[Torg] The Magic Axiom Chart (Magic Axiom, 4 of 9)

[Jones Jasyn]

On Feb 1, 2010, at 8:11 AM, Phil Dack wrote:

> ----- Original Message ——
>> 
>> 1- Magical beliefs are now possible, including belief in luck, the symbolic 
>> manipulation of luck, omens, and so forth. The folk lore skill is possible.
> 
> Presumably linking back to what we've discussed before, about the nature of magic being patterns and the belief that by repeating patterns you can recreate events.

Well, the nature of magic is symbols and the belief that by manipulating symbols, one causes real effects. Four leaf clovers, black cats, breaking a mirror, spilling salt: these are examples of the symbols involved in real-world superstitions.

> At Axiom 0 they can't even consider the possibility of magic. Here they can believe, but it doesn't work?

Exactly. At axiom 1 symbols do not manipulate reality, but people think they do.

>> Omens, spontaneous events that prefigure good or ill luck, first manifest. The 
>> skill of omen reading is possible, which allows individuals to understand the 
>> import of omens.
> 
> Low Axiom magic is intriguing. How do you think different axioms affect the reliability of the omens,

As the Axiom increases, omen reading and fortunetelling become more accurate. They're never perfect though, they always provide ambiguous information that could be interpreted in different ways. (You know, like the Torg rules.)

> and to what extent is it "pattern / interpretation / prediction" and to what extend "pattern / interpretation / belief / influence"?

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Could you maybe expand?

>> 8- The rudiments of spells and spellcasting are developed. Specially trained (or 
>> talented) individuals can devise and cast spells. Spells allow precise control 
>> over when, how, and how powerfully a magical effect manifests. The spellcaster’s 
>> Tradition limits what effects are possible.
> 
> Do you think that Magic progression is limited by Tech / Social axiom requirements around communication technology and the physical tools to support that? Or can an oral tradition develop spell casting?

The Social axiom governs organized scholarly pursuits, including a study of magic. At low Social, scholarship is haphazard and individualistic, at higher levels it involves empirical verification of data and transparency. A higher Social would allow for a more comprehensive and more effective study of magic, leading to more rapid advancements or discoveries.

Tech tools provide communication media: printing press, telegraph, radio, television. Magic does as well, as sending information is a function of Divination magic. Fast communication does aid in spreading ideas across a wider area (that is, a larger population), and this can help innovations and discoveries to spread.

> Presumaby, pattern space (whether you use that term or not)

In Aysle, patterns are the source of magic, they are the essence of magic. Some wish to extend this to all cosms, the Axiom chart is agnostic in this regard—it neither enacts nor forbids this idea.

I do note that patternspace is a term the List coined, not one in the canon, and the canon takes no position on whether the patterns are real anywhere else other than Aysle. My Magic axiom follows both of these precepts.

> can be accessed through multiple senses, so a pattern could be perceived through smell if that was a dominant sense for a species?

For Aysle, patterns are sensed not through mundane senses like sight or smell, but through the magic skills- learning a magic skill (or being born with one) allows one to sense patterns and influence them, in ways not easily explainable to others.

Can there be beings in Aysle who interact with patterns, without the magic skills? The extant rules don't support this (they don't forbid it, it just isn't there), but GM's can do whatever they wish.

>  Is this an interesting way to create some unique complimentary AKs!?

I think you lost me. What you seem to be asking is: if race A senses patterns with sight and race B senses patterns with smell, does this mean they can have different AK's?

Within the metaphysics of Aysle, patterns are eternal and unchanging. The pattern of magic defines what AK's are available, and what they are. Mages can imperfectly sense the patterns, so some AK's might not have been discovered and some that have been discovered might be different than the Ayslish think.

>> Divination effects are possible. Some types of magical creatures are now 
>> possible.
> 
> Do you have any thoughts on what "some" might mean here? Presumably not elementals, but perhaps low end magical creatures like ogres or unicorns?

Yes, I have a chart with entries for magical creatures. It's preliminary, but in essence magical creatures are first possible at an 8, but only low-magic ones. Each level of the Age of Arcana allows for increasingly magical creatures.

>> 9- Apportation effects are possible. Spells can be translated between 
>> Traditions. Focusing is possible.
> 
> While I like the idea of traditions, I do wonder if that is merely one possibility of magical interpretation. A high tech, high social society who stumble across magic and build axioms gradually might begin from an assumption of "single unified theory" using their scientific understanding as a basis, meaning that traditions never occur. Have you had any thoughts how your proposal would model / reflect this?

In this case, a Tradition does indeed exist: the single Tradition all magicians in that cosm belong to. High-magic cosms are very often single-Tradition worlds, for various reasons.

Multiple Traditions are the norm for low Magic cosms, because of the nature of folklore and superstitions. Each culture has its own folklore, the differences in folklore cause different Traditions to emerge in each culture.

A world with fast communication or travel will, almost always, undergo some sort of leveling process, where the differences between various cultures tend to subside (paradoxically causing people to hold on tightly to those that remain). One example is the United States, between 1776 and now, and the current global culture, dominated by Hollywood.

In such a world, cultures have fewer differences now (but had more in the past), but people hold onto cultural differences more tightly. This would affect what Traditions exist and how they are similar or different.

Last, when Magic raises to a 13, the essence of Magic is identified. Substantive differences between Traditions vanish, though each likely still has an idiosyncratic symbology (Mage: the Ascension is a good example). This can lead to a single-Tradition world, but might not.

>> 15- Spell formulae develop. A formula is a spell that can be manipulated at 
>> will, with no extra effort or concentration.
> 
> I like this idea and it feels akin to something I think I discussed before, about having a flexible AK within the spell pattern.

I like the idea as well.

>> 21- Wish magic becomes an innate ability. Anyone can evoke a wish, simply by 
>> concentrating.
> 
> Are there any limits at all at Axiom 21?

Concentration involves willpower. Those with a higher willpower (in Torg terms, the Mind attribute and the willpower skill) are stronger. When one person confronts another, the individual with a higher willpower total wins.

> Or is this a true imaginarium, where every individual lives within his own ever changing pattern space?

So far as Aysle is concerned, the realm of the patterns seems to be walled off from sentient beings. They can sense it, but not travel to it.

On point, do people in a Magic 21 world live in their own ever-changing world? Magic can create dimensional folds (bits of one dimension that are pinched off), so people could fold space and create what is, in effect, their own private plane. If no other individuals are present, their will in that domain is supreme. Whatever they desire manifests.

Does this seem likely? Yes, it does. Are all Magic 21 worlds compelled to be like this? No, it's up to each individual writer and gamemaster.

> Glad to see you're better and feeling creative! 

Thanks. Me, too.

Jasyn Jones
jasynj (at) gmail (dot) com

"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Ulysses, Alfred Lord Tennyson