The source of magic	Manipulating magic	Psionics	Magic-users and clerics	The principles of magic
Clerics, gods, and metamagic	Magic and metamagic compared		-	Dragon 106

In the physical world, we are bound by
certain laws. The law of gravity says that
what goes up will sooner or later come
down. The second law of thermodynamics
dictates that in a closed system, the quantity
of disorder (or entropy) will increase with
each spontaneous event.

In a fantasy world where magic exists,
there must also be laws governing the use of
that magic. An understanding of those laws
is necessary to develop and use spells. Yet,
in the AD&D® game rules, these laws are
ignored in favor of a ?black box? approach
to magic.

"Black box" is modern electronics jargon
for a device with known performance characteristics
but unknown means of operation.
A well-known example is the telephone:
most people have no idea how or why this
little marvel operates. They have no concept
of electrons rushing-along their preordained
paths, kicking relays and caressing
transistors, or of the vast computer network
involved in connecting two telephones. In
truth, the average person has no need for
such knowledge. All he or she needs to
know is how to lift the receiver and push the
buttons (or, on older systems, how to turn
the dial).
This is the same approach used for magic
in the AD&D game. The player whose
character is a magic-user selects a spell from
a list and casts it, having no idea what
words are being spoken to invoke the magical
energy. (That is, the player doesn?t
know what words are being spoken; of
course, the magic-user character knows, for
he or she has spent quite a bit of time memorizing
the spell.) Each spell has a specific
effect (or range of effects) and will perform
exactly as defined.

Of course, this system of spell definition
is necessary to make the game playable.
Players and DMs alike must know exactly
what each spell is going to do, or the entire
system quickly breaks down. Yet, there
must be a set of laws governing this system
of magic. Since the rules allow the possibility
of magical research to discover new
spells, it would be helpful to both Dungeon
Masters and players to have these principles
of magic explicity defined. This definition
would give everyone a better idea of what is
possible within the game?s system of sorcery,
and would indicate the proper approach to
achieve a desired effect.

The source of magic
To begin with, what is the source of
magic? Why does it exist, and what gives
some characters the ability to utilize and
manipulate its energy? Why must spellcasters
have exceptional intelligence or
wisdom ? what is it that gives these characters
the ability to invoke arcane energy? In
order to explain these points, we must
consider some of the findings of present-day
biology and physics. Clearly, characters will
have no knowledge of this, but players and
DMs can know and understand.
The human mind is a powerful tool, and
it is generally accepted that the average
person uses only a fraction of the full potential
of his mind. Even so, some people in an
AD&D game world manage to develop and
use a fair degree of this power. It typically
manifests in one of three ways: magic-user
spells, cleric spells, and psionics.
The use of any of these abilities obviously
requires some source of energy. The human
body (and, presumably, the body of an elf,
dwarf, or other being) is in fact full of electrical
energy, carried along nerve paths by
neurons, but this energy is not sufficient to
account for these arcane abilities.

To understand these powers, it is necessary
to have a basic understanding of the
structure of the multiverse. Long ago, men
believed that all matter consisted of four
elements: air, earth, fire, and water. This
was the prevailing notion for centuries.
Eventually, it was discovered that there are
a hundred or so natural elements, composed
of tiny particles called atoms. The word
?atom? is derived from the Greek atomos,
which means ?indivisible,? and indeed
these particles were thought to be the smallest
units of matter.

Then atoms were found to consist of still
smaller particles ? negatively charged
electrons circling a nucleus, that is composed
of protons, positively charged, and
neutrons, which possess no charge at all.
Recently, even smaller particles have been
hypothesized ? tiny quarks are thought to
make up protons and neutrons. Other
particles, such as neutrinos, are so small
and energetic that they freely pass through
solid matter, even substances as dense as
lead. Collectively, these particles (and others,
some of which may yet be discovered)
constitute a pervasive energy field which
permeates every part of the multiverse.
A cohesive energy field that flows through
every point in the multiverse, penetrating
all matter, would naturally have an effect on
the events transpiring within the multiverse.
This energy forms a link between all people
and things, all events and places. Can this
principle be used in magical universes?

