Re: Symbolic Sight - what do you see?

From: Charles Corrigan <charles_at_...>
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 08:36:18 -0000

wrote:
>
> > >> There doesn't seem to be a description available on what
> > >> Symbolic Sight really shows, and how does it show it. The
> > >> same, I think, is true with Soul Sight and Spirit Face.
> > >>
> >
> > The potential exists for these to be anywhere from foreign film
subtitles (or
> > "Pop Up Video") through bad rotoscoping to "Shallow Hal". The
descriptions
> > of "pictors" in Greg Bear's "Eon" and "Eternity", and the way
Latro sees things
> > "the way they are" in Gene Wolfe's "Soldier in the Mist" come
closest for me.
> >
> > GC
>
> Yes, of course. But rather than just make it up, I'd like to hear
what
> the creators of the game have had in mind.
>
> One of the greatest flaws in RQ was that magic was only descibed in
> terms of game-mechanics, and not in look-and-feel. The look and
feel is
> at least as important, if not more so.

I think that two different sorcerous cultures will have wildly different personal experiences of Symbolic Sight. Within the culture each church/chapter/school (or at least the non-mainstream ones) will be noted for the different insights given by Symbolic Sight learned there. And then there is the individual experience - two otherwise similar individuals will not have identical experiences of the same situation with their Symbolic Sight.

I like the idea that
* Mostali Symbolic Vision is somewhat like a spare black and white MS Visio line diagram that pops up descriptions in harshly delineated runes when the viewer focus on something * Brithini's are similar to Mostali but with gray shading and lesh harsh runes
* Loskalmi sight has colour and medieval style illustrated runes * The Rokari see similarly to Loskalmi but are wondering why there is less colour in their visons that their forbears reported * Lunar sorcerers have occasional psychedelic experiences and the the professors of the Lunar College of Magic write learned papers explaining how the Goddess is letting them get the occasional glimpse of Soul Sight and or Spirit Face. Others just note that they are completely barmy (its not clear whether "they" means the sorcerers, the professors or both).

>
> Hopefully we've learned a thing or two since then.

MGF and YGWV spring to mind! ;-)

What we do know is that your particular magical sense is one mastery more effective when analysing your own magic type than when analysing an alien magical type...

regards,
Charles