Blood and death are waiting

[Mike Holmes]

Rick! That borders on the pompous! Nice job. :-)

This is just a game, after all. As such, I think it's no big deal to play the good guy sorcerer. Like I said above, that's what I'd be doing. I mean, sure ultimate power is a hard thing to get around in RL. But you don't actually have it in an RPG, as a player, do you? I mean, the rewards aren't real, so refusing the spoils of power is pretty easy. If all you're after is a good story, in fact, then it's child's play to be the good guy.

Heck, you could play a Bhudda-like or Christ-like character in an RPG with little trouble if you had the notion to do so. It's just not that big a deal. :-)

Mike

[Rick]

So now that the concept of do-gooding in extreme sense has been illuminated to be as trite and ridiculous as destroying the world, what say we move on to the real point of the discussion.  With the potential for such aweful power being wielded by characters for what ever purpose whimsy strikes, the need for a tolerant social philosophy amongst sorcerers would logically be beneficial. This set of rules could be looked to as a guideline for acceptable or even enforceable behavior and help to establish, destroy, and/or maintain the balance in the shadowed society of sorcery.  (Or to help new players and old establish a successful venue in which their characters can pursue life, liberty and domestic tranquility.  Or to dash it all to bits.  It's your game.)

So I'd like to progress on to said discussion of the rules of magic.  More specifically, as this is a great forum to do this in, I would like to use them (after lengthy debate) to create a constitution of sorts that is specific to the issues that would arise from violating things like:

Rule #1.

Don't be stupid.

I think this paraphrases just about every situation that could or has gone wrong (where in someone had a choice of course).

What other maxims should form the supporting cast?

[Irmo]

On this path, we quickly reach a point to where we have to consider not just social philosophies among sorcerers, but also the possibility of organisations charging themselves with the furtherment of one or the other philosophy. In areas where sorcery is frowned upon or persecuted, such organisations are even more likely to come into existence, albeit of course in secrecy, to protect its members, especially those not yet powerful enough to protect themselves.

[pete_darby]

Rule #1.

Don’t be stupid.

I think this paraphrases just about every situation that could or has gone wrong (where in someone had a choice of course).

Just as your good may not be my good, your stupid may not be my stupid. Comes across like "don't do what I don't want you to do."

[Draigh]

I'd have to disagree Pete... I think there are some general guidelines of stupidity that are universal.

[Spartan]

So I'd like to progress on to said discussion of the rules of magic.  

Rule #1.

Don't be stupid.

What other maxims should form the supporting cast?

In Hârn, mages are governed by the "Laws of the Shek Pvar", which go like this:

I) Bring not the scorn of the Kvikir (ordinary folk) upon thy brothers (i.e. other mages), nor make with thyne art a place for thyself above them.

II) Keep sacred, and free from harm, thy House of Lore (where you studied) and make a tithe to thy House a portion of thyne arcane treasure

III) Speard not thy lore, even amongst thy brothers, without sanction of they peers (no unsupervised teaching).

IV) Succor not a renegade of the art, but strike him down with thy power, else summon brothers to thyne aid.

-HârnMaster Magic, Shek-Pvar 5.

So in other words, don't mess too much with the mundane world (or at least don't get caught), and don't try to rule others through magic in an official capacity.  Don't start fights in your Chantry (Guildhouse), and kickback some of your stuff to the alma mater.  Defend that building against all interlopers.  Don't teach anyone, not even other mages anything about your magic and other lore without Guild approval... you never know how your student might put that to use.  Also, if you come across a renegade (someone who's flagrantly broken laws 1-3), kill him or report him to the nearest Chantry, or risk being declared renegade yourself.

Maybe some of this can be adapted to the mages of TROS/Weyrth... just some food for thought.

-Mark

[kenjib]

I see sorcerers as more fiercely independant.  Rather than following a code, like "don't be stupid for the benefit of all sorcerers" I see it more as a balance of power like "don't piss me off or I'll kill you."  Sorcerers desire power (whether for good or ill, that's why they pursue sorcery), but they don't want to attract the attention of other sorcerers because it's much easier to kill someone with sorcery than it is to avoid being killed.

[kenjib]

I forgot the corollaries:  "Don't try to kill me because you don't know what I've got up my sleeve" and "Don't try to kill me because I have powerful friends to get payback."

[Jasper the Mimbo]

[/quote]

What about a coven of sorcerers creating their own little nightmare of an utopia somewhere with the mother of all Conquer rituals: Happiness is mandatory, dissent is impossible.[/quote]

...What is the matrix?