Shameless self promotion

[smokewolf]

Thought I would brag a little (modesty who needs it). Nash Devita (from Silven Crossroads) has posted an interview he did with me from GenCon.

http://www.silven.com/otherrpgs.asp?case=show&id=409

Also he has a fair review of The Swing to go along with it.

http://www.silven.com/otherrpgs.asp?case=show&id=408

Just thought I would pass it along.

[ChefKyle]

Congrats! So how do you get yourself interviewed and reviewed, anyway?

[says the new joe who just put up his first two publications, and wants publicity baaaaad...]

[Ed Cha]

Sounds like an interesting game. Can you tell me more about this magic system?

[smokewolf]

Well...

The Magick system is based off of Aleister Crowley's vision of Magick (Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will). WILL is an actual stat in the game and it is what powers Magick.

There are two forms of Magick - Visualization Magick and True Magick.

A Visualization Magician is limited to one simple rule, his effects have to be visualized in his mind, hence the name. Visualization Magick requires that the magician visualize the outcome, this then is powered by the WILL and generates the desired effect. The potency of this Magick depends directly on the person's ability to visualize. Visualization Magick is not instantaneous.

Visualization Magick is based off of real world systems such as Voodoo, Wicca, Hermetic, Divination, Alchemy, etc. Each character chooses a specialty (and can have more than one). They then WILL effects into existence. Each type of Magick is created the same way by the rules, the only difference is how the characters physically achieve this. There is only one page of "Rituals" included in the book, you are encouraged to seek out other sources and customize your characters knowledge of Magick from the respective sources. So if you are a Wiccan, go to the library or the internet and look at a Book of Shadows. There are rules to convert out of game material into game material and they are easy and simple.

True Magick effects are WILL'ed into existence instantly. If the True Magician wants to magickally produce money he simply WILLS it into
existence or he could rationalize it however he wishes in order to disguise his abilities. True Magick requires no assistance from props, vocabulary or imagination. A True Magician simply WILLS effects into existence. The casual observer would never even know who created the effects.

True Magick has no sub-specialties. A True Magician can WILL anything they desire. There is an overriding mechanic to keep this under control though. True Magick can only be learned by Enlightened people (picture a devote Buddhist monk). Although not limited to Buddhists, one must become Enlightened to how the world and thus Reality truely is.

Once Enlightened, a character understands that Reality is fluid and dynamic. A character may have knowledge of Reality years before becoming Enlightened, but knowledge and understanding are not one in the same. It is this difference which separates the Enlightened from the masses.

Enlightened people believe:

However innumerable sentient beings there are, I vow to save them
However inexhaustible the defilements are, I vow to extinguish them
However immeasurable the truth is, I vow to expound it
However incomparable enlightenment is, I vow to attain it!

So while they could crush mankind and rule the world, they would not. Also there are quite a few Enlightened Ones out there. The act as a regulator on what other inexperienced people do. While its true a character could go back in time and stop JFK from being assasinated and this would still be in line with their beliefs, the others would not allow this because of the ramifications to mankind.

There is a Bodhisattva proverb: (this describes an Enlightened person mindset)
A group of people was once traveling through a desert, when it so happened that three of them strayed away and got lost. Tired and thirsty this trio wandered around the desert in the hope of finding some respite. Finally their quest came to an end when they discovered a high well. The first man rushed to it, looked over the wall and found it full of delicious ambrosial water. He immediately exclaimed in a gesture of frenzied euphoria and jumped into it never to come back. The second too did the same. The third man finally walked over quietly over to the well, peeped over its high wall and then turned around and went back, returning to the desert to search for his other fellow travelers, to help guide them to this paradise.


But back to the magick system:

Magick is limited more by the rest of mankind than anything else. Mankinds belief that magick does not exist is basically the resistance to any magick attempt. Each area is giving a WILL Rating, how more or less the people in that area believe (areas without people still have WILL Ratings too). This rating translates into a Difficulty number which the character must roll over to beat. If they beat it, the effect goes off, if not no effect.

Visualization magicians only dictate the effect not the cause of the effect. So if they use Magick for money, the effect might be caused by them finding a $100 bill on the ground or an inheritence from a dead relative. It can be perceived as purely coincidental.

True Magicians, however, are not effected by this and their effects have no cause, unless they want them to.

The Magick systems are very detailed, for instance the Voodoo section has 6 pages of flavor text, as do many of the other magick systems (if not more). Each is also intended to be an accurate portrail of their respective beliefs and inner workings.


Hope this helps.

[Mike Holmes]

Congrats! So how do you get yourself interviewed and reviewed, anyway?

[says the new joe who just put up his first two publications, and wants publicity baaaaad...]

You show up at GenCon, and talk to folks. And make sure that they end up with a copy of the game (without which a review is terribly difficult).

The silvan crossroads people were very fun to talk with, as was Keith. No surprise that they'd end up doing an interview. It's really that simple.

Mike

[smokewolf]

Congrats! So how do you get yourself interviewed and reviewed, anyway?

[says the new joe who just put up his first two publications, and wants publicity baaaaad...]

Sorry, forgot to reply.

Like Mike said that was the way it happened. GenCon may not be a requirement but by the gods it sure helps. I met tons of industry people there and made lots of contacts.

Right now I am waiting to see if Ken Hite is going to say something about The Swing, he's hinted at it the last two OUT OF THE BOX's.

[ChefKyle]

Alas, for this poor guy from Down Under, GenCon is not an option. With the $3,000 to fly and stay there, I could get $3,000 worth of web-advertising! Which I won't, but, you know...

I meant, you know, online...