Novel Writing Practice

>>54083351
Yet in cases where a magus goes wrong and rogue, whether it be a simple case of an immoral magus using glamours to trick Mundanes out of money, or a massive abomination that necessitates Templar intervention, we as a whole are all to quick to simply excuse it as being a case of that the rogue magus was just a 'bad seed', or that 'there's one bad apple in every bunch'.

Little to no thought is given to the idea that perhaps he or she should have never been allowed access to spells in the first place.

I know, particularly in Caretaker mentalities, that the idea of denying a wide-eyed youth the wonders and miracles of magic seems bitterly cruel and miserly. Let us remember, however, that there are fell powers who do not allow the chance of a new, naive magus to slip idly by.

The Diabolists do not handle rejection from their selected recruits well- theirs is a selfish mentality- 'either with us or against us'. Diabolists will generally avoid trying to recruit a child from a known family of magi- they have doubtlessly been warned time and time again of the inevitable horror that awaits all who sign on with the devil worshipers, and if they do attempt to use threats, the diabolist in question runs the risk of incurring an entire magi family's wrath.

But a child who just so happens to find a spellbook and has no instructor has no such protection. Is it right then, to allow them to explore a new, dangerous world unguided and unwarned?

We all know the Templar's "draconian" belief on would-be magi. That they should be tested, screened for mental instability, warned and educated. It is not enough in their eyes for the first act of a newly minted adept to heal a wounded puppy- they openly admit that in their eyes, each and every magus should be ready to fight the Diabolists and their dread master to the last breath.

>>54083477

I am not saying we should immediately hand our children over to fight the Templar's eternal war against the fallen morning-star, but let us examine further the beliefs behind divine lottery.

It is accepted, of course, that a magus is allowed to teach his or her children, spouse, father, mother, grandchildren, anyone of their bloodline. But all that is required for a magus to begin teaching a stranger is a few forms and token tests of the magus. Almost no attention is paid to the would-be student.

Not everyone has as pure intentions as healing hurt puppies, as many of you are sadly aware.

The point of all this rambling conjecture, you ask? It is this: Too often, we accept that the way of doing things is either one extreme or the other. You either believe in divine lottery or you're a strict Templar who believes a student must earn every spell.

Is it really so bizarre to think that we should investigate a middle ground?

I scoff at your rhetoric.

What you posit then is some form of negligence?

You mention the Templars:

We all know the Templar's "draconian" belief on would-be magi. That they should be tested, screened for mental instability, warned and educated. It is not enough in their eyes for the first act of a newly minted adept to heal a wounded puppy- they openly admit that in their eyes, each and every magus should be ready to fight the Diabolists and their dread master to the last breath.

Do you suggest the Diabolists and their "dread master" are not a threat that warrants addressing? Do you suggest it wise to leave magi, untrained, unfettered, out there to be recruited to a dark cause?

I believe what you posit as two opposite ends of a spectrum are not so. The state the Templar wish to induce through regulation and education of magi is proven to reduce the number of casualties in the war against the Diabolists. Those who would choose to allow a magi to go untrained, uneducated, and vulnerable to the seductions of the Diabolists in any way, simply argue indirectly for their own murder or the murder of another magi.

>>54083537
There is one common consensus I am in complete agreement with- that unchecked exposure of the arcane world to the mundane world would end in death and fire for all of us. So understand that each new 'rogue magus'- every newcomer to the arcane world that decides to use their gifts to wreak havoc or dominate- brings us closer and closer to this apocalyptic end.

It should not matter what mentality you are. If you are Elitist, then understand that your family line will mean nothing if the facade is breached irreparably and everyone begins remodeling reality.

If you are Isolationist, then already the idea of divine lottery and all it's hazards should sound absurd.

If you are a Caretaker, understand that the arcane world is dangerous, and not some harmless adventure for you to thrust on some hapless child who is still learning right and wrong.

Once the facade is broken- once the existence of the arcane world is irreversibly shown to the mundanes- there will be no going back.

