EXPLANATION: Magic Targeting

[GodEmperorFlam 3447]

Magic Targeting

This thread explains the thought process behind our stance on magic that targets specific groups or individuals.

A year or two ago we had the height of the “dark vs holy” conflict which then led to other issues (e.g. the holy civil wars which had a lot of OOC problems) and it was made clear that magics that were forced to target another group was not something a lot of the players on the server were capable of handling appropriately without it devolving into an OOC mess. As such the LT stepped in and had the holy magics adapt their magic for a more general combat use rather than just an anti-dark magic. Similarly, Story has been steering the dark magics to have more mundane counters so they weren’t reliant on having a holy mage be their counter.

 

This is something touched on to make sure the mistake is not repeated with some other magic that might be introduced in the future. Conflict can be fun, but when it is forced towards a certain group, it leads to OOC issues and gets problematic. So when you are writing your lore, you should keep this in mind and make sure that your magic is not something that has another magic group as a specific counter or that your lore isn’t targeting a specific group. 

 

Targeting is fine if you’re targeting a broader audience, such as magic users as a whole, as that isn’t hyperfocusing on one niche group within it. And if you are targeting a broader audience, your magic/creature shouldn’t be powerful as you already have an advantage over a good chunk of people. 

 

Fi’ was a good example of what not to do, as that magic simply shut down another person’s magic and wasn’t fun or interactive. The weakness was also bypassed by people creating special armor that even the weakened Fi’ mages could utilize. If a magic is made to deal with other magics (e.g. an anti-voidal magic), it should offer some kind of interaction so one side isn’t simply shutting down the other.