Why does the uselessly vague and flavorless term of "magical energy" appear in basically every RPG with magic, and even a lot of fantasy fiction in general?
Even worse is when "pure magical energy" shows up as some mysterious source of projectiles or barriers.
>>47530887
Look at it this way, it is energy that is magical in nature.
Just as heat is a form of mundane energy. And sound is a form of energy.
Magical energy is the same shit, but magic. It's nothing specific just like "energy" in real life doesn't mean specifically something like electricity.
>>47530887
Because otherwise it'd be normal energy. The stuff we all deal with on a daily basis.
>>47530887
In my setting, "Pure magical energy" literally does nothing, because anything made of "Pure magical energy" is indistinguishable from the background magic. In fact, that IS the background magic.
To cast spells, the magic must be weaved into patterns, or given flavors, or otherwise be mucked with in some way. This makes the magic do something.
>>47531014
Ba-dum-pish.
>>47530887
The Forgotten Realms campaign setting does it a little differently.
It's called the Weave, and made of the Mystra, the Goddess of Magic.
For character use, it's divided in the Art (arcane) and the Power (divine).
There's also other types like Spellfire, Silver Fire, Nodes, the Shadow Weave, etc.
>>47530887
Because it is effective linguistic shorthand you fucking autist.
>>47530887
So what do you want it to be called instead?
one Chinese fantasy novel has magic pretty much being on par with nuclear energy.
to the point it will cause cancer in normal people
>>47530887
Because settings often feel the need to have some sort of null-element magic so you can just have a vanilla wizard shooting vanilla bolts of vanilla magic, instead of sullying your character by making them a pyromancer or whatever.
It's also an easy-out to make general shield spells for all types of wizards by having glowing energy barriers, instead of having to make a spooky shield for necromancers or a 'predict and dodge next attack' ability for diviners.
>>47530887
If it were mundane and not mysterious then it wouldn't be magic it would just be energy.
>>47530887
Because it's cheap (for the author) and evocative, which makes it easy fodder for fantasy writers. No need to explain magic when it's "energy".
Philosophically, it's stupid, and I happen to agree with you.
And I dislike Vancian casting as well. There is no "magic" when magic is an art or a craft (which is what you find in Pathfinder or D&D). It's not mysterious, because it's well understood and harnessed. "Magical energy" is a known quantity, and is efficiently utilized by those who know how. It's not magic anymore. It might as well be "petroleum" or "light".
Think about it. What is our modern day "magic"? Quantum physics. Everyone knows about it, and our "wizards" make things from it, but it's not widely understood, because it's weird and mysterious -- which makes it interesting and "magical". Transistors, LED's, the touch screens on your phone, and communications satellites all rely on quantum physics, but most people don't understand how or why. "magic.".
Because what else would you call purple bolts and purple shields
>>47535344
Nobody forced you to include purple bolts and purple shields. You could have easily had fire bolts and lightning shields, and that would be more interesting as you might actually have to care about elements more instead of just using generic energy that works equally well on everything.
>>47535333
>magic harnessed as a science is no longer magic
What are you doing here, Nasu?
Why does the uselessly vague and flavorless term "gravity" appear in
basically every book with physics, and even a lot of art texts? Worse
is when "energy" shows up as some mysterious not-matter thing.
>>47535766
(you)
>>47535766
Vague use of the term "energy" usually gets tossed around for things that can't be explained by, or don't fit into, our current understanding of the universe.Kind of like magic, going by some fictional interpretations.
>>47535766
To be fair, 'gravity' fills a similar role to 'pure magical energy' in sci-fi settings.
It's represented by purple glowing energy, can easily be used as projectiles and shields, and can often be used with a dose of technobabble to accomplish various effects.
The real life belief in magical energy, see mana, qi, and chakras.
>>47534715
Give us the title you cheeky little shit
>>47536517
But not in magical energy that flows out as visible, contiguous, do-all energy for magic circles, projectiles, and force fields.
>>47537205
Also people only started using "energy" in that context after the word was already widely used in science. It's the same process by which "quantum" is becoming a magical spell invoked to explain the supernatural properties of healing crystals and homeopathy and whatever the fuck else.
>>47535333
>There is no "magic" when magic is an art or a craft
Then what of literally every magical 'practitioner' in real culture? Magic was generally considered strange and powerful and beyond most mortals, but there were always witch doctors or whatever other analogue that were supposed to have knowledge of how to use it, but that didn't mean that just everyone did. What's the point of magic if you can't actually do anything with it because that would 'ruin the mystique'?