Some of the ancients who considered the
elements to be air, earth, fire, and water
also believed in a fifth element they called
akasa. In The Sorcerer's Handbook, by
Wade Baskin, akasa is defined thus: ?In
Pythagorean thought, the fifth element. It is
a celestial ether or astral light that occupies
all space. In certain Buddhist teachings, it is
the cosmic spirit-substance, the vast reservoir
of being.? This fifth element could be
taken as the energy field which permeates
the multiverse.

The akasa is everywhere -- it is everything.
Its energy reacts with the electrical
energy in living things, influencing lives
and events in ways that are not completely
understood. Because of its pervasive nature,
it forms a bond among all things present in
the multiverse. Just as air is a medium to
transmit sound, akasa could be the medium
of all arcane powers ? spell-casting abilities
(magic-user and illusionist, cleric and
druid, and the power of the gods) and psionic
powers.

Also, the DDG
Cyclopedia (now titled DDG)
notes that "The source of a deity?s godheads
is in some way connected to his or her
earthly worshipers, though in what manner
the gods derive this power is a mystery
totally beyond mortal (or immortal) comprehension.
However, it is true that a god?s
power often increases or decreases as the
number of his worshipers varies. Thus
deities, and clerics as their agents, constantly
try to increase the quantity and
quality of their worshipers.?

When the akasa is taken into account,
this is no longer a mystery. As the akasa
flows through living creatures, it is influenced
slightly by their thoughts, attitudes,
and beliefs. On an individual level, this
influence is too small to be noticeable, but
the effect is cumulative. As more people
worship a deity; more akasic energy is focused
on that being, and its power increases
proportionately. [See ?Deities and their
faithful,? DRAGON® issue #97. ? Editor]
 

Manipulating magic

The akasa can be consciously manipulated,
but a person?s ability to manipulate it
depends on his mental strength; those with
strong minds can do much more than people
who are weak-minded. This is what the
DDG refers to in the statement
that deities try to increase the quality of
their worshipers. A hundred strongminded,
highly dedicated worshipers will
increase a god?s power more than a thousand weak-minded worshipers of marginal
dedication.

In the AD&D game, mental strength is
reflected in the character abilities of intelligence
and wisdom. Not coincidentally, these
are the primary abilities of spell-casters ?
magic-users and clerics, respectively. Psionic
characters must have high scores in both
intelligence and wisdom. Why are the
prime abilities different for each class of
spell-caster? This will be answered later,
after each class?s relationship with the akasa
has been discussed.

Of course, mental strength alone is not
sufficient to manipulate the akasa. One
must also know how to perform the manipulations.
Use of the akasa is sometimes
referred to as ?magic,? but this is a label
born of ignorance. There are at least three
distinct systems by which the akasa can be
influenced, and magic is but one way. Now,
if there is but one source of arcane power,
why does it manifest in three different
ways? What is it that makes magic-users,
clerics, and psionics three different classes?
The difference lies in the manner in
which the akasa is invoked. Ultimately, it is
the strength of the mind that taps into this
power and molds it. But even the most
powerful mortal minds are very limited in
their capacity for akasic manipulation. Most
of the mortals who use the akasa need help
to do so effectively.

Magic might be considered a crutch for
manipulating the akasa. It takes years of
study and practice to bring about a properly
disciplined state of mind, for the mage must
learn and understand the relationship between
thoughts, spells components (verbal,
somatic, and material), and the akasa.
A magic spell begins in the mind. By
concentrating on the effects that the spell is
to achieve, the magic-user initiates the
process of focusing the akasa. This, however,
is not sufficient to actually evoke the
akasic energy. To trigger the spell, it is
necessary to stimulate the akasa further.
This is accomplished by generating small
but very specific physical vibrations in the
akasic energy field. These vibrations are
produced primarily by vocal sounds (sound
being a vibratory disturbance in the pressure
and density of a fluid) and sometimes
by gestures. (More often, however, the
somatic component of a spell serves as a
control rather than an invocation. For
example, a mage casting fireball or magic
missile must point at his target.)
There are a number of factors that determine
exactly what a given spell will do
when cast. These include the vibrations of
verbal and somatic components, the focus of
the mage?s thoughts, and the properties of
the material components.

