marycatelli (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
marycatelli) wrote2013-04-12 08:56 pm
marycatelli) wrote2013-04-12 08:56 pm
specific magic
One thing you see a lot in fantasy is general case magic. Gandalf started it off well, with a fire spell that he could hurtle at anything; the wolves were just what happened to show up.
Perhaps this ties in with the way fantasy magic tends to not so much use stuff. Hair from the victim, being buried under the hearthstone of the victim, engraving the name on the lead tablets -- those would all personalize the spell. Reciting some magic words and waving a wand. . . about all you can do there is add the appropriate name. Ursula K. LeGuin played with it in Earthsea, what with all the names you need to know to do proper wizardry, but neither Ged nor any other wizard has any difficulty whipping up spells on a moment's notice.
It would make a nice counter-balance between the sorcerers and the swordsmen in any world that had open and effective magic if the sorcerer had to devise a spell to each situation, even if he could throw about storms and fireballs once he did.
Would also add drama to the problem of discovering who your foe is, so you can throw spells to defend and counter-attack, lying vulnerable all the time before the discovery.
But it would certainly slow down the action.
Perhaps this ties in with the way fantasy magic tends to not so much use stuff. Hair from the victim, being buried under the hearthstone of the victim, engraving the name on the lead tablets -- those would all personalize the spell. Reciting some magic words and waving a wand. . . about all you can do there is add the appropriate name. Ursula K. LeGuin played with it in Earthsea, what with all the names you need to know to do proper wizardry, but neither Ged nor any other wizard has any difficulty whipping up spells on a moment's notice.
It would make a nice counter-balance between the sorcerers and the swordsmen in any world that had open and effective magic if the sorcerer had to devise a spell to each situation, even if he could throw about storms and fireballs once he did.
Would also add drama to the problem of discovering who your foe is, so you can throw spells to defend and counter-attack, lying vulnerable all the time before the discovery.
But it would certainly slow down the action.
no subject
ISTR though that he does on several occasions weave good luck and navigation charms into a boat, and this is not an instant thing, it means working with the boatbuilder over a long period. The dyers of Lorbanery work their magic into their dyes, but they don't protect the silkworms, that's an orcharder's job. So there are limited magics that relate to 'stuff' in Earthsea - I think they are what is referred to as 'craft magic' as opposed to the more general 'art magic'...
Ged can do certain things instantly - call up illusions, or transform into a falcon - but he does explain that for sea-magic, you have to be able call the relevant bit of the sea using its own name. You can't just say 'sea'. But then Ged is the Archmage and a dragonlord - you'd expect him of all mages, to make things look easy!
no subject
Even if preparing the spells in advance, a la D&D, could mean some dramatic magic scenes.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject