Does anyone know? I'd like my players to re-discover it and see what happens.
Thanks
Exchange the word heavy with epic.
Pretty much....
looking at some of the epic spells in the Epic Handbook, someone would have to have, what, 150+ ranks in spellcraft to have even a 1-in-20 chance to successfully cast some of them? that means the character would have to be at least 100th level, given (s)he focuses on spellcraft-enhancing feats and ability bonus focus on intelliegence, and a few wishes to increase intelligence, etc.
really ridiculous.
on a related note, has anyone actually played in or run an epic campaign that last beyond the first round of the first encounter?
-Never, ever, ever, ever, ever make that mistake!
-That said, Heavy Magic is a manifestation of Raw Magic.
I disagree LK, same stuff, different mechanic. Either mechanic could be used with the same results.
-Well, sorry to say, but you are wrong, then. :P
-In so much as you say you want to cast a spell, and the spell happens, you are correct. Things are a bit more advanced and detailed than just that, however. ;)
-True Dweomers and Epic Magic both have some very subtle and some very obvious differences. True Dweomers used the power of the Weave directly to draw the power of the spell. This is why True Dweomers were so damaging to the Weave. Epic Spells, on the other hand, use the power of the Weave, and the power of the individual(s) casting the spell. Because of this, Epic Magic is safe for the Weave, and was not banned by Mystra.
-To say that they are the same, though, is wholly wrong.
Kinda like the difference between plain-vanilla nukes and thermonuclear weapons with tritium... still both nukes, but very different beasts when it comes down to it. :D
-Yeah, that's an apt analogy, more or less. I guess.
-Maybe something more akin to our, normal battery-operated computers, and the human-operated computers in The Matrix.
-Well, sorry to say, but you are wrong, then. :P
-In so much as you say you want to cast a spell, and the spell happens, you are correct. Things are a bit more advanced and detailed than just that, however. ;)
-True Dweomers and Epic Magic both have some very subtle and some very obvious differences. True Dweomers used the power of the Weave directly to draw the power of the spell. This is why True Dweomers were so damaging to the Weave. Epic Spells, on the other hand, use the power of the Weave, and the power of the individual(s) casting the spell. Because of this, Epic Magic is safe for the Weave, and was not banned by Mystra.
-To say that they are the same, though, is wholly wrong.
They are the same, just that Mystra fixed it so that it didn't damage the Weave. They are the same, the Weave is different.
Heavy Magic is a physical manifestation of 'Raw Magic', the stuff the Weave itself is composed of, and therefore beyond it and not controlled by it. Heavy Magic is NOT a source of power (like Arcane or Shadow), but Raw Magic is. Once Raw magic is 'made physical', it is brought into this world as a gelatinous substance, not unlike the 'lava' in a lavalamp, or mercury. This physical manifestation of raw magic is useful in that a mage can 'paint' a spell onto it, creating a simple, one-shot magical device that is NOT reliant on the Weave (unlike psuedo-magical devices, which draw their power from Mythalars, which in turn act as 'localized Weaves').
Theoretically, A wizard could paint all of his spells onto blobs of raw Magic, and then use them inside of a Magic-dead zone. A Magic-dead zone merely means the weave is not present, which would only effect arcane (Weave-based) magic, not any other type (Shadow, Raw, Pluma, etc...).
You could see how this could be useful...
It is also highly unstable and can easily 'get away' from the caster, and it seems to have some other properties as well, like interferring with the Mythalars ability to project its magical field (arcane magic gets interrupted when it's in close proximity).
I do not believe any hard and fast rules were ever written for the stuff - just a 'fluff' descripton with no crunchy bits, unfortunately
Back to the shadows with you lurker-boy! :P :D
*takes out whip and begins scourging MT with it*
Back to the shadows with you lurker-boy! :P :D
Yeah, he's obviously become the hunchback that jumps out of the shadows every time you say the word "cookie."
;)
All the same, in mention to Karsus using such magic, couldn't he have used a dual source, as well? I mean, he's sitting on a mythal, full of arcane power that he could use to accomplish his feat. Sure, drain the mythal, drop the mountain, but if you are that sure that by being successful you could use your new godly might to stop such a thing, what would be the risk?
And we all know how Karsus is--I mean, was.
They are the same, just that Mystra fixed it so that it didn't damage the Weave. They are the same, the Weave is different.
-Again, incorrect. Epic Magic and True Dweomers existed contemporarily. They are similar in effect, but different. As Stigger said, the Far Boy bomb is similar in effect to modern day hydrogen warheads: They both cause mass destruction. But, modern day hydrogen bombs work differently, and yield slightly different effects.
Heavy Magic is a physical manifestation of 'Raw Magic', the stuff the Weave itself is composed of, and therefore beyond it and not controlled by it.
...
I do not believe any hard and fast rules were ever written for the stuff - just a 'fluff' descripton with no crunchy bits, unfortunately
-Correct on both counts.