Uncle Figgy's Guide to Good Fantasy, or... Watch where you're pointing
that sword

Copyright 1999 by Dan Cope. All text contained herein may be freely
copied and distributed provided that this notice of copyright is
included.

Introduction

Fantasy is probably one of the hardest genres to write about. There's
Pure Fantasy, High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy,
Science Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Quest Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery.
And attempts to define any of those categories are lame at best. Sure,
some are pretty easy: Contemporary Fantasy, for instance, is Fantasy
that happens in the "here and now." But just what is Science Fantasy? Is
it Fantasy where magic is used like technology or is it Science Fiction
where the "science" is more like magic -- having no real basis in
science fact? And what about Dark Fantasy? Fantasy where life is cheap,
the world is dirty and gritty, and the heroes die horrible, painful
deaths fighting demons against which there is little hope? What about
the Horror genre? It has very little "real" science in it. Couldn't it
be called a "Dark, Contemporary Fantasy?"

There is, however, one thread that runs continuously through all these
genres: Magic. Some unexplained phenomenon that drives (or at least is
an indispensable element of) the story. But, as far as Fantasy (Fantasy
writing, at least) goes, magic is one of the most overlooked aspects of
the genre. Go to any good-sized bookstore and you'll find a lot of books
on historical weapons and armor. Books on castles and costumes and diet
and anything else you want to know about the Medieval or Renaissancian
periods. But you'll find next to nothing about how magic would have
affected those things. As a writer, and as a GameMaster, it's your job
to figure out how magic would affect the siege of a castle. It's your
job to figure out how magic would affect public health and safety.

That's where "Uncle Figgy's Guide to Good Fantasy" comes in. First and
foremost, this Guide will focus exclusively on what your Uncle Figgy
calls "Pure" Fantasy: A medieval/renaissance world where magic works.
Secondly, because there are so many reference books out there for
authors of Fantasy, I'm not going to cover such mundane things as the
details of a typical peasant hut or the social significance of the
village inn. The main aim of this guide is a common-sense discussion of
magic and how it would affect the typical peasant hut. This guide is to
help you do your job of figuring out how magic would affect the siege of
a castle. To help you do your job of figuring out how magic would affect
public health and safety.

One important thing to keep in mind when reading this guide is that it's
not totally comprehensive -- it really couldn't be simply because of all
the ingredients that go into Fantasy. So while I go into as much as I
can, some of your favorite items might have gotten left out and I really
couldn't go into as much depth as I might have wanted on some of the
things I did include. I mean, I easily could have written an entire
"Uncle Figgy's Guide to World Mythology" or "Uncle Figgy's Guide to the
Afterlife" (and I guess I still could if enough people ask for it). But,
I did try to cover as much as I can about those things I felt haven't
already been covered to death by other writers. I think I did a pretty
good job that more than makes up for the lack that I felt was out there,
so read on, brave adventurer. Your fantastic world awaits!

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Fantastic Style

Traditional Fantasy has a swashbuckling style: light, quick and
cinematic. Realism takes a back seat to the drama of the story. PCs take
heroic risks and come out relatively unscathed (#stupid# risks are
another matter entirely). Heroes stand toe-to-toe with a dozen lesser
foes and sneer confidently at the odds. "Uncle Figgy's Guide to Good
Fantasy" talks a lot about the realistic effects magic might have on a
medieval/pre-Renaissance world, the realism of the Fantasy "dungeon",
and even the realism of the typical Fantasy economy. Any bit of this may
be ignored in favor of the style of Fantasy that you (and your players)
enjoy.

Your Uncle Figgy enjoys the cinematic style of play, but with heavy
doses of realism. Ordinarily, mixing these two things is like trying to
mix  oil and water. The key is to add those realistic elements that are
humorous, dramatic and non-fatal, while throwing out those realistic
elements that are depressing, mundane, deadly and would slow down the
game. The section on "Illness and Disease" (Chapter 9) is a good
example: Having a character suffer through the agony and debilitation of
tetanus might be realistic, but is hardly fun for the player in
question; and while it may be dramatic, it's terribly depressing. But
having that same character suffer through a cold is not only realistic,
it also can be funny and dramatic.

By adding those little realistic touches that have no real effect on the
game, you can safely take away all of the "depressing" bits while still
maintaining an illusion of realism in your world.

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Chapter 1: Talkin' 'bout Magic

Levels of Magic

Magic is what makes Fantasy fantasy. But just how much magic do you have
in your world? Two fantasy worlds, totally similar in every respect, can
have an extremely different feel if their levels of magic are at
opposite ends of the scale. How much magic you have in your world can
affect everything from its creatures and ecosystem to its rulership and
economics. Most importantly to gameplay, however, it can even affect the
types of characters (both player and non-player) that are available to
choose from.

