Re: Ho Much Rule fiddling Is Tolerable?

From: Tim Ellis <tim_at_r2pK4ksjTJApEFPK9xHBMfPhFvHtWG6jcz-JLTwv8S1vtHuPGNV7AW4GZUhHXe7Zv9Tbk4SY>
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:21:33 -0000

It's Common Magic Feats I have a problem with getting to grips with.

I know what charms are, they are physical objects housing a spirit that give you a bonus or allow you to do some sort of magic. We could (should?) describe exactly what they are - lucky rabbits foot (Lucky? it didn't do the rabbit much good...), woven bracelet, polished shell etc

I know what spells are, ritual actions we perform or words that we say before or during an activity to allow us to channel essential power to work our magic. Again we could define the actions or words we use when we cast a spell (throwing salt over our left sholder, crossing our fingers when telling a lie, chanting "eeny meeny miny moe" when making a choice...)

Both of these work both in the "big otherworld" sense and the "Common magic" sense, where the "common magic" charms and spells are (generally) lower powered and draw their power from the mundane (everything) world rather than the Spirit or Essence otherworld.

I know what talents are - they are Common Magic only, and are inborn or learnt abilities with no (apparent) external source of power.

I know what theistic (non-common) feats are - they are the emulation of acts carried out by our dieties, that, through our devotion (in the english rather than the game-technical sense of the word) we are able to enact and draw upon the power of the gods to affect the mundane world. The original feats either took place in the God time, or have been "set" there by repeated Heroquesting in the case of Hero Cults.

But this does leave me struggling to explain common magic feats. Who are we emulating and what is the source of the power? What, descrptively, separates a common magic feat from a talent?            

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