Thanks Alec. I agree, I think wizards and magic can be a little dull (like "heroes" with ridiculous super powers). I do quite like the idea of black magic though, a Necromancer raising an army of undead, or, a witch putting a hex on someone. Bad things that add drama, rather than good things that make positive outcomes all too convient for the protagonists.
Necromancers will never not be cool! :D I think too it's always good to have a sense of mystery when it comes to any kind of magic, otherwise it just becomes quotidian and boring. Even in RPGs when there are set stats and rules for everything, the GM needs to cover up those mechanics with atmosphere.
Yeah, it's been a long time since I have played an RPG of any kind, but I always felt that "magic" was dealt with the best in Call of Cthulhu, where it felt like it was almost woven into the fabric of the game/story. Rather than Majik Mike summons a fireball storm, roll dice, the Ogre is dead hurrah!
Magic is def-ly a tricky subject and I find even works that I like tend to struggle with keeping it from overwhelming the story. I love The Witcher series, for instance, but it def-ly suffers from having a lot of nigh-immortal wizards who wield potentially world-breaking powers. Heck, even The Hobbit has that issue, with Gandalf being such a powerful deus ex machina that Tolkien has to contrive ways to keep him out of the action.
On a side note, Alec, what is the source of that Martin quote? I ask as I've been collecting his quotes and interviews about magic but have never seen that specific one before.
Hey, Mikhail! Yeah, it's tricky to balance magic with drama. I think the overall feel/mood/tone of a story is a key component in managing it. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, for example, has a very mythic, non-realistic tone, which allows a lot more elbow-room. Peter Jackson wisely never got into specifics about the limits of his powers, yet it 'feels' right within the limits of the story. That Martin quote came from a 2012 issue of the British sci-fi magazine 'SFX'. Afraid I don't have the issue number, and sorry the late reply, Mikhail. I've been away. Thanks for reading. All the best!
Thanks Alec. I agree, I think wizards and magic can be a little dull (like "heroes" with ridiculous super powers). I do quite like the idea of black magic though, a Necromancer raising an army of undead, or, a witch putting a hex on someone. Bad things that add drama, rather than good things that make positive outcomes all too convient for the protagonists.
Necromancers will never not be cool! :D I think too it's always good to have a sense of mystery when it comes to any kind of magic, otherwise it just becomes quotidian and boring. Even in RPGs when there are set stats and rules for everything, the GM needs to cover up those mechanics with atmosphere.
Yeah, it's been a long time since I have played an RPG of any kind, but I always felt that "magic" was dealt with the best in Call of Cthulhu, where it felt like it was almost woven into the fabric of the game/story. Rather than Majik Mike summons a fireball storm, roll dice, the Ogre is dead hurrah!
Magic is def-ly a tricky subject and I find even works that I like tend to struggle with keeping it from overwhelming the story. I love The Witcher series, for instance, but it def-ly suffers from having a lot of nigh-immortal wizards who wield potentially world-breaking powers. Heck, even The Hobbit has that issue, with Gandalf being such a powerful deus ex machina that Tolkien has to contrive ways to keep him out of the action.
On a side note, Alec, what is the source of that Martin quote? I ask as I've been collecting his quotes and interviews about magic but have never seen that specific one before.
Hey, Mikhail! Yeah, it's tricky to balance magic with drama. I think the overall feel/mood/tone of a story is a key component in managing it. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, for example, has a very mythic, non-realistic tone, which allows a lot more elbow-room. Peter Jackson wisely never got into specifics about the limits of his powers, yet it 'feels' right within the limits of the story. That Martin quote came from a 2012 issue of the British sci-fi magazine 'SFX'. Afraid I don't have the issue number, and sorry the late reply, Mikhail. I've been away. Thanks for reading. All the best!