The nature of this manipulation usually
rips the materials used to cast the spell into
their component particles, so that they
become one with the akasa. But not all
spells destroy their material components in
this fashion. Write, for example, requires a
fine ink composed of rare substances. Obviously,
if the ink disappeared the spell would
be useless. Bind requires any ropelike object
of nonliving material, and the spell causes
this object to behave as the mage commands.
Again, destruction of the material
would render the spell pointless.

Clearly, there are two types of material
components for magic spells. One type of
component is needed to cast a spell, and is
destroyed in the process. The other type of
component merely receives the magic.
Cleric spells require a third type of spell
component: religious items such as holy
symbols and prayer beads. This is a requirement
imposed by the deities, perhaps
to remind the cleric where the power to cast
these spells is coming from. While the holy
symbol is essential to gain the deity?s cooperation,
it is not necessary for implementing
the spell,
is cast. <>

and is not consumed when a spell-
For magic-users, no matter what spell is
being cast, the power to manipulate the
akasa originates in the magic-user?s mind.
This might give a clue as to why a magicuser
forgets the spell after it has been cast.
The memory of a spell (or, for that matter,
any memory) is actually a set of neural
impressions. The akasa flows through the
mind and, as the spell is cast, the invocation
?smooths out? the impressions that form
the memory. The spell is forgotten.

Psionics
Some people have minds that are sufficiently
strong and disciplined that they need
no crutch, and no deities to draw upon.
Their own minds provide all the power they
need to manipulate the akasa, though in a
manner that is less powerful than those who
get outside help. These are the psionics.
Because psionic characters are drawing
upon their own mental strength, they don?t
have to memorize (and forget) spells. But
there is a price for this minor independence:
psionic powers usually affect only the psionic,
or perhaps one other person. Psionics is
the most limited use of the akasa.
Psionic strength points are the AD&D
game?s equivalent of mental fatigue for
psionics, giving characters and DMs a
tangible method of measuring a person?s
psionic capacity. Everyone should be familiar
with the effects of concentrating on a
specific problem for several hours: the mind
becomes fatigued, weary ? headache may
set in, and there may even be a feeling of
physical fatigue.

The same principle applies when psionic
attacks, defenses, and disciplines are used.
However, these psionic abilities are a much
greater expenditure of mental energy than
normal concentration . A character with a
psionic ability of 200, for example, could
easily expend his full psionic attack strength
in less than twelve segments (two minutes).
A person who has concentrated on a
problem for several hours can restore his
full mental strength by turning to other
activities, resting, or sleeping. Sleeping is,
of course, the fastest method of recovery,
but anything that involves little or no mental
effort will help.

Similarly, the AD&D game?s psionic
strength is recovered slowly (3 points/hour)
by walking and like activity, 6 points/hour
by sitting and talking or reading, 12 points/
hour by resting and meditating, and most
rapidly (at 24 points/hour) by sleeping.

Magic-users and clerics
Now, why are the prime abilities different
for clerics and magic-users? The answer lies
in their respective methods of manipulating
the akasa. In AD&D gaming, intelligence
"is quite similar to what is currently known
as IQ, but it also includes
mnemonic ability, reasoning, and learning
ability. . . . [magic-users] must be perspicacious
in order to correctly understand magic
and memorize spells.? Because magic-users
invoke the akasa directly, they must have
the intellect to understand what they are
doing, and the memory acuity to memorize
spells.

Conversely, wisdom "is a composite term
for the character?s enlightenment, judgement,
wile, will power, and (to a certain
extent) intuitiveness." Clerics don?t need
intelligence to manipulate the akasa themselves,
because their deity supplies that
power. But the deity wants to be sure that
their clerics will use this power properly. A
deity wants ? and needs ? to increase his
number of worshipers, and his clerics are
his representatives. Improper or inappropriate
use of clerical power will turn people
away from the represented deity. Therefore,
a deity will only accept as clerics those who
have enough wisdom to use clerical powers
in an acceptable fashion.

Did the deities become what they are
because they were worshiped, or are they
worshiped because they are deities? This is
a variation of the chicken-and-egg question,
and I?m sure that both answers have many
supporters. However, for our purposes it
really doesn?t matter. The fact is, these
beings are deities, and they have tremendous
power ? in part due to the number of
worshipers they have.

In order to increase their power, deities
must increase the number of worshipers.
They employ mortals to do the dirty work
of recruiting worshipers, and assist the
mortals by allowing divine power of akasic
manipulation to be channeled by the clerics.
The cleric draws directly on the power of
his or her god ? the deity supplies the
energy, and the cleric merely directs its use.

