use, and the excess "seeps" out of their body to create a sort of psychic background force, the so called "Collective Subconscious" of humanity. "Magic" is the manipulation of this psychic "seepage" to achieve all sorts of effects (the rituals work because enough people subconsciously believe they should), demons and spirits are intelligent manifestations of people's fears, and vampires and werewolves are people who were "infected" by the seepage until they were physically and mentally transformed into subconscious archetypes: "The Stalker" and "The Predator", in this case.

* Subverted in the [[Horus Heresy]] series. At the start of the series the Emperor of Mankind has done this to the entire Imperium, which is devoted to pure science and rationality and has done away with the concept of [[Eldritch Abomination|gods and mysticism]] entirely. Unfortunately the gods ''are'' real, and they are ''pissed''. Much of the series thus far has dealt with how the Imperium is coming to grips with living in a [[Crapsack World|galaxy of horrors]].

** Then there's the character of Vamp, who is to all evidence an actual supernatural vampire. In a milieu with psychics, an immortal woman and a man [[Bee-Bee Gun|COVERED IN BEES]], this isn't so strange it couldn't be pulled off with [[Refuge in Audacity|sheer chutzpah]]. In ''MGS4'' {{spoiler|we find out his healing abilities are natural... but augmented by nanomachines. His fighting and knife skills are [[Charles Atlas Superpower]]s... but the rest is technology.}}

** Canonically, it's a chronological shift. Early villains like The Pain, The Sorrow and Psycho Mantis are actually supernatural, later ones like (maybe) Fortune are technology-based imitations of the supernatural. It ties in to the shift from naturally trained soldiers (such as The Boss or Naked Snake) to the fake ones seen in MGS4. {{spoiler|Vamp's entire purpose in ''Guns of the Patriots'' is to symbolize the shift; he has completely supernatural powers, but he's enhanced with technology and works alongside the technological Beauty and the Beast Corps. He stands out conspicuously as the last of the "old guard" of supernatural soldiers, while still using technology to keep up.}}

* Used halfway; the ''[[Might and Magic]]'' universe never attempted to explain away the Magic spells or the elves and such. On the other hand, it is implied that all the Gods are only [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]]s and the demons and devils (called Kreegans by themselves) are also aliens, who invade worlds through meteors (they extinguished the [[Hobbits|halflings (hobbits)]] this way). There's a significant amount of lost technology behind every plot. Although, there are also actual demons which look almost identical to said Kreegans. They are only seen in ''Heroes Chronicles: Conquest of the Underworld''.

** However, there is nothing particularly magical about those, considering that a completely human army can go into the Underworld freely. These demons seem to be nothing more than native species that live in that particular area, while the identical looks can be explained by ''Heroes Chronicles'' using the same engine and sprites as ''Heroes of Might and Magic III''.

* ''Always'' happens in the ''[[Star Ocean]]'' games, the natives of a planet will use magical terms to describe a villain or phenomenon. Any alien or member of [[The Federation]] who is in the party will have a [[Techno Babble]] explanation. The funny thing is how the natives in the party more or less ignore these.

** So ''very'' [[Egregious]] in ''[[Star Ocean the Second Story]]'', where main-character Claude is well-acquainted with science and technology, and tries to explain certain things away in scientific terms, ''only to fail miserably''. He gets better as time goes on (i.e. he learns to ''stop questioning everything'' and just accept that he's not that smart.)

* In ''[[Grandia II]]'', {{spoiler|the gods Granas and Valmar were originally scientists who made what could only described as an ascension-to-godhood machine.}}

* The ''[[Condemned]]'' series: The original game suggested that a supernatural force was causing the outbreak of violence, and the main character's own apparent insanity. The sequel revealed that {{spoiler|it was a cult which was using sonic technology to drive people mad by causing hemorrhaging in the brain.}} However, this particular killed wizard is replaced by [[Voodoo Shark|a much larger, much stupider one]], so to speak.

 

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Tales of the Questor]]'' starts off using the word "Lux" as just the Racconans' technical term for their medieval-era world's ''Force Magic'' version of [[Functional Magic]], complete with constant uses of terms like "spells," "magic," and "wizard." After over a hundred pages of this, the fundamentalist Christian author devoted a [http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00105.html text-heavy side arc] to explaining that the force that looked like magic, acted like magic, sparkled like magic, was treated like magic, and frequently ''called'' magic wasn't ''really'' magic. [http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00426.html Another side arc], much later in the comic's run, went further and showed the [[Downer Ending|tragic consequences]] of Racconans referring to their magic-like powers as magic, implying that they weren't even going to use magic-related terminology anymore. The setting is a [[Shown Their Work|heavily researched]] fantasy setting with orcs, trolls, centaurs, elves, etc etc. Racconans are unique in that all of them can see the ebb and flow of the magical energy they call "lux". Most of them can [[Practical Magic|perform mundane tricks like lighting candles and levitating water]], and once in a while one has enough talent to be called a wizard. However, magical aptitude is extremely rare among humans, and most of the humans who claim to be wizards are charlatans [[Human Sacrifice|or worse]]. Most false wizards claim that they get their power from gods or devils (and lux just doesn't work that way, which is why Racconans debate the use of the words "wizard" and "magic".) A human who [[Cursed with Awesome|is born with the ability to channel lux]] [[How Do I Shot Web?|will have no idea how to control his power]] without proper training, and is a danger to everyone around him. This makes most races very afraid of Racconans, because they associate them with human wizardry.

* ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'' did it partially with the magic used by Court teachers: {{spoiler|They get it by using a computer... Itself powered by}} magic.