>>47537425
Yeah he goofed with that one. Magic being an art is fine, it being a craft is probably also acceptable. It being a science is what fundamentally doesn't work.
>>47537425
>>47538171
I had some thoughts on this that would appropriate for this thread that I had regarding "magical" actions taken by PCs.
I went to post them in a derailed thread a while back and it had died.
I'll post them in a bit.
>>47535333
Your using quantum physics as an example is perfect for another reason:
Understanding magic is like understanding the location of an electron or observing a perfect vacuum devoid of energy.
The moment it is truly known, it ceases to be what it was.
Truly understood magic is not "magical" and therefore not "magic".
>>47537205
That's not a consequence of magic as energy. That's a consequence of magic as super powers. Things like magic circles and barriers are a thing in hermeticism, but things like projectiles, and force fields are just super powers, nothing mystic or even magical about them.
>>47536663
Warlock in Magus world
>newfags who don't remember the 1930s when "radar" was the mysterious miraculous power that could do anything from stopping bullets to raising the dead
>>47539482
>>47535333
Cleavage is another fine example.
We don't know why it's so amazing, which is what makes it so magical.
>>47530887
Magical energy means the same thing as electromagnetic energy, or gravitational energy. Different types of energy, from different fundamental forces of nature.
Pure magical energy is just cranking it up to 11 because fantasy writers have no sense of scale.
You know what I find more annoying?
Chants and incantations that involve randomly named things of importance
>BY THE WORM EYE THAT BLEEDS, BY THE HUNGERING MAW OF THE THIRTY NINTH STAR, BY THE SIX BLACK FANGS OF THE RABID SPACE FEASTER, AWAKEN FROM YOUR BLOOD CRYPT IN THE FLOODED NIGHTMARES OF SLEEPING GODS
>>47539990
Were you there anon? Please, tell us.No, in all seriousness I really do want to know, this sound hilarious.
>>47541398
In settings where those things aren't really empowering anything (Or don't even exist), those sorts of chants are usually just memetic excercises that magic users utilize to keep their mental control ofmagical energyon the right track.
>>47539482
Keeping magic "magical" can be done very well in writing but it is very difficult to do in RPGs.
This is because in any real gaming system with magic uses rules.
By reducing magic to a system of rules you necessarily strip the magical aspect from it.
It becomes a science for the player no matter how the character uses it.
There is an interesting side effect to this regarding martials.
There are some people out there who HATE IT when a character that is non-magical does anything impossible.
A wizard can bend reality over their knee, a cleric can bend God's ear, a minotaur can bend steel with its bare hands and that's all fine because it's part of the system.
It's explained.
It makes sense.
But a non-magical person doing anything incredible upsets them.
They insist that a guy shattering a wall with a sword must have divine lineage or other magical aspects to their character.
They can't accept someone doing the impossible simply because they're "just that good".
They hate that it doesn't make sense. They hate the lack of explanation.
They hate the mystery.
They hate the unknown.
They love magic users, but they hate "magic."
I find that very interesting.
pic unrelated because I couldn't find the one I wanted.
>>47541236
Wasn't she deeply disturbed and fucked in the head and, because her being aware of the fact, also disgusted with herself or something?
>>47539990
How old do you have to be to remember that? It's 2016, so let's be generous and say you had to have been born in 1930... so you'd need to be 86?
>>47541855
Do you mean mnemonic exercises? Or are those spellcasters bombarding their targets with viral ideas until the target is convinced he must be on fire/mind controlled/whatever because he has heard it so many times?
>>47542716
I'm less than familiar with the character.
I just found it to be the most tg related pic found under a search for "magical cleavage".
But judging solely by her attire, I'd say you are correct.
>>47542749
>>47541520
Damn whippersnapper newfags don't even remember when radium was supposed to be good for you, taken internally or externally.
>>47542852
>>47541398
I believe anon was correct in using the term memetic.
As in, they are maintaining the idea, or meme, of the spell while casting spell.
>>47542940
>>47542716
>>47542901
Moxy? She mostly just hated her trailer park origins and was willing to do anything it took to stay rich, famous and glitzy. Had some pretty strained relationships with her kids though.
>>47530887
The adjective is used to more to describe the origins than the nature of the energy, since by being magic we only truly know it is not mundane or understood.
>>47541997
>They can't accept someone doing the impossible simply because they're "just that good".