The principles of magic
Now that we understand the source of
arcane power, we can discuss the laws governing
spell-casting. For now, this article
will deal with the principles of magic, which
for our purposes pertain only to magic-users
and illusionists. The arcane powers of the
gods and clerics will be discussed later in
the text.

There are three principles of magic;

The Law of
Sympathy states that similar causes produce
similar effects or, more simply, like produces

like.

The Law of Contagion states that parts
of an object can affect other parts of the
same object, even if the parts are separated.
This could be rephrased as ?once together,
always together.?

According to the Law of
Signatures, ?The attributes without reveal
the powers within.?
Like produces like. This principle is used
to produce effects on a different scale in
time and distance. For example, by starting
a small fire as part of a spell, a magic-user
might create a much larger fire in another
location. This law is also the basis of a
voodoo doll that is made in the likeness of
an enemy. The theory is that damage
caused to the doll will also occur to the
person represented, if certain other conditions
are met.

For example, mending requires two small
magnets. Presumably the spell binds the
magnets to the item being repaired, and
then the magnets are allowed to come together.
The Law of Similarity will then
cause the parts of the item being mended to
come together in the same way.
Once-together, always together. A voodoo
doll is useless unless the spell-caster has a
part of the person the doll represents ?
such as a lock of hair or a clipping of a
fingernail. In another example, a sheet of
paper might be torn in half, and one piece
placed in a strategic location while the other
is retained by the magic-user. Later, after
an appropriate spell of binding has been
cast, the caster can ignite the piece he or she
carries, and the other piece will also start to
burn.

As an example, the 4th-level spell hallucinatory
terrain requires "a stone, a twig,
and a bit of green plant." The stone, twig
and plant should be picked up from the
terrain that the illusion will hide. Also
consider the 6th-level spell move earth,
which requires a mixture of soils in a small
bag and an iron blade. The soils should be
part of the earth that is to be moved. The
spell takes effect after the magic-user casts
the binding, then scoops a portion of the
soil out of the bag.

The attributes without reveal the powers
within. Many spells draw directly upon the
nature of their components.

For example,
the material component for the jump spell is
the hind leg of a grasshopper, a creature
known for its ability to make powerful
leaps.

The material component of the grease
spell is a bit of pork rind, butter, or other
greasy material.

Irritation requires powdered
leaf from poison ivy, oak, or sumac.

Sending requires two tiny cylinders, each
with one open end, connected by a short
piece of copper wire -- a toy telephone.

These are only a few examples of material
components derived from the Law of Signatures.
Most of the material components of
magic spells draw directly upon the component
?s properties in this fashion, rather than
following the more vague fashion defined in
sympathy and contagion.

Presumably the laws of magic were discovered,
refined, and finally applied
through centuries of observation, theoriz-
ing, and experimentation ? the same fashion
in which our own scientific laws were
established. There were no revelations, no
mighty beings handing over a tome conveniently
laying out the laws. The earliest
magicians (or, more accurately, premagicians)
were probably misunderstood,
and quite likely were mercilessly labeled as
charlatans, fakers, and worse. Like the
early scientists of our world, early magicians
undoubtedly were viewed with a great
deal of contempt. A thankless task, to say
the least.

