Ex Bibliotheca

The life and times of Zack Weinberg.

Wednesday, 4 December 2002

# 6:30 AM

Systems of magic, in roleplaying games or otherwise, all have in common that magic spells are comparable to verbs. A magician casts a spell, which has an effect on the universe. So I was wondering, what sort of magic would be comparable to other sorts of words? Nouns, for instance. If a spell is a magic verb, what's a magic noun?

Magical artifacts, at least the normal variety, are not nouns; the most common sort of artifact is just a spell trapped and preserved for future use, so that's a verb too. Shadowrun has "foci" that make certain kinds of magic easier (i.e. give the player bonuses on their die rolls). But that's still the same sort of thing: the spell trapped inside that sort of focus is a "make it easier to do magic" spell.

A genuine possibility, however, is a meditative mantra or mandala. Many forms of real-world mysticism have these. Their function is to be contemplated, which may bring some insight. As such, you can make a case that they are objects, and therefore nouns. But in a high-mana world unlike the one we live in, perhaps such things would be "confer enlightenment upon user" active spells and therefore verbs.

Thoughts, anyone?