A New Philosophy

by **Kynier** on January 30th, 2019, 9:32 pm

This idea came to mind and I've been thinking about it for a few days now. Magic has been around forever in Mizahar and there must have been different philosophies regarding its usage in the world throughout the ages. While I have not found anything more specific than just vague references that they have existed, I was considering doing a write-up for one possible philosophy/meditative practice that has a bit of focus on Reimancy. It would probably include concepts that could be applied universally to the different forms of magic, but the more advanced forms would be focused to the one discipline. The intention is to have it be something that was developed post Valterrian, so that way its not some lost form of thinking, but probably not well known.

What do people think about that?

by **Mauriel** on February 2nd, 2019, 12:05 am

That does sound cool. It would be interesting if some philosophies fell out of fashion and got replaced by different ones - or even if that process was occurring IC right now. That way, it could be a cause for a lot of conflict among mages. Even if it's pretty niche, it can be politically/academically relevant where applicable, and some prominent NPCs can be involved in the conflict.

Have you had any more specific ideas? The focus Reimancy makes me think it's going to be something centered around balance and avoiding overgiving, but that's just a guess.

by **Kynier** on February 6th, 2019, 3:34 am

While balance and Overgiving/Inordination avoidance would be good concepts to focus on, the one I will make a write-up for will be more about the elements and their usage. Including explanations of mindsets one should have when casting to be more "attuned" to their spells. So yeah, I guess a little bit of overgiving/Inordination avoidance will be included. But there would be a focus on what sort of purpose each element is supposed to serve. It'll be a little tricky I feel, because I'll want to write it up in a way that allows it be open to interpretation and less of a rule book.

I hadn't considered the conflicting philosophies aspect. That would be really interesting.

by **Itt** on March 13th, 2019, 4:01 pm

Late to the ball game but I too like the idea of conflicting philosphies. I think having some specific philosophical ideas that some mages might not agree with will do a lot for the magic users in Mizahar. I haven't been in the magic game until very, very recently, but based off of previous conversations, magic doesn't appear to spring up a lot of controvery among players or characters unless the magic was used excplicitly for ill-intensions. But magic as a whole is alright by most. I think adding some potential philosphical concepts adn lines of thinking, whether it be related to morals of magic or not, would do a lot in terms of stirring up this unified belief that magic is good among some of the characters.

So if you're still interested in expanding this idea then do it! I'm still new to magic myself so I don't know quite yet what I can add to the conversation, especially if you don't have any specific nailed down yet. The focus on Reimancy is an interesting thought though. By balance and the purpose of elements, do you mean in that each element is presented with a task that helps create balance in the world? Like fire is strength and destruction, Earth is rebuilding and life, or things like that? Could you expand on that thought, if possible?

by **Kynier** on March 15th, 2019, 7:22 pm

The ballgame is still going Itt, no worries. This is still an idea that I'm working on. So far, I've written out the history behind the origins of a philosophy, but haven't gotten too far into the real substance of it yet. I've got plenty of thoughts buzzing around in my head, and I'm putting in pieces into IC threads to sort of help flush out some of the logistics of it. I'm looking forward to and dreading putting something into the peer review to watch it get disected.

You have a very good point Itt, about there not being a lot of contention between mage-based characters about magic. Almost like it's an exclusive club and membership means instant acceptance. I have taken part in a situation where there was disagreement between PCs about magic, and it was a really good thread. It also seems like its a bit of an underdeveloped, or at least an under-explained, concept. One of the ancient empires was very active with magic while the other was not. It would be interesting to have a lore page about why the Suvan Empire was not nearly as magic oriented as the Alahean Empire. But, I'll leave that project to other people.

Regarding your impression Itt, kind of. I'm working on making it a balance in the way that, no one element is superior to another. There will be a section regarding the concepts of each element from the philosophy's way of thinking, which will include how Earth is both strong and weak against Fire for example. But also trying to establish concepts about what sort of mindset the caster would/should have when harnessing the elements. Earth's immovable nature or perseverance and Fire's passion or rage for example. Having those in addition to moral uses of the elements and even the para-elements.

Recently, I've starting pondering about having a segment that explains the philosophy's general consideration of other magic disciplines. Since it's focus is Reimancy, but having a bit where it explains how dedicated followers of this philosophy generally react to the use of Hypnotism for example.

by **Elias Caldera** on March 15th, 2019, 10:19 pm

I think something you could consider is the setting and period this philosophy takes shape in. For example, a pre-valterian mage and a post val one are gonna be very different, and not just because of how much was lost to the latter. Before the world broke, Mizahar was either on the brink of, or in the middle of, a brutal war between two powerful nations. I'm sure that's a mindset you just can't shake and is certain to influence someones way of contextualizing things. Its the same with after the cataclysm, where everyone -mage and mundane alike- was focused almost entirely on sheer survival and subsequently rebuilding.

This could play into how Kynier's experiences thus far have shaped him and his mindset as well (if he is the one creating it.)

Also, I found a treatise Clyde made a while back. I haven't read through all of it as of yet, but considering its somewhat similar to what you're aiming to create, it might be helpful.