Clerics, gods, and metamagic
By contrast, the clerics were quite fortunate.
They had no need to work out any
arcane laws, for their spell-casting power
was given to them on a proverbial silver
platter ? or, as the Players Handbook
states, ?Clerical spells, including the druidic,
are bestowed by the gods so that the
cleric need but pray for a few hours and the
desired verbal and somatic components will
be placed properly in his or her mind.?
The arcane power of the deities is obviously
not magic, for they are not bound by
the laws of magic. This is quickly demonstrated
by a casual perusal of the DDG volume. Consider, for example, the
gods? innate teleport ability that requires no
spell-casting, time, or concentration. Most
gods have other abilities that are outside the
range of magic. A few examples: Shang-Ti
can instantly summon or banish any type of
weather; Ares can shape change at will;
Tvashtri can regenerate 20 lost hit points
per melee round by grabbing parts of the
air and applying them to his (or anyone
else?s) wounds; and, Freya is able to remove
any curse with the touch of her hand.
These abilities are clearly above and
beyond standard magic, with its spells
requiring study, verbalization and sometimes
troublesome material components.
Since this arcane system transcends magic,
it might be appropriate to call it metamagic.
Few ? if any ? clerics have any understanding
of the laws of metamagic, for they
have no need. The gods understand the
laws well enough to use metamagic efficiently,
and this in itself may be what makes
these beings gods rather than mortals.
Perhaps one factor that sets greater gods
apart from lesser gods and demigods (apart
from the number of worshipers) is their
degree of understanding and proficiency
with these laws.
In turn, each deity sets divine laws that
its clerics must follow. These divine laws
have nothing to do with the actual laws of
metamagic, being governed instead by each
individual god?s temperament. Legends &
Lore advises us that ?Deities of all types,
from the highest to the lowest, expect a
great deal of work from their clerics in
return for the power to work miracles.? The
DMG adds, ?. . . clerics
wishing to use third or higher level spells
must be in good standing.?
A cleric is judged by his behavior, which
is always expected to be exemplary. Always.

"Even common everyday concerns must be
viewed in light of their beliefs," as it is
written in the DDG. This behavior
must naturally include daily prayer and
meditation, occasional fasting, and most
deities require regular sacrifices. Clerics
must demonstrate considerable discipline
and devotion to their deity every day, and a
cleric who falters will not be given further
spells ? at least, no spells higher than those
of 3rd level will be granted. If the cleric
continues in this manner, eventually all spell
ability will be suspended.
The process of enchanting items allows
magic to be stored for later use. With many
items, especially rings, a spell cast once
during the enchantment will continue to
provide benefits without further effort.
Furthermore, an item might provide its
power to characters who are not spellcasters.
A barbarian who knows nothing of
magic (and wouldn?t believe it even if he
did) might still see the advantage in using a
ring of invisibility to become a more powerful
hunter and warrior.
A necklace of prayer beads includes
stones that will allow a cleric to cast spells
without the usual prayer and meditation, so
there is obviously some method of enchanting
metamagic into items as well. But there
are very few metamagic items listed in the
DMG; nearly all of the
arcane items listed are products of magic.
Since metamagic artifacts can and do exist,
why are they so rare?
The answer should be clear. Deities give
spells to clerics who practice the proper
discipline and devotion every day; if the
cleric?s devotion falters, so does his or her
spell-casting ability. If clerics could enchant
metamagic into artifacts, they would be able
to invoke these spells at a later time without
prayer and discipline. This is contrary to
the laws of the gods, who demand constant
and unswerving discipline from those who
use metamagic.
Metamagic artifacts might also make it
possible for non-clerics to use cleric spells or
? worse ? clerics of another deity might
invoke these spells. The gods must consider
this a completely unacceptable situation,
and they undoubtedly take steps to prevent
it or minimize the possibility. The easiest
way to accomplish this is to prevent metamagic
from being enchanted into items.
Since each god sets the laws that his or her
clerics will follow, it is a simple matter to
prevent their clerics from using metamagic
in this fashion.
Yet, there are artifacts which could be
produced by certain metamagic spells, with
no corresponding official magic spells. (This
doesn?t mean that the magic spells don?t
exist ? merely that they are not listed in
the PH or UA.)
These include rings of fire resistance,
regeneration, and water walking; rods of
resurrection; staves of curing; Keoghtom?s
ointment; and the periapt of wound closure.
There are other artifacts for which no character
spells are listed, but which affect only
clerics. These include the books of exalted
deeds and vile darkness and the pearl of
wisdom.

Most of these items were probably created
by the gods as gifts to assist faithful
clerics. An occasional high-level cleric who
has never strayed in alignment and whose
service has been exemplary in all respects
might be granted the ability to enchant
items. This ability would be very rare and
almost certainly only granted to clerics with
a wisdom of 18, and of at least 9th level
(High Priest).

One might wonder why a fighter with an
intelligence of 18 cannot cast magic spells,
or why a magic-user with a wisdom of 18
cannot cast metamagic spells, even if he is
devoutly religious. Regarding the fighter
with 18 intelligence, consider this analogy:
Why can?t a carpenter fly an airplane? The
answer is that he doesn?t have the knowledge
and training required. If he did, then
?in the terms of AD&D gaming ? he
would be called a carpenter/pilot. Similarly,
a fighter cannot cast magic spells because he
doesn?t have the knowledge and training
required to do so.

