Words Do Not Make the Magic: Difference between revisions

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* ''The Dark is Rising'', the 2nd novel in ''[[The Dark Is Rising]]'' series. Before Will Stanton reads the Book of Gramarye, Merriman tells him that only an Old One can use the spells and Words of Power in the book. Even if a human being could read the Book he couldn't use them.

* John Bellairs' ''The Face in the Frost'' has a scene in which a wizard casts a spell by reciting silly verse which has '''nothing''' to do with the effect he wants to produce (turning a vegetable into a coach ''a la'' [[Cinderella]]) -- it's implied but never spelled out that it's the rhythm rather than anything in the words' meaning that gathers the magical power, and the wizard's unspoken will that focuses it.

* ''[[Worm]]'': It's strongly implied, though never confirmed, that [[Gadgeteer Genius|Tinkers]] have an additional component to their power beyond the beyond-conventional-science engineering and technical knowledge they use to build stuff, because attempts by muggles to replicate or even maintain said stuff almost always fail.

== Live Action TV ==

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== Tabletop RPG ==

* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'': verbal spell components, are sometimes required. A mundane person speaking the words will have no effect at all: you have to have magical power/knowledge for the spell to work.

* Verbal spell components spoken by [[Muggles]] have no effect in ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'' and ''[[Shadowrun]]''.

* Verbal spell components spoken by [[Muggles]] have no effect in ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'' and ''[[Shadowrun]]''. In the former case, this also extends to other things that can be passed off as coincidental rather than vulgar and therefore don't attract Paradox; an Awakened can do action movie stuff and other things that looks plausible to the Consensus, but a Sleeper, should he try to recreate it, would fail to do so.