On 24 May 2004 at 12:33, Mike Holmes wrote:
> BTW, the way that I've come to view the 14 resistance is that magic is
> similar to what Lightcastle said somewhere. Magic is always rolled against
> some appropriate resistance if there is one. That is, just like the
> flying, if it's a simple use with no conflict, then you don't roll against
> any ability. In that case, however, it's magic, and, as such, the world
> resists it's use. That is, if there's no other resistance that reasonably
> applies, there is the resistance of the world to magic, which is always
> applicable. This is what makes magic substantively different from mundane
> abilites - that it's always, always, always, dramatically appropriate to
> make a roll for magic, because of it's fickleness, and the chance of
> backlash. Magic is never an Automatic Success.
Yeah, that's something I would probably agree with.
> In fact, if one wanted to be rigorous about it, one could say that the
> world's Resist Magic 14 is always available for any resistance just like
> any other ability. So, you can either use whatever ability is at hand, or
> the 14 as your base, and then augment with the other. That is, using this
> idea, everyone would have a +1 to resist magic with the mundane abilities,
> because of the "unreality" of magic. Which is conceptually interesting.
> Moreover, then the suggestion made by someone way back (can't remember who
> - LC, the list has covered this subject extensively previously) to allow
> mundane abilities to augment the natural resistance of the world becomes
> an explicit option. That is, if you don't think that the height of
> something is "actively" resisting some magic, you can use the 14 base, and
> use the passive mundane abilities as augments to that (much like a charm
> does in reverse).
I actually did consider that idea earlier in this discussion. And it's a conceptually interesting way to go if you want magic to be operating very solidly on another plane, while still being influenced by the "details" of the real world.
Still, upon further reading of the rules, it seems (as I mention in another post) that the as written the real difference is between "the world" and "beings". Against beings, magic is always against whatever resistance they can manage, magic or mundane, and the 14 just applies to the "world".
Now, using that idea does have a strong mythological resonance. The descnedents of man are fundamentally different from the rest of the world. It tracks.
LC
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