The answer to the other question ?
regarding the magic-user with 18 wisdom
?is the same: The magic-user is not
trained to cast clerical spells. However, this
does not tell the whole story. The ability to
cast metamagic spells is granted by the
gods, who pretty much do what they please.
While they normally will not allow metamagic
to be used by non-clerics, they may
occasionally find reason to give this power
to other devout worshipers.

Why do clerics have a chance to spell
failure, while magic-users do not? This
looks like an oversight, as it seems logical
that all casters should have a chance for
spell failure. Everyone has occasional problems
with stumbling over words as they
speak, and it would seem that a single mispronunciation
in an incantation would
nullify the spell.

Oversight or not, that is how the official
rules stand. We will assume that this is the
way it should be, and explore what may be
the rationale behind the rule.

Clerics receive spells from their deities,
and from the minions of their deities. Deciding
which clerics are to receive spells,
and judging the behavior and ministry of
each cleric, in addition to tending normal
business, makes for quite a lot of work.
(Especially considering that large numbers
of clerics are praying for spells at approximately
the same time, just after a good
night?s sleep.)

Deities and their minions are aware that
clerics of high wisdom are probably going to
be more helpful than clerics with lower
wisdom. With possibly hundreds of clerics
praying for spells right around breakfast,
hard-pressed deities and minions will naturally
hurry through the process of granting
spells. They would be careful when giving
spells to clerics of high wisdom, but they
occasionally get sloppy with clerics who are
less wise. When a cleric with a wisdom
score of less than 13 casts a spell, percentile
dice are rolled according to Wisdom Table
II: Adjustments for Clerics, in the Players
Handbook. If failure is indicated, it means
that the being who gave spells to the cleric
wasn?t paying full attention while placing
the verbal and somatic components of that
particular spell in the cleric?s mind.

Magic and metamagic compared
Since the magic and metamagic spellcasting
systems are quite different, how
does one account for those spells which
appear in both systems? Both types of spells
originate in the akasa, but the invocations
are completely different and spells in one
system are not necessarily possible in the
other system.

Thirty-five official spells appear in both
the magic and metamagic spell-casting
systems. These are listed in the accompanying
table, with the spell level in each of the
respective systems. In the context of the
game, these spells are not identical. The
end results are the same, to be sure, but
otherwise the spells are not similar. By
analogy, consider computer programming.
Once an application is defined, a program
might be written in BASIC, COBOL,
FORTRAN, Pascal, C, Assembly ? or one
of the other available languages. There are
few similarities between these languages,
yet the end result is almost always the same.
Almost? Well, there would be differences
in speed of execution; depending on the
exact implementation, BASIC is probably
the slowest of the languages listed above,
whereas Assembly would be the fastest.
Another obvious difference lies in the size of
the executable program code. Assembly is
by far the smallest, with the closest runnerup
placing in distant second.

The analogy still applies in AD&D gaming.
There are some differences in range,
duration, material components, and area of
effect between spells of different systems. If
a magic-user wants to acquire a new spell
? hold person, as an example ? he or she
must find the magic spell of that name. The
metamagic version would be useless to a
magic-user, even if the cleric sincerely
wanted to give away the spell.
Consider the twenty-two spells in the
table that are available to both clerics and
magic-users. In nine of these twenty-two
common spells, the cleric spell is of a lower
level than the magic-user spell. Additionally,
nine of these spells are the same level
for both classes. But, for the first seven
experience levels, clerics advance faster than
magic-users, so spells of 4th level or less are
usable by clerics sooner than by magicusers.
Only one of these same-level spells?
part water? is higher than 4th level.
In effect, seventeen of these cleric/magicuser
spells ? roughly seventy-seven percent
?are of a lower level for clerics than they
are for magic-users. We can also compare
cleric and illusionist, druid and magic-user,
and druid and illusionist spells in this fashion.
A summary of these comparisons is
listed in the table in the next column.
The first column lists the total number of
spells that are common between the two
spell-casting systems. The second column
tells how many of these spells the metamagic
caster can cast before the magic caster,
taking into account differences in the number
of experience points required to advance
in experience levels, and also gives the
percentage of these spells which the
metamagic-caster gains before the magiccaster
does. In each of the four cases, more
than half of the common spells are available
first to the cleric or druid.

