Magic as Archetype

The aged Wizard searching through ancient tomes of great proportion. The Sorcerer's Apprentice, secretly learning his master's secrets. A Druid transforming into one animal after another in a magical chase. A Bard commanding the winds to dance to his tune as he plays his harp. A Saint healing the lame and the blind.

Magical ability abounds in myth, legend, and folklore. These stories come from real places, real times, and real people. Choosing the the cultures from which these stories sprang guides and colors any approach to designing a magic system in a Table Top Role Playing Game. These choices can answer some fundamental questions guiding the gamification of magic into a coherent system while striving to keep it from feeling purely utilitarian. In other words, keeping magic magical.

My design goals aren't so much designing a magic system from scratch, but interpreting OSR magic through a lens that captures a folkloric feeling by considering the cultural influences behind the familiar archetypes. To that end, I have created categories describing different approaches to magic using cultural references.

1) Ars Goetia

The term Ars Goetia comes from The Lesser Key of Solomon which is specifically is a list of spirits along with rituals on how to conjure and command them. It is a formulaic approach to magic I find satisfactory for a game system. It fits the archetype of the wizard studying a spell book, while raising the idea that these spirits have their own consciousness. It raises the issue of possible spell failure, and what the repercussions of such failure might be. In such a system, I envision a "Mage Hand" not as some vague focus of shape-able energy, but as a weak physical manifestation of a sentient being. Magic in this sense is not merely a force like electricity, but a negotiation with a being that has a mind of its own.

To emphasize the this conscious aspect of magic, I was drawn to the life of occultist John Dee and the idea of a Shewstone as a focus to communicate with spirits. The TV series Requiem is a fascinating treatment of this idea, in which the language of spirits is not merely spoken, but sung. Combining these ideas, in my system magic from the school of Ars Goetia is learned through spell books, but must be sung into a Shewstone to summon and command spirits to do the caster's bidding.

2) Ars Natura

Using Ars Goetia as a creative cue for my naming conventions, Ars Natura is based on the concept of animism. The idea that every natural thing - tree, river, spring, or stone - is imbued with its own conscious spirit. Ars Natura is the art of communicating with these spirits. It is the power wielded by druids to change the weather, befriend beasts, clear forest pathways or entangle others, to heal, and to keep the undead at bay.

3) Ars Glamourus

Glamour is a word used to describe the magical illusions of fairies. I've made Ars Glamourus a type of magic used by bards to cast powerful enchantments. Not only visual illusions, but spells that overcome the will of the target, such as charm, suggestion, and command fall under this category.

4) Ars Ancestra

Ancestral worship is common throughout cultures across the world. I have made Ars Ancestra a type of magic that appeals to the dead for wisdom and protection. The Celtic practice of keeping the heads of the deceased in their home is a big inspiration for this. The tale of severed head of Bran the Blessed is a fascinating one!

5) Ars Divinica

Lastly we come to the idea of supernatural powers granted to mortals directly by the gods themselves. Using the AD&D Paladin as my starting point, I created an "aspect" I call Sainted. That is, a god or gods have chosen and individual and made them a saint, bestowing them with the power to perform miracles. The saint has not chosen this, but has been chosen, for reasons known only to the gods themselves.

Conclusion

I'll be exploring each of these concepts in detail in further blog posts, revising this post to link to those as I create them. The unifying thoughts behind each of these "schools" of magic is that they are based on some type of cultural reference and archetype, and in each of them, magic is alive. It is no mere utilitarian formulation of words and gestures that bring about a predictable outcome by manipulating mindless energy. It is a negotiation with entities who's agendas may be hidden from or even incomprehensible to the caster!

John Waterhouse