SPECTRE666
Adventurer
http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=14778045&postcount=2150
[SBLOCK=Richard Baker]Good questions, Landro.
Here's the way Ed G. explained it to me years ago: The Weave is an interface. It's the conduit through which the spellcaster accesses the raw potential of magic lurking in every atom of the cosmos. When the interface is removed, magic doesn't die--it's still locked up in everything around you. It's one of the fundamental forces of the universe. Electromagnetics, strong force, weak force, gravity, and magic. Well, I might be exaggerating a bit; it's not clear to me that things like atoms or radio waves or the nuclear strong force exist in a world composed of the classic elements. But I digress.
In the absence of the interface they're used to (the Weave), spellcasters in the Realms have to learn new methods for accessing magic. I expect that brilliant archmages (and the more clever gods) probably figure out a "workaround" in a matter of days. But in some places, it might be years before someone manages to reinvent spellcasting.
Regarding clerics, we do have an answer that I'm not at liberty to share just yet. More on that later. Regarding the Shadow Weave, we'll be looking to evolve that concept to match the Shadow power source hinted at in the preview books. Again, more detail on that later.
Finally, a note about the City of Shade... the Spellplague flowed "around" places with big, powerful, pervasive magical effects. So places with mythals (and Shade, which has something just as strong as a mythal) were sheltered to some degree from the ravages of the Spellplague. Secondary effects (like archmages going mad) did damage some of these places, but they generally made out OK.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Landro
Back on topic.....
Rich, I appologize if any of this has been asked before, but can you please give us any info on what the origin of arcane and divine magic users powers will be in the 4E Realms?
My understanding is that the Weave was the source of all magic in Faerun, and that with Mystra dead it has unraveled completely. Several years and a number of newly insane mages later and we have wizards walking around apparently casting spells like nothing has happened. Apparently this is true of the divine casters as well.
OK, I'm making light of the situation somewhat - clearly things have changed. I'm unclear on a few points though, and I'm hoping you can shed some light on them.
1) Is magic still the same as before? By this I mean: does it still bear some relationship with the weave even though it no longer functions the same as before. In other words - do mages who lived through the whole spellplague (elves, undead, otherwise immortal, etc) have any kind of continuity of power, or did everyone at the top now have to start from square one again? Is magical lore from before the spellplague still applicable in any way?
2) Is there still a divine connection with all magic? Mystra is dead, but we don't know if there is another god of magic now or whether magic is completely unregulated by the powers that be.
3) Do gods now grant their divine spells through some other medium, or do clerics now have a Big Red Telephone Line directly to their gods when it comes to the granting of their powers?
4)Is the Shadow Weave still around? If not, what happened to it? Perhaps it's now the primary source of power for everyone....?
5)The City of Shade was made into a floating fortress some time before the discovery of the Shadow Weave. When the Weave unravels and magic fails or becomes unpredictable, does it plummet from the skies and become the worlds largest and most lethal ammusement ride?
__________________
Rich Baker
Senior Designer
Roleplaying R&D
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.[/SBLOCK]
[SBLOCK=Richard Baker]Good questions, Landro.
Here's the way Ed G. explained it to me years ago: The Weave is an interface. It's the conduit through which the spellcaster accesses the raw potential of magic lurking in every atom of the cosmos. When the interface is removed, magic doesn't die--it's still locked up in everything around you. It's one of the fundamental forces of the universe. Electromagnetics, strong force, weak force, gravity, and magic. Well, I might be exaggerating a bit; it's not clear to me that things like atoms or radio waves or the nuclear strong force exist in a world composed of the classic elements. But I digress.
In the absence of the interface they're used to (the Weave), spellcasters in the Realms have to learn new methods for accessing magic. I expect that brilliant archmages (and the more clever gods) probably figure out a "workaround" in a matter of days. But in some places, it might be years before someone manages to reinvent spellcasting.
Regarding clerics, we do have an answer that I'm not at liberty to share just yet. More on that later. Regarding the Shadow Weave, we'll be looking to evolve that concept to match the Shadow power source hinted at in the preview books. Again, more detail on that later.
Finally, a note about the City of Shade... the Spellplague flowed "around" places with big, powerful, pervasive magical effects. So places with mythals (and Shade, which has something just as strong as a mythal) were sheltered to some degree from the ravages of the Spellplague. Secondary effects (like archmages going mad) did damage some of these places, but they generally made out OK.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Landro
Back on topic.....
Rich, I appologize if any of this has been asked before, but can you please give us any info on what the origin of arcane and divine magic users powers will be in the 4E Realms?
My understanding is that the Weave was the source of all magic in Faerun, and that with Mystra dead it has unraveled completely. Several years and a number of newly insane mages later and we have wizards walking around apparently casting spells like nothing has happened. Apparently this is true of the divine casters as well.
OK, I'm making light of the situation somewhat - clearly things have changed. I'm unclear on a few points though, and I'm hoping you can shed some light on them.
1) Is magic still the same as before? By this I mean: does it still bear some relationship with the weave even though it no longer functions the same as before. In other words - do mages who lived through the whole spellplague (elves, undead, otherwise immortal, etc) have any kind of continuity of power, or did everyone at the top now have to start from square one again? Is magical lore from before the spellplague still applicable in any way?
2) Is there still a divine connection with all magic? Mystra is dead, but we don't know if there is another god of magic now or whether magic is completely unregulated by the powers that be.
3) Do gods now grant their divine spells through some other medium, or do clerics now have a Big Red Telephone Line directly to their gods when it comes to the granting of their powers?
4)Is the Shadow Weave still around? If not, what happened to it? Perhaps it's now the primary source of power for everyone....?
5)The City of Shade was made into a floating fortress some time before the discovery of the Shadow Weave. When the Weave unravels and magic fails or becomes unpredictable, does it plummet from the skies and become the worlds largest and most lethal ammusement ride?
__________________
Rich Baker
Senior Designer
Roleplaying R&D
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.[/SBLOCK]
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