SPELLS COMMON TO MAGIC/METAMAGIC SYSTEMS

                                        Attained at level:

Spell	Cl	Dr	M-U	Ill
Animal growth	-	5	5	-
Animate dead	3	-	5	-
Astral spell	7	-	9	7
Cloudburst	3	3	3	-
Confusion	-	7	4	4
Conjure animals	6	-	-	6
Continual light	3	-	2	3
Control weather	7	7	6	-
Detect evil	1	-	2	-
Detect magic	1	1	1	2
Dispel magic	3	4	3	4
Feeblemind	-	6	5	-
Feign death	3	2	3	-
Fire trap	-	2	4	-
Gate	7	-	9	-
Hold person	2	-	3	-
Know alignment	2	3	2	-
Light	1	-	1	1
Locate object	3	-	2	-
Lower water	4	-	6	-
Part water	6	-	6	-
Precipitation	1	1	1	-
Protection from evil	1	-	1	-
Pyrotechnics	-	3	2	-
Reincarnate (-tion)	-	7	6	-
Remove curse	3	-	4	-
Stone shape	-	3	5	-
Succor	7	-	9	-
Symbol	7	-	8	-
Tongues	4	-	3	-
Transmute rock/mud	-	5	5	-
Transmute water/dust	-	6	6	-
Wall of fire	-	5	4	-
Water breathing	-	3	3	-

Magic/metamagic spell comparison
 

-	Total	Metamagic spell gained before magic spell
Cleric/magic-user	22	17 (77%)
Cleric/illusionist	6	4 (67%)
Druid/magic-user	19	11 (58%)
Druid/illusionist	3	2 (67%)

The fact that most of these duplicated
spells are of a lower level in metamagic than
in magic could be interpreted as an indication
that, for the most part, the cleric spellcasting
system is slightly more powerful
than the system employed by magic-users.
This is logical, both in terms of game playability
and internal consistency. The actions
of clerics are limited (and often dictated) by
the alignment, temperament, and sphere of
control of their patron deities. While their
spells tend to be more powerful, clerics
must be careful not to overstep the bounds
of acceptable behavior when using this
metamagic.

In contrast, there are no restrictions on
the actions of magic-users. There are, of
course, the normal restrictions that every
character faces according to his or her alignment.
But magic-users don?t have to please
finicky divinities in order to exercise their
arcane abilities.

Having established that clerics are using
a different system, and that cleric and
magic-user spells are incompatible, what
happens to spells such as detect magic and
dispel magic?

"When the detect magic spell is cast, the
cleric detects magical radiations . . ." How
is this spell description from the PH to be interpreted? Can a cleric
detect magic? Can a magic-user detect
metamagic? Can one spell detect both types
of radiation?

Based on what has been said so far, perhaps
there should be two different spells,
detect magic and detect metamagic. Each
spell is detecting the same thing ? akasic
radiation ? but each spell is detecting
different frequency ranges of the radiation.
(Consider that X-rays are the same type of
radiation as visible light; X-rays are merely
a much higher frequency.) A third spell,
called something like detect psionic power,
might also be appropriate.
More likely, in this case ?magic? is simply
a generic term that encompasses both
(or all three) kinds of power. The same
principle would apply to dispel magic. In
addition to being simpler, this approach has
the advantage of remaining within the rules
as currently written.

Presenting a logical and consistent explanation
of a system of pure fantasy, such as
the means and methods of spell-casting in
the AD&D game, can be quite a challenge.
The information presented here is, for the
most part, merely the opinions and speculations
of one person. There are some exceptions:
The Laws of Sympathy and
Contagion are generally accepted principles
of magic that can be found in many sources.
But beyond that, there may be as many
interpretations as there are readers. This is
natural, considering the subject.
The intent of this article was simply to
present a logical, consistent explanation of
the laws of the arcane, explaining why these
powers exist and how they may be used.
This should be helpful to players whose
characters are performing magical research.
It also answers some of the questions raised
by the AD&D game rules of spell-casting,
and could be an aid to role-playing.