In a world where magic is very common and most people can cast spells,
for instance, wizards will be cheap to hire and nobody will respect them
too much. They're just another working schmuck trying to make a living.
But in a world where magic is almost unknown, wizards will be something
special, maybe even revered as gods.

To help out with this tough job, your Uncle Figgy has created the
following scale. Like anything else in gaming (or in reality, for that
matter), these categories are just individual spots in a spectrum that
usually blends smoothly from one spot to the next. Some worlds might fit
totally into one category with no overlap, while another might fit
somewhere between the categories. Some worlds might fit into several of
the categories (reflecting a world where there are different magical
levels in different locations).

Low Magic, Low Power

Magic is very rare and the magic that #does# exist is very low powered.
One or two talented individuals from each country might have the ability
to stop bleeding, cure fever or make their gardens grow a little bit
better. Wizard characters will be very rare and, while their powers
might be something special, they're not going to be big movers and
shakers. Most people might not believe that such people exist or the
belief might be that the wizard's power is either a fraud or somehow
explained away as something other than magic. The wizards are going to
be nothing more than the boy down the street who has a sixth-sense or
the king's daughter who can tell the truth from a lie. Most of them will
have some other profession that is supplemented by their abilities.
Magical artifacts and weapons, unless left behind from a time when magic
was more prevalent or powerful, are going to be very few and far between
and are mostly going to consist of simple charms that have a very small
effect. Things like crosses that scare away the undead (which will also
most likely be very rare) or the dagger that's been in the family for
generations that can't be broken and never rusts. One might also find
charms that, in game terms, give a bonus of about +1 to avoid some type
of disease/sickness.

Low Magic, Medium Power

Magic is very rare and the magic that #does# exist is moderately
powered. One or two talented individuals from each country might become
great heroes or healers (or villains) because their abilities set them
apart. Wizard characters will be very rare, but those few individuals
are likely to have an effect on the world even if only in myths and
stories. Low-powered attack and defense magic are possible in this kind
of a world. Wizards become slightly more than human to be revered and
praised or (in a superstitious area) feared and destroyed. None of them
will be major movers and shakers in the grand scheme of things, but many
will have the rulers or religious organizations of an area seeking them
out. Legends of the historical Ninja and Shao-Lin priest are closest to
this type of world -- normal individuals with enough power to make them
mysterious and special. Magical artifacts and weapons are going to be
few and far between, but now the sword that gives a +1 to hit and damage
or the sword that glows in the presence of a specific type of enemy will
probably become available.

Low Magic, High Power

Magic is very rare and the magic that #does# exist is highly powerful.
One or two talented individuals from each country will be known
throughout the length and breadth of the land (and probably in other
lands as well). Wizard characters will be rare, but those few
individuals are going to be major movers and shakers of the world at
large. Kingdoms will vie for their favor and do their best to hire them
for wars. They will probably be feared, but no one would dare approach
them because of their power. The whole range of magic is available to
these people and many will have long-reaching plans and goals
intertwined with the future of society, if not being the outright rulers
of their respective lands. Wizards in such a game make far better NPC
patrons and villains than they do PCs. Depending on what version of the
King Arthur legend you read, Merlin could be considered to be one of
these types of wizard. Magical artifacts and weapons are going to be few
and far between, but greater strengths are available, mostly created by
the wizards for the express purpose of giving them to their most trusted
servants, soldiers and lackeys. Potent magical weapons or items of great
healing power are possible at this level and their rarity makes them
great quest objects.

Medium Magic, Low Power

Magic is common enough that one or two wizards will come out of every
duchy (or possibly every city). The power of these people will not be of
any great importance, but they will be common enough that people won't
scoff at their existence. The average view of the populace would most
likely be that it would be great to have one of those people living
among you, but you can get by without. They're still not going to be
movers and shakers of the world, and most of them will have some other
job that they supplement with their ability. The average adventuring
group #might# have one in the party, but it's not necessary as the
non-magical feel for the most part that they can do without. Magical
artifacts and weapons become more common, but still not very useful.

Medium Magic, Medium Power

Magic is common enough that one or two wizards will come out of every
duchy (or possibly every city). These people will be set apart from the
common man because of their abilities and they will be sought out for
their usefulness. Any city would be proud to have at least one of these
individuals living among them and cities that don't have them will
lament their loss. Many of them will be renowned for their specialties.
War begins to take on a new aspect because many kingdoms will have at
least a few of these people working for them and their powers are
significant enough to turn the tide of a battle. The average adventuring
group #might# have one in the party, and he'll be a very useful
addition. Magical artifacts and weapons are more common, but still
scarce -- famous (or infamous) is the warrior who carries a magical
blade or wears magical armor, and history might remember the name of his
weapon before they remember him -- and still of limited usefulness. At
this level of magic, the average non magical "adventurer" begins to
slightly lose his usefulness.