The issue with having a non-magical person being an unexplained badass is that it feels like a narrative cop-out. It's fine in RPGs and shit because you can see their stats going up and you can track their progress while they're going from random scrub to Hercules, but in TV and movies and shit you don't get that luxury.
There needs to be a precedent, or at least a palatable explanation for why the character gets to do what no one else does. In a setting like Warcraft it's fine if some otherwise unremarkable footman is an unmitigated badass, the whole setting is shot through with heroes of every stripe, but seeing Ned Stark from SoIaF suplex the gates of Redrock would turn a lot of heads since there's no precedent for that kind of ability in-universe. If a character suddenly defies the established rules of a setting then there needs to be a reason those rules are being bent or broken or else it jarrs people out of the narrative.
Mages/clerics/witch doctors get an easy pass. They're magical in nature; they're going to be doing odd, potentially unexplained stuff all the time because that's the entire point of their narrative existence. A knight who is otherwise unremarkable does not get this kind of pass; there has to be some sort of explanation of why he can do what he does, be that 'people have always been able to get this strong but they rarely do' or something along those lines.
>>47544060
Everything you said depends entirely on the setting and the mythos.
Chinese lore has humans doing superhuman things due to sheer discipline and training, but according to you, that shouldn't be.
Most magical "systems" are based on ancient esotercism that explains "mana" is everywhere waiting to be taken, this in itself is an allegory for the omnipresence of god or perhaps nature. It's probably derived from the kinetic awareness of breathing, your biology wouldn't function without oxygen to use as a reactant and you live at the bottom of a sea of the stuff, it is everywhere waiting to be inhaled and converted into power.
What you mean to ask is "why aren't people more creative with magic systems in RPGs", bu I suspect the answers would be less esoteric and more economic. Because people recognize and understand it immediately, probably.
>>47541997
>They love magic users, but they hate "magic."
They do not necessarily love the magic users for using magic, but for their power. They say, look at the mighty wizard, stronger than any fighter, stealthier than any rogue, can change the world based on his whims. And they don't love his magic, they love the ability to do anything. The reason being magic is just an add-on.
That's also a possible reason why they hate strong mundanes. It devaluates their power. If the mundanes can also do incredible stuff then their own power isn't something superior, just different.
>>47530887
Fantasy settings need a way to make magic measurable in order to be able to have sorcery follow rules. Describing it as a basic energy like a physical occurence such as electricity, warmth or light is the easiest way. Just like light or sound, there's a spectrum of ways how magic expresses itself.
Pure magical energy may be described as an acoustic sinuswave, where if you add sinuswaves of different frequencies they begin to shape up to a noise or even a harmonic sound in an additive synthesis, thus being able to assume any other form of magical energy.
This could then be regarded as pure magical energy being a phenomenon not ocurring naturally, but artificially created through intense and very deep sorcerous research and spellweaving.
>>47534715
I use something similar in my setting, although with less cancer and more good ol' 80's mutation.
>>47543012
Both are correct, since a mnemonic exercise is something that helps you remember something correctly, which, in the most technical terms, is memeing all over your own brain.
>>47544280
A valid contribution.
>>47544105
According to me that's actually fine because there is both a palatable explanation already present in the tale and it is the apparent precedent within Chinese myths and legends. The character is good because they are disciplined, they are better than everyone else because they are more disciplined than everyone else. As long as this rule sticks and the internal consistency of the tale remains intact it's fine.
The example you cite it what I was attempting to cover with my note about Warcraft. It's an entire universe based on smashing your way to the top through experience, training, and knowledge and the characters in it conform to that precedent. Very few people in Warcraft are 'just stronger.' They earn that ability. They fight and fight and fight and if they don't die then they get strong, but very rarely is anyone 'just that good.' Some of the mages, maybe, but even that is still mostly aptitude.
'Just that good' isn't a phrase I would use to describe someone who went through a very long period of arduous practice, because then that would mean they aren't 'just that good.' If they were then they wouldn't need practice in the first place.
'Just that good' is a phrase that would apply to a character like Rey from the new Star Wars. She has:
>Limited(basically none) combat experience
>Limited or possibly even nonexistent force training
>Extremely limited flight experience
>Questionable engineering background
And yet she still manages to outshine pretty much everyone but Poe Fucking Dameron in her first movie appearance. She's just that good so she's able to do basically whatever she wants, and she's a much weaker character than the rest of the cast for it since we never see her earn that ability. Poe gets a minor pass because this story isn't about him and even if it was, he's pretty famous for his ludicrous ability in-universe. Meanwhile Rey is going on the Hero's Journey but instead of earning her power she's just kind of born with all of it.