ADQ: Why do M-Us seem to be
more attuned to the elements (at a medium
level) than druids? M-Us as
low as 9th level can conjure any of the
4 "most common" elementals, assuming
that they have the spell, whereas
druids must wait until they reach 11th-level
to conjure fire elementals, and 12th-level
to conjure earth elementals. Even
though the druid may control the summoned
elemental with Bassically no
chance of failure, it seems that the druid
should have more power over elemental-summoning
than the M-U. The
M-U is, in my opinion, 1 of the
strongest of the PC classes,
and mages do not need any druidical
powers.
ADA: Druids are attuned to Nature, which
is the perfect blending of all 4 elements.
It is against their basic nature to bring 1
element into dominance over the others;
that creates imbalance. M-Us, on the
other hand, may be adept at conjuring.
Those who are make careful studies of other
<dimensions>, including elemental <dimensions>, whereas
druids study only the Prime Material Plane.
<UA may revise the above>
    Note also that druids gain the cooperation
of elementals, but M-Us must
coerce the poor creatures, and thus run the
ever-present risk of losing control and being
attacked by their conjurations.
(Polyhedron #31)
 

LETTERS
Modern-day akasa
Dear DRAGON,
I found "The laws of magic" in issue #106
extremely helpful. It has opened new doors for
my campaign plans. I would like to incorporate
some twentieth century adventures for my players
by sending them to a modern world. Consequently
I have some questions. Does akasa exist
in modern times, or has it ?burned out?? If it
does, my magic-users and clerics will have magic
(and metamagic) ability. But what of modern
people? Can a magic-user teach a twentieth
century person to manipulate the akasa? And can
modern clerics receive spells?
    Bryan Winter
    Ann Arbor, Mich.

The answers to these questions depend on how
you define ?a modern world.? Within the context
of the game, we can call it a parallel world, one of
the infinite number of alternate Prime Material
Planes that exist in the multiverse of the AD&D®
game.

But is a twentieth-century world one in which
magic works the same way that it does in the
player characters? native world? Personally, I?d
say it?s not. Taking a cue from Robert Schroeck?s
reasoning in The City Beyond the Gate (issue
#100), you can rule that this particular parallel
world is too far removed from the source of akasa
(the PCs? home world) and thus is ?magically
null,? as Robert put it. Visitors from the PCs?
home world could use the spells they had stored
in their minds when they made the trip, and they
might be able (by praying or studying) to regain
certain spells while they?re there. But natives of
the alternate world can?t manipulate the akasa,
either because it doesn?t exist, it isn?t strong
enough, or they are simply incapable of doing so.

Of course, the other view is that (for the sake of
your version of the game or the sake of whatever
adventure you?ve concocted) magic does work on
this parallel world the same way that it works on
the Prime Material Plane that the PCs came
from. If you?re willing and able to make this
theory work in practice, more power to you. It
seems like a mind-boggling task to me, but
maybe your mind doesn?t get boggled as easily as
mine does. -- KM



Concerning Charles Olsen's question in issue
#106, in his article "The laws of magic," he asked
"Why do clerics have a chance for spell failure,
while magic users do not?" He gave an answer
saying that the gods, being rushed in the morning,
are more careful in placing the spells in the
minds of their better followers with high wisdom,
than in placing spells in the minds of followers
with low wisdom, thus the chance for spell failure
for clerics with wisdom of less than 13.

I find this answer to be insufficient. Firstly,
what about those 5 lone clerics in the world,
praying at about 4:30 in the afternoon for a few
spells while locked up in that deep, smelly
dungeon? I see no reason why the god should be
rushed and mess up the bestowal of those few
measly spells. Secondly, in my campaign I play
gods as though they weren?t bound by such
mortal limits as time; they are in fact, immortal.
By that reasoning, a god should never be rushed
to do anything.

So I offer a different reason for the cleric?s
chance of spell failure. Wisdom affects a person?s
judgement, so it stands to reason that a cleric
with better judgement should have less of a
chance for doing something wrong which might
possibly affect his god, and vice versa. Therefore,
when a god leisurely checks each of his followers,
he might find something which displeases him,
and he would then choose to hold back a spell for
a day.
    Norman Shapiro
    Spring Valley, N.Y.
    (Dragon #108)