[Torg] Occult Magic w/Cyberpapcy

[Saxon Brenton]

On 18 June 2009 Steve Crow asked:
> Doe the Law of Heretical Magic affect Occult Magic casting?
>
> The law for most forms of magic is seemingly "balanced" as much as it
> gives a +3 diff & +3 backlash, but +5 effective value.
>
> However, if you take backlash out of the equation (as Occult Magic
> does), then it actually seems to work out slightly in favor of the
> occult type. Which, given the nature of heretical magic vis a vis the
> occult, seems kinda odd...

Interesting question.  My take would be: yes the LoHeretical magic would
probably affect the Occult, but with the way the Occult works it would
probably work to the Occult's benefit in the end no matter what.

Perhaps the best way to look at it is to remember that while the LoHeretical
Magic and Orrorshan Occult are working at cross-purposes for what they are
trying to achieve, and definitely working at cross purposes for how the
mechanics of their magic systems work, that ultimately the overall
structure of the Occult as a world law is flexible enough to include the
mechanics of the LoHM and still function.

The game balance of the LoHM is in the penalties and bonuses applied to
the skill rolls made at the time the spell is cast.  OTOH, the game balance
of the Occult is the long-term risk of Orrorshan Corruption checks, and
there isn't much that the LoHM can do to upset that.  Of course, the
practice of magic in Orrorsh involves the often icky scavenger hunt of
creating occult event sentences rather than simply using your material
components and casting what in most fantasy settings would be considered
a spell, but that just underscores the point.  If the LoHM makes the
construction of an occult event sentence a bit harder, well, so what?
Given the piece-meal and non-quantifiable approach of constructing event
sentences, most Occultists are obsessive enough to shrug their shoulders
and try again.  All other factors being equal a non-possibility rated
Occultism probably wouldn't even realising that an alien world law was
involved at all.

Off the top of my head I can't properly recall whether there's *any* backlash
involved in the use of the Occult (would need to check sourcebook).  If there
is then the possibility of having the LoHM impose a demonic possession on
someone using the Occult is the only real wrinkle I can see - and something
like that is not going to be a problem either in-game (the Gaunt Man might
be darkly amused by the outcome, but more likely would be indifferent to it)
or out-of-game (a demonic possession it suits the aesthetics of Orrorsh).

So as far as game mechanics are concerned, the two WLs would probably affect
each other, but the Occult has the advantage in having an overall
superstructure that can absorb and accommodate and use to its own advantage
anything the LoHM can impose.

Perhaps a more important variable is what ends the two WLs are trying to
achieve.  Again they are at cross purposes, but again I think the Occult
has the advantage.  Both WLs modify the mechanics of the magic axiom to
state that the use of magic is a powerful and evil thing.  The LoHM says
this is a bad thing and tries to stop you by front loading penalties to
make it harder and more likely to cause injury.  The Occult *also* thinks
this is a bad thing, but because it's a WL from a knowingly evil reality it
wants to encourage you to use magic as part of the Power Of Corruption's
recruiting.  The thing is, quite apart from the advantage in game mechanics
that I outlined above, the Gaunt Man has also made Orrorshan reality more
powerful/invasive/supercharged/foo, the best example of which is they way
that Corruption still works even in the reality bubble pure zone of a
non-Orrorsh.  It is appropriate to the way that Orrorsh is described in the
Torg game that the Occult should be getting its way (encouraging people to
use magic and thereby be corrupted) over the LoHeretical Magic's.  So, yes,
on the face of it makes sense that the Occultist characters should have
a slight advantage when using magic in the immediate term, just as long as
you remember that in the long term the risk of Eternal Corruption probably
outweigh them.


---
Saxon Brenton
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