>>47544060
>There needs to be a precedent, or at least a palatable explanation for why the character gets to do what no one else does.
I disagree.
>If a character suddenly defies the established rules of a setting then there needs to be a reason those rules are being bent or broken or else it jarrs people out of the narrative.
It can also impress the intended audience by demonstrating a world more vast and inclusive than they originally imagined.
Like a bank robber movie suddenly filled with vampires.
Or in a story filled with incredibly capable characters, one that easily blows them away seeming magical in comparison.
It works better in some stories and, like >>47544105 said, in some settings.
>>47547537
>just that good isn't phrase I would use
But they *are* just that good.
Not seeing the practice makes them seem magical, but that doesn't mean they didn't practice or similarly earn it.
Unless they clearly didn't, like your example.
>>47530887
Because magic is kind of a null term in the way we use it around here.
>>47548331
>It can also impress the intended audience by demonstrating a world more vast and inclusive than they originally imagined.
>Like a bank robber movie suddenly filled with vampires.
EXPANDING the internal logic of a world is fine. Even doing away with implied but previously untested rules is OK. My specific gripe is when the author takes an established rule of a setting's internal logic and arbitrarily changes it or breaks it, usually for some sort of surprise twist. For example, say there's X material which protects the wearer against mind control. It's been shown time and time again to work against all forms of mind control. And then one time it just doesn't and there is no effort made by the story teller to explain why this one time was the exception even though nothing has changed. This is an example of inconsistent internal narrative logic and it's a sign of a poorly thought out or poorly executed story.
>Or in a story filled with incredibly capable characters, one that easily blows them away seeming magical in comparison
I never made an argument against this. Hell. my example of Warcraft is rife with this kind of thing. As I said, as long as it does not defy previously established internal logic it's fine. But the internal logic of your world must remain consistent, even if the audience isn't completely privy to it.
Cont.
>>47549178
>But they *are* just that good.
I think this conversation is hitting a wall with how we're interpreting the same phrase. 'Just that good' is a phrase I've always heard used (and used myself) to describe a character that basically skates by on raw talent and innate power, usually used to shut down hypothetical comparisons because 'lol they're just that good.' Normally it's comic characters like Batman or One Punch Man who basically win just by existing (though OPM gets a pass because that's sort of the whole joke).
In the right hands Batman can be an awesome character, but I've seen the narrative bend to his will too many times for me to take him seriously. It feels like every other day he's getting in a scrap with Superman and just kinda pulls a win out of his ass because Supes forgets that he's an amazing badass or something. There was one time where he actually managed to palm Green Lantern's ring while GL was still wearing it. That flies in the face of the logic behind the power ring just by itself, but Batman gets away with it because he's Batman, and that's honestly really annoying.
>>47549178
>My specific gripe is when the author takes an established rule of a setting's internal logic and arbitrarily changes it or breaks it
That's a legitimate gripe.
But I still disagree that a non-magical person being an unexplained badass needs explaining.
If something happens in a story that breaks a rule and is unexplained, that can be good.
It depends on if the writer expects you to ignore/accept it, or if they paint it as a mystery not yet uncovered.
I'd wager you don't dislike unexplained rule breaking, you just hate shit writing.
>>47549271
>I think this conversation is hitting a wall with how we're interpreting the same phrase.
Yeah, I meant it like, 'Pai Mei can hop on your sword and stand there before you even realise it, he's "just THAT good"!'
>>47549271
>There was one time where he actually managed to palm Green Lantern's ring while GL was still wearing it. That flies in the face of the logic behind the power ring just by itself, but Batman gets away with it because he's Batman
Batman is actually a great example of both versions.
He's the DC character I would always expect to have the solution or plan for any situation, he's "just that good."
But he also has been in many spots where he happened to carry Bat-Shark-Repellant and Kryptonite as well as knock the wind out of the Hulk with a surprise kick because he's "just that good."
As for Green Lantern's ring...
>>47550229
>>47549271
>Batman gets away with it because he's Batman, and that's honestly really annoying.
That is not why it worked.
Whether or not the ring could be removed would depend on the Green Lantern, their state of mind, the environment the Lantern was in and whether the power ring had been instructed to maintain it's physical connection to the wearer.
