How To Play a Voidal Mage - A Rough Guide

[BrandNewKitten 2788]

This isn’t a guide. It’s a rant. 
 

“People aren’t doing things the way I want. They suck. Do what I want instead.” -> Is the impression I get from reading this.

 

I agree with some of what is being stated here like how magic lore should be open enough to leave the concept of light & dark out of the majority of its OOC context. The idea that magic should be motive driven is right on point as well. “I want the power” shouldn’t be an acceptable motive either. This is very much not reading as a guide though. 
 

If the original use and intent of the void was to serve as an explanation for why fireballs are being slung around then it isn’t “misappropriation.” It simply isn’t the thematic choice you desire.  Not everyone on the server wants some sort of dark souls / cthulu trope all the time. The server might have too many different opposing magic themes & systems though & if one has to be chosen I’d much rather go with anything else besides a grimdark style. 
 

Magic culture & magic science are the same thing. Does the system encourage the use of magic to demonstrate science? Maybe, but magic in science was a large part of the culture for a long time. The issue is that people wanted the lore to be so defined that the science part of it was undeniable. At the same time you had magics like mine that were the complete other end of the spectrum. So free & non-scientific that it was also game breaking. 
 

It is easy to blame older players and those of us who eagerly crafted magic in the old, vague system. However the fact is that if you look back 3-5 years magic was cultural, it was whimsical, and it was spontaneous. It would be more beneficial to look at what allowed magic to have that cultural influence rather than continue with the current narrative that old magic & its users sucked. Even if we did at least we were having a heck of a good time with it. 
 

As I see it magic is suffering the same way it always has. A small group of people set a new set of standards and people are pushing those standards to their limits, aka abusing the system. However now a lot of the creativity that drove day-to-day RP has been reduced to make way for carefully written spell lists. The culture of magic was expunged to ensure each subtype is adequately stocked with players.

 

While the old system was easily abused it also allowed for people like myself, who never had a single issue of abuse, to supply culture and roleplay in a DM-like fashion. You need some of that freedom back but in a format that is easily referenced. 
 

Now we have both ranted.

[IsaaKc 1225]

On 3/22/2021 at 12:51 PM, BrandNewKitten said:

This isn’t a guide. It’s a rant. 

The problems must be clearly addressed to come to a solution. A rant wouldn't offer proper solutions and recommendations, which I have included.

 

On 3/22/2021 at 12:51 PM, BrandNewKitten said:

“People aren’t doing things the way I want. They suck. Do what I want instead.” -> Is the impression I get from reading this.

It's quite the opposite. Throughout the entire post, I have encouraged people to RPly create theories and cultures surrounding Voidal Magic. The only thing that I have discouraged in this post is scientific Magic RP due to the fact that it's overdone and doesn't contribute much that's interesting.

 

On 3/22/2021 at 12:51 PM, BrandNewKitten said:

If the original use and intent of the void was to serve as an explanation for why fireballs are being slung around then it isn’t “misappropriation.” It simply isn’t the thematic choice you desire.

The antithesis of creation that houses cosmic horrors unbeknownst to mankind shouldn't be the source of generic fantasy Magic. The Void is employed as a proper narrative tool in other pieces of lore, and Voidal Magic is the outlier. It is misappropriation.

 

On 3/22/2021 at 12:51 PM, BrandNewKitten said:

The server might have too many different opposing magic themes & systems though & if one has to be chosen I’d much rather go with anything else besides a grimdark style. 

The server has many themes, and I don't think a single should be chosen, which I'm assuming you agree. However, lore that builds off other pieces should remain thematically consistent.

 

On 3/22/2021 at 12:51 PM, BrandNewKitten said:

Magic culture & magic science are the same thing. Does the system encourage the use of magic to demonstrate science? Maybe, but magic in science was a large part of the culture for a long time. The issue is that people wanted the lore to be so defined that the science part of it was undeniable.

There's a clear line between being mystical and vague about Magic in roleplay and reading something out in character like a robot. Magic "science" has been apart of Voidal Magic culture for quite awhile, and few attempts have been made to deviate from it (which is why the lore reads so straightforward and blandly). That is why I've pointed this out.

