[Torg] Dominick's view on Traditions

[Dominick Riesland]

With the return of Jasyn Jones comes an influx of ideas that have been
released from the prison of his mind. The idea of Magical Traditions
was first found on the Storm Knights site, but was referenced in his
new take on the Axiom Chart. This is my commentary on that particular
concept.

Magical Traditions, as far as I understand the concept, refers to the
trappings of magic as espoused by a group of magicians. The most
likely explanation is that one magician, or maybe a small group,
discover certain magical symbols and principles and use them to build
a body of spells and rituals that are indicative of that group's
development of magic.

In Jasyn's view of the Magic Axiom, these are the impetus by which
magic develops. At higher Axiom Levels, differing Traditions
eventually come into contact with one another, leading to expansions
in their scope and power. Finally, a "Unified Theory of Magic" can
develop, leading to spells that need not tie themselves to a specific
Tradition.

Traditions often handle the same magical concept or spell in different
ways. An elemental Tradition may manipulate a campfire into a
Fireball, whereas a necromantic Tradition may need corpsefire, a
fire-like substance produced by rotting corpses. A nature Tradition
may produce light by duplicating the effects of the sun, whereas a
bardic tradition may convert music from an instrument into light.

However, all of these, in theory, can be combined into a single form.
That combination leads me to the conclusion that Traditions are merely
a self-imposed concept by which magicians can organize and learn magic
quickly. They become like styles, where like-minded magicians produce
similar spells because of their common base of knowledge from which
they draw.

In many ways, this is similar to Martial Arts. While there are many
different styles of Martial Arts, they all use similar maneuvers, and
if one could learn enough, a unified MA could be derived from them.
There is no logical reason a Karate student cannot learn a Kung Fu
maneuver, just as there is no logical reason a bard could not learn a
druid spell, assuming they operate on the same skills. (This
assumption is needed because it is stated that a person from a high
Axiom Level reality can learn both types.)

So for me, Traditions are useful in describing the specific trappings
of a group's magic, but are not useful in codifying a Magic Axiom or a
cosm's approach to magic in general. A cosm might allow or disallow
certain practices in variance with the Axiom Level, but that is
handled by a World Law.

Comments welcome, but don't be surprised if it takes a while to respond.

Dominick Riesland, aka Rabbitball
Creator of the Cosmversal Grimoire
"There are always possibilities, my sergeant told me. But he never had
his possibilities torn away like wings from a fly."