rpg magic is sort of boring
Jan. 5th, 2021 07:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethrpg magic is sort of boring.
Not when you're playing. Then it is a whole toolkit, often filled with grenades, and the world will provide a number of (flammable) problems to ise it on.
But as a story? Boring.
When you're playing the cost is all that adventuring for XP and the stacks of gold it takes to fill your spellbook. You were there putting the work in, magic is your reward.
When you're reading the cost is... not inherent to the system. Maybe they studied from books and had significant conversations and now there's magic. Maybe they bought it. Boooooring.
RPG magic may as well come from the diy store.
... which is also a story. but.
Rpg magic is not a metaphor, or an expression of emotion, or an outward sign of inward conflict. Unless you really work at the roleplaying, obvs. But just sitting there on the page, it's not. The divination spells are googling for stuff and the create spells are amazon only quicker. The whole layer of magic having Meaning is just... not. Until you rp it. If you feel like doing so.
I mean look at how characters are min maxed. Sure as players we want our stats to be optimised, because squish elsewise, but people have dreams and no character sheets, so they aspire beyond their stats all the time. Yet only one NPC in the NPC Codex, that I noticed, has a background like 'really wants to do magic, is no good at magic, keeps trying'. Millions would, but rpg stories aren't about them.
And the flavor of the spells is a bit samey.
You might have magic in your bloodline, receive it from unknown powers, or ask nicely from a god. But you'll end up with the same discrete quantifiable spells whichever.
Boring.
Because the magic isnt the story and has to be filtered really carefully to express things about the story.
Otherwise it's a toolkit and blowing stuff up.
Also there's a whole problem of anticipation. When you are playing the yearning having cycle is like, here is a rulebook full of spells you can't have yet, here is a stronghold full of monsters, kill them all and get what you want.
... which put like that is creepy. but.
when you're reading the story, where's the wanting? Does the mage stop before the mission to think about how they can't quite cast a fireball, but maybe a bit more stabbing will give him the experience he needs?
... pathfinder style rpg experience systems are super weird. suuuuuuper weird. murder not generally making you better at basket weaving, outside of level ups.
When you're playing the anticipation is built by your spellbook and your character sheet. You look forwards to using a good trick, then you get the chance.
In stories you have to set up the anticipation too. A spell is only a payoff if the story knew it was coming and set up some tension it resolved.
I kind of get why so many super hero powers are like one thing but more so than anyone else can do. Because once you're a wizard with the whole of magic at your disposal, well, you could do anything.
Setting it up so it seems like a good trick when you do indeed do anything, really very tricky.
The kind of magic like in Buffy where monsters are some aspect of growing up or relationships or emotions, and magic is... mostly asking something selfish and seeing how it would work out if that really worked... like cheerleader mom or turning into rats or all the things Willow did including 'you don't see'... well that kind of magic isnt going to clear a dungeon. If you have to have Drama every time and spells are always emotional catharsis, that's not a day's work. Satisfying storytelling, tricky dungeoneering.
What Ethan did to Sunnydale - any of the things Ethan did to Sunnydale - aren't the kind of magic available to PCs, because can you imagine what they'd do if they could magic a whole town at once? Bad guys get to do that sometimes, but good guys on the whole do not get the chance to do it back.
And PC spells dont get as artistic as turning outsides to insides or releasing their inner teenager. RPG spells need clear quantifiable repeatable standardised results.
Stories get bored with repeatable.
Not always obvs, but, repeatable might as well press a button.
So what magic is for in a game - tools for the PC to change the game world - isn't what magic is for in fiction - tool for the story to give the reader Feels.
PC roleplaying is to give the Feels.
And there's only the other players there to make Feels things.
These thoughts could be more coherent but that's kind of it.
Magic is a different tool in games or in stories and I dont quite know what to do in book type storytelling with an rpg size spellbook.
Not when you're playing. Then it is a whole toolkit, often filled with grenades, and the world will provide a number of (flammable) problems to ise it on.
But as a story? Boring.
When you're playing the cost is all that adventuring for XP and the stacks of gold it takes to fill your spellbook. You were there putting the work in, magic is your reward.
When you're reading the cost is... not inherent to the system. Maybe they studied from books and had significant conversations and now there's magic. Maybe they bought it. Boooooring.
RPG magic may as well come from the diy store.
... which is also a story. but.
Rpg magic is not a metaphor, or an expression of emotion, or an outward sign of inward conflict. Unless you really work at the roleplaying, obvs. But just sitting there on the page, it's not. The divination spells are googling for stuff and the create spells are amazon only quicker. The whole layer of magic having Meaning is just... not. Until you rp it. If you feel like doing so.
I mean look at how characters are min maxed. Sure as players we want our stats to be optimised, because squish elsewise, but people have dreams and no character sheets, so they aspire beyond their stats all the time. Yet only one NPC in the NPC Codex, that I noticed, has a background like 'really wants to do magic, is no good at magic, keeps trying'. Millions would, but rpg stories aren't about them.
And the flavor of the spells is a bit samey.
You might have magic in your bloodline, receive it from unknown powers, or ask nicely from a god. But you'll end up with the same discrete quantifiable spells whichever.
Boring.
Because the magic isnt the story and has to be filtered really carefully to express things about the story.
Otherwise it's a toolkit and blowing stuff up.
Also there's a whole problem of anticipation. When you are playing the yearning having cycle is like, here is a rulebook full of spells you can't have yet, here is a stronghold full of monsters, kill them all and get what you want.
... which put like that is creepy. but.
when you're reading the story, where's the wanting? Does the mage stop before the mission to think about how they can't quite cast a fireball, but maybe a bit more stabbing will give him the experience he needs?
... pathfinder style rpg experience systems are super weird. suuuuuuper weird. murder not generally making you better at basket weaving, outside of level ups.
When you're playing the anticipation is built by your spellbook and your character sheet. You look forwards to using a good trick, then you get the chance.
In stories you have to set up the anticipation too. A spell is only a payoff if the story knew it was coming and set up some tension it resolved.
I kind of get why so many super hero powers are like one thing but more so than anyone else can do. Because once you're a wizard with the whole of magic at your disposal, well, you could do anything.
Setting it up so it seems like a good trick when you do indeed do anything, really very tricky.
The kind of magic like in Buffy where monsters are some aspect of growing up or relationships or emotions, and magic is... mostly asking something selfish and seeing how it would work out if that really worked... like cheerleader mom or turning into rats or all the things Willow did including 'you don't see'... well that kind of magic isnt going to clear a dungeon. If you have to have Drama every time and spells are always emotional catharsis, that's not a day's work. Satisfying storytelling, tricky dungeoneering.
What Ethan did to Sunnydale - any of the things Ethan did to Sunnydale - aren't the kind of magic available to PCs, because can you imagine what they'd do if they could magic a whole town at once? Bad guys get to do that sometimes, but good guys on the whole do not get the chance to do it back.
And PC spells dont get as artistic as turning outsides to insides or releasing their inner teenager. RPG spells need clear quantifiable repeatable standardised results.
Stories get bored with repeatable.
Not always obvs, but, repeatable might as well press a button.
So what magic is for in a game - tools for the PC to change the game world - isn't what magic is for in fiction - tool for the story to give the reader Feels.
PC roleplaying is to give the Feels.
And there's only the other players there to make Feels things.
These thoughts could be more coherent but that's kind of it.
Magic is a different tool in games or in stories and I dont quite know what to do in book type storytelling with an rpg size spellbook.