Medium Magic, High Power

Magic is common enough that one or two wizards will come out of every
duchy (or possibly every city). These people will be powerful and many
might begin to war with each other, much to the detriment of the
surrounding countryside. Kingdoms will rush to befriend these people for
the usefulness of their magic. The face of war becomes different as
opposing wizards fight to destroy the enemy forces or protect their own.
It wouldn't be uncommon to see an army led by a wizard-king, protecting
his soldiers beneath a magical dome while an opposing wizard-king rains
stones of fire and brimstone down upon them. It is doubtful that the
average adventuring party would see one of these individuals as they are
too lofty for such goals. Exceptions would be those very rare wizards
who long for the thrill of adventuring more than they long for the
thrill of warfare. Magical artifacts and weapons are still fairly
uncommon, but highly powerful and highly desirable. Unlike Low Magic,
High Power, many might be found in the hands of those other than a
wizard's personal retinue as the (relative) abundance of mages and
powerful magic makes "magic for-hire" situations more feasible. At this
level of magic, the average non-magical character has little usefulness
except in mass-combat situations, and a non-magical "adventurer" would
have to be very powerful to stand toe-to-toe with a wizard.

High magic, Low Power

Magic is so common that everyone knows a wizard. Their powers are low,
but walk into any town with a headache and someone will point you to a
person who can fix the problem with magic. These people will most likely
have other jobs that they can supplement with their abilities. The world
doesn't change much, except life tends to be a little bit easier and
cleaner thanks to a myriad of small, helpful magics. Wars are similar, a
little bit longer and a little bit cleaner with just a little bit less
loss of life. Most adventuring parties will have one or two of these
wizards who help the group in more ways than just their special powers,
often because they are also warriors or thieves or what-have-you.
Magical artifacts and weapons are common enough that everybody might
have one or two, but they're not all that useful -- life wouldn't change
without them, it would just be a little bit tougher and dirtier. No one
would cry over their loss.

High Magic, Medium Power

Magic is so common that everyone knows a wizard. Every city is proud of
their wizards, who often act as protectors/healers. Wizards have become
a common commodity and their power has made magic a competitive market.
Magical shops offering items of varying usefulness become possible
because wizards have to make a living somehow. Wars become radically
different with every kingdom having one or two (maybe more for a big
kingdom) platoons of dedicated wizards. Unless there's some form of
honor system where wizards only fight wizards, the average foot soldier
becomes pretty much useless except in those rare battles that do not
involve magic. Adventuring parties will have a couple of wizards, either
as companions or hirelings, and they won't want to do without them.
Magical artifacts and items are common enough to support magical trade
and possibly even the beginnings of magical technology in the homes of
the rich and powerful (enchanted water closets, magical refrigerators,
magical air-conditioning, etc.). Anyone who can afford it can own
something magical. Non-magical adventurers lose most of their usefulness
unless they are very powerful. In fact, at this magic level, a powerful
non-magical hero or villain will be more renowned/famous than a wizard
hero or villain.

High Magic, High Power

Magic is so common that everyone knows a wizard. Every city has a few
powerful wizards who probably run everything behind the scenes. More
powerful wizards would most likely rule over those of lesser power or
those with no magic. War is practically unrecognizable compared to the
historical wars of our world. Enchanted creatures, elementals,
constructs and undead fight most of the battles, while many wizards will
blast enemy lands from far away -- blighting them with plagues, fires,
lightning, etc. All the while, the beleaguered land's wizards use their
magic to fight against the enemy's magic. Magical shops are features in
every major city, with potions, scrolls and items and weapons of every
type for sale to anyone with the money to buy. Adventuring parties rely
mostly on their wizards, who strengthen the non-magical characters with
temporary or permanent enhancements. It becomes unfeasible for a non
magical party to ever try anything without some form of magical aid,
whether it be actual help from a wizard or an armory full of magical
weapons and armor. Magical weapons and artifacts are everywhere, as
people can't imagine life without some form of magical help. Non-magical
characters are useless except as cannon fodder unless they have some
form of magical aid.

Very High Magic, Low Power

Magic is so common that #everyone# is a wizard. Everybody in the world
has some form of low-powered magic. Very minor abilities are everywhere
and no one who can do magic is special in any way. In fact, the only
people who are special are those with no magic whatsoever. Magic items
are relatively non-existent since nobody really needs them. Wars are a
little bit longer and a little bit cleaner, but still pretty normal. The
only time anyone will actively seek out any specific wizard is if she is
at the head of her field.