Green Lanterns rendered unconscious in safe environments have had their rings removed, allowing them to be taken hostage.
Slight of hand has been shown to remove a ring from an active Green Lantern due to a lapse in concentration.
The ring may not have been instructed to be unable to be removed, though this IS within its programmed abilities.
But then, Hal an idiot.
Since the power ring is vulnerable to anything that's the color yellow, it was possible for a person completely covered in yellow to remove the ring as the ring was powerless to resist anything coated completely in yellow.
But Batman knocking Wonder Woman out with one kick to the gut is bullshit.
>>47550452
The instance where Bats palms GL's ring happens when GL his holding his hand in a fist, which is mostly why it bothers me so much. Hal's doing that thing where he floats around with his hands clenched and somehow Bats just happens to nab the ring.
>>47550618
>The instance where Bats palms GL's ring happens when GL his holding his hand in a fist
>Hal's doing that thing where he floats around with his hands clenched
Are you sure about that?
Check the timing of the nab.
Both this, and the other versions I have seen had GL on the ground and distractedly angry.
Pic related is just after GL punched Batman and just before Batman shows off the palmed ring.
Notice Hal's right hand.
>>47551437
How did they paint everything yellow?
>>47551857
He's Batman.
>>47551857
With paint, duh
>>47530887
PLOT. DEVICE.
>>47530887
I read on /tg/ some time ago the term Ephemeral Phlogiston as a name for 'magic energy'
I've used thaat since.
>>47551857 #
>How did they paint everything yellow?
Child labor.
Also, Batman decided on the time and place to talk and GL agreed.
Batman plus prep time equals you lose.
>>47555771
>BIG GUY
>>47555771
That must be some really durable body paint.
>>47555851
You have no idea.
It's thickly layered, durable, sticky, and it gets on Hal's face.
>>47555771
You say 'You lose' but Hal responded with 'Oh right, I'm also a trained soldier' and just decked Batman. Then robin fucked up and people had to go to the hospital.
It really wasn't a win for Bats.
>>47547537
>Limited(basically none) combat experience
>Questionable engineering background
These two I'd heavily dispute. She's shown in her very fist appearance as a scavenger engineer, finding parts and quickly identifying which ones are repairable. Her little hut is full of parts and bits of machinery she's picked up for her own. It gives her a stronger indication that she's an engineer than Luke ever got that he was a pilot.
As for her combat experiance...she's kinda a joke with a blaster. She gets a few stormtroopers when they are not looking at her but only after several false starts with the pistol. She's about the least competent with a blaster protagonist we've had in all of Star Wars. I mean, Amidala was a better shot.
On the other hand however, she's shown to grow up in a harsh desert world where brawling is very common and she carries a weapon with her all the time. It's not unfair to believe she's a good melee combatant when it's demonstrated as part of her backstory.
>>47555983
...Bats, I'm gunna say that if he looks silly for a little yellow paint, you might want to look twice at the Boy Wonder and yourself.
>>47549271
I think y'all are barely missing a really, really important aspect of the "he's just that good" concept that makes or breaks it, that aspect being that there are multiple different kinds of "Just that good". It's not really a catch all to explain bad writing and plot contrivances, even though some people use it that way.
Case in point: Superman's power is literally described as being "just that good". He's as strong as he needs to be in whatever story takes place, making him "just that good cause reasons". Batman on the other hand has trained harder than most legendary figures and dedicated his entire existence to being Batman. His version of being "just that good" comes from sheer obsession. Then you got Joker over here who is "just that good" because he enjoys it so much that it's all he ever really does, Joker just loves causing chaos so much he's "just that good" at it.
Now you want an example of plot contrivances... Just look at the Marvel Zombies universe. In that story line a virus causes all of the super powered inhabitants of Earth become intelligent, super powered zombies who proceed to eat everyone. Literally. Everyone. Like they eat Silver Surfer and then Galactus and get the power cosmic, then they fly into space and EAT THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THEIR UNIVERSE. And then they just kind of "exist" on the planet Earth where they are gradually picked off by the still human Punisher, who proceeds to kill literally every single zombie. With mere guns. All of them still have their powers and their minds, yet what is arguably one of the weakest Marvel super heroes in existence ends up killing all of them. I'd not call this "Punisher just being that good" I'd call it bad writing by a Punisher super fan. I'm not saying these other stories are devoid of bad writing, but I am saying that it's not a catch all to just say someone is "just that good".
>>47556070
It was intentional.