 

On 3/22/2021 at 12:51 PM, BrandNewKitten said:

At the same time you had magics like mine that were the complete other end of the spectrum. So free & non-scientific that it was also game breaking. 

Assuming you're referring to Arcanism/Celestialism, the former was only "free" in the regard that the lore was vague and easily abused.

 

On 3/22/2021 at 12:51 PM, BrandNewKitten said:

It is easy to blame older players and those of us who eagerly crafted magic in the old, vague system. However the fact is that if you look back 3-5 years magic was cultural, it was whimsical, and it was spontaneous. It would be more beneficial to look at what allowed magic to have that cultural influence rather than continue with the current narrative that old magic & its users sucked. Even if we did at least we were having a heck of a good time with it. 

Blaming older players isn't the point of this guide. It's simply fact. Older Voidal Magic players such as Toxzero, Phil, ShameJax, and many others pioneered and upheld the scientific Magic RP standard. The reason it's brought up, like I said, is that this old and oversaturated standard is rarely deviated from. I don't invalidate your experience either. If you had a good time, you had a good time. Good stuff.

 

On 3/22/2021 at 12:51 PM, BrandNewKitten said:

As I see it magic is suffering the same way it always has. A small group of people set a new set of standards and people are pushing those standards to their limits, aka abusing the system.  However now a lot of the creativity that drove day-to-day RP has been reduced to make way for carefully written spell lists. The culture of magic was expunged to ensure each subtype is adequately stocked with players.

I'm sorry, but spell lists are not the most evil thing ever. This was apart of lore reforms, which every Magic and Creature had to go through. There's still plenty you can do with Voidal Magic, as pretty much anything non-combative is incredibly versatile. Freedom in combat shouldn't be the pinnacle of RP.

 

On 3/22/2021 at 12:51 PM, BrandNewKitten said:

While the old system was easily abused it also allowed for people like myself, who never had a single issue of abuse, to supply culture and roleplay in a DM-like fashion. You need some of that freedom back but in a format that is easily referenced. 

That's how it works, unfortunately. A few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.

[BrandNewKitten 2788]

On 3/24/2021 at 5:18 PM, IsaaKc said:

The problems must be clearly addressed to come to a solution. A rant wouldn't offer proper solutions and recommendations, which I have included.

 

It's quite the opposite. Throughout the entire post, I have encouraged people to RPly create theories and cultures surrounding Voidal Magic. The only thing that I have discouraged in this post is scientific Magic RP due to the fact that it's overdone and doesn't contribute much that's interesting.

 

The antithesis of creation that houses cosmic horrors unbeknownst to mankind shouldn't be the source of generic fantasy Magic. The Void is employed as a proper narrative tool in other pieces of lore, and Voidal Magic is the outlier. It is misappropriation.

 

The server has many themes, and I don't think a single should be chosen, which I'm assuming you agree. However, lore that builds off other pieces should remain thematically consistent.

 

There's a clear line between being mystical and vague about Magic in roleplay and reading something out in character like a robot. Magic "science" has been apart of Voidal Magic culture for quite awhile, and few attempts have been made to deviate from it (which is why the lore reads so straightforward and blandly). That is why I've pointed this out.

 

Assuming you're referring to Arcanism/Celestialism, the former was only "free" in the regard that the lore was vague and easily abused.

 

Blaming older players isn't the point of this guide. It's simply fact. Older Voidal Magic players such as Toxzero, Phil, ShameJax, and many others pioneered and upheld the scientific Magic RP standard. The reason it's brought up, like I said, is that this old and oversaturated standard is rarely deviated from. I don't invalidate your experience either. If you had a good time, you had a good time. Good stuff.

 

I'm sorry, but spell lists are not the most evil thing ever. This was apart of lore reforms, which every Magic and Creature had to go through. There's still plenty you can do with Voidal Magic, as pretty much anything non-combative is incredibly versatile. Freedom in combat shouldn't be the pinnacle of RP.

 

That's how it works, unfortunately. A few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.

 

so basically, we agree on most things, but the format of this guide needs work. Your points are valid but let’s get some people together to make some user-friendly magic RP guides that cut out the BS.