Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Archana 09-04-06, 07:29 AM	How do the casting abilities 'make magic'? Perhaps it's a matter of flavor, but I would like to hold a thought experiment on this matter. I want to know how you think the casting abilities allow you to cast spells (or manifest powers, for that matter). Here is my rendition of how this would be done. A spellcaster who has Wisdom as his casting ability can 'will' something into existence, so firmly believing in his creation that it becomes true. For example, this character could think there is an apple on the table, then he would concentrate on that thought so that the apple becomes real. A spellcaster who has Charisma as his casting ability can 'persuade' something into existence. By using his charisma (note the lack of capitals), he can persuade reality into creating the desired effect. For example, this character could 'persuade' reality into creating an apple. As for Intelligence, I am stumped. I cannot see how the ability to learn and reason would be able to 'make magic'. Perhaps it would be a key to unlocking the secret of spellcasting, but in my thoughts, the spellcasting itself would be done via Wisdom or Charisma. What are your thoughts on the subject?
Nom 09-04-06, 10:25 AM	You're missing the key ideas behind the scores and spells. Divine casters are Wisdom based, since it is the ability score that governs empathy and intuition - with other creatures, with the world, and with the gods. Wizards are Intelligence based, since it is the ability that governs thought and reason and understanding the arcane rules that hold existence together. Sorcerers are Charisma based, since it is the ability that describes your ability to project your presence on the world around you. What a wizard does through understanding, a sorcerer does through sheer force of personality and will together with a healthy does of intuition. Sorcerers could legitimately be Wis based, but the game designers wanted to spread the scores around.
Archana 09-04-06, 10:43 AM	You have some good points there, better than mine, I must admit. But I'm still a bit iffy about Intelligence. Would knowing the 'rules' of arcane magic be enough to cast arcane spells? I mean, knowledge of the rules does not necessarily allow you to act upon those rules to use them. Regardless of my confusion, thank you for your explanation.
SeptimusMagistos 09-04-06, 12:24 PM	To me, every person is a nexus. A nexus responsible for holding magic. Some choose not to advance this nexus. They become fighters, commonners, rogues, or rogues, or any of the other thousands of professions that involve no magic. As for these that do, though... Wizards' power is to tap directly into the Lieu Lines. They prepare the spells, and when the time comes, they pull out the energy. Sorcerers train their nexus to hold power. Then they instinctively release that power unto the world(Yes, persuasion is involved) Clerics choose to adapt their nexus to receive spells from the gods rather than gather energy on their own. Druids use the natural patterns in things around them and shift them slightly.
aotrscommander 09-04-06, 12:42 PM	What are your thoughts on the subject? Rather than repeat it all here, I shall provide a link to this thread (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=682537) where my take on it can be found. Edit: Clarification: I mean the flavour text, which is inpendant of the magic variant itself!
Deathmond 09-04-06, 01:05 PM	Intelligence - You know how the world is held together, and you use a language close to the Original Language, the Language that birthed all languages and has been around since creation to tell some part of the world how it was going to change to fit your views...and then it changes. Though this is purely flavor and has no real backing...I like it :) Read The Young Wizards series by Diane Duane for a good explanation. Though in the series they can talk to all manner of things in the original language and persuade them to change, most of the actual spells are [This is how it IS] [Now this is what I WANT it to be].
IceFractal 09-04-06, 05:34 PM	One way to see it - Intelligence: The strands of magic are flickering through reality constantly. Tweak the right one, and you reorient the probabilities, switching the universe into a new condition. For one with the intelligence to find the precise spot, the smallest adjustment can have great effects. Wisdom: Again, the strands of magic are key, but knowing their exact patterns is unnecessary. Simply open your conciousness fully to the divine and you can grasp the exact fulcrum without thought. Charisma: While others try to search out or intuit the perfect moment to make the change, you make that moment come to you. By focussing your will on the universe, you can force the probabilities to line up in your favor and create the world as you envision it.