IIRC, this was supposed to be before the Justice League got formed, and Hal wanted to talk to Bats.
Bats gives time and place, and since he figured out that Hal's weakness is the color yellow, he proceeded to paint the entire meeting place with yellow paint (along with himself and Robin).
Then Robin nearly kills Hal and Batman pimpsmacks his ass for being a twat.
>>47530887
Don't just complain, OP. Give us some insight on how it should be called, then.
Magical energy is just a broad term used by people who want to avoid calling it "mana", "chi" or whatever else the force that empowers magic itself is supposed to be.
As for "pure magical energy" making up barriers and whatnot, would you rather have everyone resort to stuff like "Force" which is used by D&D for these, "Mana" again, or even slightly more creative terms that still amount to the same thing like "Void"?
>>47556000
Well, the punch was a win.
I think he was trying to provoke Hal and lifted the ring.
Batman didn't even try to block it.
But you're right that the scenario didn't end well for anyone.
>>47556165
>Marvel Zombies universe.
If that is 100% accurate, and I have no reason to doubt you, then that managed to be worse than I imagined.
So, that's an achievement, of sorts.
>>47556183
You are attempting to educate that anon as to why his lighthearted joke of a post did not take into consideration the facts of the matter.
This makes you seem like a less than amusing person to be around.
>>47556377
I went and found it, the 2010 comic "Marvel Universe vs The Punisher". Made one mistake though, it's where a virus turns the entire super powered population into "Sadistic Cannibal Predators". So it's not outright stated to be the Marvel Zombies universe so it's not QUITE as bad... But still pretty bad since he does kill every super powered enemy he faces, including the Hulk.
http://marvel.com/comics/issue/27986/marvel_universe_vs_the_punisher_2010_1
>>47556334
What was in the tube?
Why did they need to stab Hal with it?
>>47556936
Hal had a blockage of his throat when the kid crushed his larynx. The tube was to let him breathe.
>>47556936
Bypassing a crushed throat (that silly Boy Wonder) with an emergency tracheomity, I believe.
Hollow tube to let him breathe out of his neck.
>>47541398
ABZUG
BEDIENUNG
MITTELSTAND
>>47541997
>if you think entirely mundane people should not be able to do impossible things you 'love magic users'
How did you arrive at this completely baseless conclusion?
Why should a regular human be able to shatter a castle wall without some form of power that allows them to do so?
>>47556724
>But still pretty bad since he does kill every super powered enemy he faces, including the Hulk
Non-powered guy killing assloads of supers as been done well (imo) before.
But quite on that level.
Rafferty did nearly kill that universe's version of Shazam by blowing of his head.
How did the Punisher manage to kill the Hulk?
>>47557051
Heh
SHAZAM!
>>47557051
>>47557142
explain?
>>47557130
>How did you arrive at this completely baseless conclusion?
It's not a baseless conclusion, it's hyperbolic conflation.
Some that hate the one, love the other.
Some is not all, true.
The juxtaposition of those that favor magic-users with their hatred of "magic" was my point.
>Why should a regular human be able to shatter a castle wall without some form of power that allows them to do so?
He's just THAT good at swinging a sword.
>>47557130
because they ceased being a 'normal' person the moment they passed level ten or so.
Once you hit the upper levels you have gone well beyond peak human.
>>47557130
>Why should a regular human be able to shatter a castle wall without some form of power that allows them to do so?
A "regular human" should not.
In D&D terms:
Anyone can increase their strength, speed, etc. with training, but in real life we're capped at lv6 so there's only so far that will get you. A D&D character has a much higher cap, so if they continue to train then they will go far beyond what we consider "regular".
D&D has extra mechanisms related to this, such as how creatures with high HD are more resistant (or immune) to certain types of magic. In D&D an Olympic athlete quite literally has a more powerful soul than a normal person, by virtue of his excellence, and an adventurer's is stronger still.
>>47557887
Well said.
I think metaphors based on electricity permeate everything modern people think about themselves and the world, not just RPG magic.
It's an interesting point though, a moving truck has a lot of energy but I wouldn't try to absorb it
>>47555771
>fast hands, my little robin
>fast hands, big mouth
>>47559323
Damnit Bruce, this is exactly the kind of thing that keeps spreading those rumors.
>>47557887
Every human martial in D&D is a regular human.
>>47563100
Yeah, I prefer non-magical as a term for what we're discussing.
"Regular" never really applies to PCs.