>>54083351
I know this is practice, but it brought me a thinking point for magic in a setting, whether for /tg/ or a novel. So I'm gonna ramble a tad. Maybe it turns out to be useful, maybe its obvious shit, maybe it's just shit, I dunno

Keeping magic mysterious is great since, to be honest, you don't know how it works. With that said, something that needs to be clearly established in your head is whether the magic system in your universe is Natural or Arbitrary. Even if it's just for collecting your own thoughts.
An Arbitrary system is one where the levitate spell works only when you successfully pronounce the incantation precisely as it is pronounced, with the proper amount and angle of want twisting and thrusting, with the right runing on the walls, or whatever else is required to do it. Getting the pronunciation a teeny bit wrong, or giving an 8th wand twist where you needed a 6th just makes the spell not work. No Register. Maybe the spell misfires, but this is honestly more done as a gag.
A Natural Magic system is where the wizard is able to behave more freeformly and use his own power. The important part is that the maneuvers and incantations are not explicitly required. One guy could levitate the rock by chanting the harry potter spell with the wand twists, another makes a phantom lifting motion, and another raises his eyebrow. What's important is the fact that there is no set "way" to do this sort of magic, and there is room for error. A poorly cast levitate spell won't just fail to register, you might at least lighten the item, or make a small whirlwind, or something reminiscent of how you were trying to lift it instead of a dead no sell.

An Arbitrary magic system speaks to some background power that is doing most of the heavy lifting. The best example I can think of is a computer. One without the fancy operating system. You can't just type "Word Processor" to get to your word processor, you have to do something like "Set Registry: B: Run..." and so on.

>>54084032
In your Arbitrary system, some great mage, god, dragon, or what have you has done the groundwork. They made the Magic "Server" if you will, Wizards are just "Clients". A Wizard might have to supply some juice to get some magic, but fundamentally, they aren't casting fireball, they are accessing a server with a request to cast fireball at these coordinates at this trajectory.

By opposition, the Natural Magic system has at its core more reliance on the wizard. The Wizard has to understand not only the spell to make the fireball work, but the natural laws he can manipulate to get one. He can't just "place" a fireball in the same way an Arbitrary Wizard can, he has to have at least a rudimentary understanding of thermodynamics, and how to manipulate the elements and energy at his disposal to make this pocket of air ignite. There are likely multiple solutions to the same problem as well. Where one wizard might cast levitate by bending the laws of gravity, another might do so my creating a localized "chunk" of air pressure.

A thought.
Arbitrary systems work best in a "dying magic" setting. Whether because the magic "server" only had so much put into it at first, or because the arcane instructions are slowly being lost (One grandmaster has, say, 10000 spells, and across his 10 students, he manages to forget to teach, say, 300 of them, and of those 300, 100 are known only my him, including one Great Spell he never found a worthy recipient of, after the guys who taught them to him died after not teaching it to somebody else.)

Natural Magic works better if magic is a more constant or evolving practice, since anyone can find a new solution to a problem, or start from level 1 by themself if they have a mind to it.

>>54084106
Arbitrary Magic lets you get away with more bullshit, since by its very nature, the arbitrary system is arbitrary. You can complain about what directory a spell is under, but since it's arbitrary, you can't say something doesn't work that way. It also comes pre-packaged with lots of mystery and questions you could answer to bulk out your story. Who set up the "server"? Why did they do it? What was the cost? Why did they file Fireball with Levitate in Directory B, but put Firebolt with Newt Transformation in directory E? I'd say this might work better in a work where magic itself was the focus, or if it was only a periphery element, since you can get away with answering none of these questions, and just stick to your story of a bunch of totally not-gay old men who live in a tower together who advise someone, or cast a teleport spell when it matters.

A Natural Magic system is going to require some input on your part. It's harder to get away with fleshing nothing out, and even more terrifying, if you plan on going heavily in to detail on this kind of magic, you might have to do some homework on natural laws, physics, and all sorts of other stuff so you aren't talking completely out your ass.
I'd think this type would work best for middle-of-the-road stories, where Magic is more than a footnote, but less than the focus. If you wanted people to shit themselves when they read your shit, you might be willing to actually take on the research assignment and flesh this baby out, but that WILL be hard.
It also probably better suits an "adventure" story, since gradual improvement in the field is far more likely when you are working with enhancement of technique and application instead of memorization of guarded(?) procedures. You will also have more freedom (but also more responsibility) when it comes to integrating this kind of magic, as unlike the Arbitrary system which is a more cut-and-dry have and have not affair, the Natural System is more holistic by nature.

>>54084233
I think I'm done for now.
Hope it wasn't complete shite.