Question for GURPS (and other RPG) fans

[ffutures]

For the Tooth and Claw RPG I need to explain why magic doesn't seem to exist, although there are legends saying that it existed in the past. This works for Forgotten Futures, does it seem about right for GURPS and other systems?

Another possibility is that a serious investigation of magical legends will reveal that dragons and their related species were originally created by Yarge magicians who wanted fearsome monsters to protect their homes and underestimated their creations. The first dragons turned on their masters, destroyed them, and used the last vestiges of their magic to attain their full size. There is no other magic in the world because dragons absorb it from their environment and by eating each other. This is a good solution if you are using another rules system (such as GURPS) that has finite magical resources, and implies amongst other things that there might still be magic in countries that ban dragons (such as Rasdogah Erofal) or the continents that dragons have never visited. In such a situation dragon flesh will definitely be the most potent source of magic around; if any Yarge magicians remain they will be very interested in acquiring some. Any side effects are left to the imagination and sadism of the referee…

Comments

[capnoblivious.livejournal.com]

You'll have read more thoroughly than me, but I didn't get the impression that magic didn't exist, just that it wasn't all that important to the plot - in the same way that Jane Austen doesn't talk about steam engines or bridge building. The Agornins just don't know any magic researchers or lower class wage-mages.

(Happy to be told I'm wrong. I often am. :) )

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

It's stated at one point that their religion says that Jurale (I think) destroyed the wizards, which implies that they're no longer around.

[capnoblivious.livejournal.com]

*nods* Could be a folk memory of a purge or cataclysm in the early days of the religion. Could be a rationalisation of a decline in the amount of free magic around as you describe.

Regardless: I do like the idea of dragon flesh being a particularly potent source of magical energy.

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

It's not really correct to talk about GURPS as having a magic system. Just off the top of my head, I can think of three quite different ones in high-profile SJG publications. And even if you go with the default low-fantasy one, it doesn't have magic as a finite resource. It does have the concept of different areas having different mana levels, which greatly affects spellcasting, though. A significant population of dragons constantly using lots of magic would be a convenient on-story reason for having the main parts of the campaign world be low-mana. Which, with those rules, means that only people with the Magical Aptitude advantage can use magic at all, and all magic use for any purpose has a -5 penalty (which is rather a lot in a 3d6-based system). It would also be reasonable to assume that if someone else starts using mana, the dragons will notice. Notice a lot.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

The thing is that dragons don't seem to use magic consciously, neither does anyone else as far as they know, but they do have legends.

I think I'll just remove the GURPS reference, it seems to be more trouble than it's worth.

[doctor-toc.livejournal.com]

Or, you know, the legends are just that; legends. After all, we have legends about dragons. Doesn't mean they were real :-)

[tavelorn.livejournal.com]

This passage would really annoy me if I was reading it in a supplement I bought.

IMO, a setting describes a world and the rules one uses describes how players and their characters interact with that world. Even in a setting designed with no particular rules set in mind (or with several different ones) the setting is what is real. The history and physics and anthropology of the world happen regardless of the rules set.

And then your rules set should allow one to simulate how that setting works.

The passage above says that the history of the world is different if you play with GURPS than if you play with something else. In my mind you need to take a stand and _declare_ how the setting is. If, as a reader, I don't like it I'm going to change it anyway.

But you are the creative designer of this universe, so do your job and create something with a vision and a focus. The stuff about dragons absorbing magical energy is both a good explanation and an interesting bit of history. If you like it, run with it. But don't include it just because you think GURPS players need a reason why they can't use one of their books.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I think you've misunderstood me slightly - I'm saying that the dragons are all that's left of magic, so if magic can still be used (which I don't recommend) any attempt to use magic will have to be fuelled by eating dragon flesh. That was already in the game with no reference to GURPS, but I thought I might as well mention the GURPS-specific version. I hadn't previously suggested that there might be more magic in places that dragons don't go, but it seems a possible consequence of dragons being magically-fuelled beings.

However, I take your point re. it sounding like there is one rule for GURPS and another for everyone else, so the easy answer is probably to take out the GURPS reference compkletely.