Very High Magic, Medium Power

Magic is so common that #everyone# is a wizard. Everybody in the world
is loaded with attack magic, defense magic, healing magic and any other
kind of magic you can think of. Weapons practically vanish because
nobody needs them. Wars are fought entirely with spells because, let's
face it, there aren't any non-wizards. Battle becomes a matter of who
has the best defense and who has the best offense, and the person with
the best of both is generally the winner. Magic items and magical
technology run rampant -- all as things that can perform those magical
functions that you aren't capable of doing (or don't want to do)
yourself.

Very High Magic, High Power

Magic is so common that #everyone# is a wizard. Everybody in the world
can work magic.  Powerful magic. #Very# powerful magic. This world is
practically a futuristic society. Think and it happens. You can have
what you want, when you want. Cities are virtual magical paradises
loaded with magical technology. Wars are fought (if they're fought at
all) exclusively by magical beings such as constructs, undead,
elementals and the like. Picture a fantasy world where everyone has
magical weapons and armor; lives in a house with magical hot and cold
running water, magical television, heating, cooling and plumbing; goes
to work at a magical factory and drives around in a magical vehicle.
Imagine magical starfaring and probably even magical battlemechs. Of
course, in a world like this, most of the creatures are probably going
to be magical as well, so magical weapons and armor will definitely be a
necessity.

Those are Uncle Figgy's twelve levels of magic. Again, I have to say
that not all worlds are going to fit exactly into any one of those
levels, and some may encompass several levels on the same planet, the
same continent or maybe even the same kingdom.

Let's take and build an example world. We'll call it Figland for lack of
a better name *grin*. Figland has four continents. The Northeastern
continent has Medium Magic, Medium Power throughout most of it, while
some backwater areas might be Medium Magic, Low Power and the main
cities will be Medium Power. The Southwestern continent, which is fairly
unsettled, is Low Magic, Low Power except for the few settled
territories that are Low Magic, High Power. The Northwestern and
Southeastern continents are Medium Magic, High Power all around.

In the case of Figland, the magic levels are really denoting actual
distribution of wizards -- not the kind of magic the land itself is
capable of. But we can change that at any time to drastically alter the
feel of the world. For instance, maybe the Southwestern continent can't
sustain any magical level higher than Low Magic, Low Power anywhere
except on its coasts. What this means in the game world is that most
non-magical individuals will strive to migrate to the interior of the
Southwestern continent where they will have the power they lack in the
face of the wizards of other continents.

And, of course, magical level might not have anything to do with the
actual #working# of magic. A land might have Very High Magic, High Power
in regards to the environment, flora and fauna, but the people of that
area might only be able to work that magic at a Low Magic, Low Power
level -- which makes warriors much more valuable than if the people were
able to manipulate that Very High Magic at a High Power level.

Also, you could even state that the wizards of your world start out as,
say, High Magic, Low Power, but only a very few make it to great power
levels. And those few would be at a Low Magic, High Power spot while the
rest of your world was High Magic, Low Power. This is probably the
default of many Fantasy gaming systems: Many start out as wizards at the
low levels of power (High Magic, Low Power) but many are unable to
advance to the medium levels of power (Medium Magic, Medium Power) and
only a very few are able to become masters of magic (Low Magic, High
Power) -- TSR's AD&D system features this type of magical setting.

As the creator of your world, you have the final say in how the magic
level rates, but that decision should be one of the first you make in
regards to your Fantasy world as it will definitely have an effect on
how your world looks and feels -- as well as how effective other types
of characters might be.

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Types of Magic

Another factor in the magic of your world, at least as far as
manipulation of magic is concerned, is how that manipulation manifests.
Do characters cast "spells" or is magic more religious, requiring great
rituals and many casters? Does everyone have one inherent magical
ability and can never learn anything else or do sorcerers simply think
about the effect they want, draw the power and make it happen? Your
decision here is usually made for you by the game system you've chosen.
Most rely on actual "spells". Do a little dance, wave your hands, speak
a couple of arcane words and boom, you have magic. This is an easy form
of magic that makes wizards fairly powerful. Still others rely on a
free-form "you tell me what you want and I'll see if it's possible" kind
of thing -- the "think and make it happen" style. Below, I've listed
some of the ways of manipulating magic that are the more common in
Fantasy gaming and novels. And don't forget that, just like Uncle
Figgy's twelve magical levels, a world can consist of all, some or only
one of these (and you might have one that I haven't even listed).

Ritualistic Magic

This is magic most like what would be considered "Earth" or "religious"
magic. Magic spells are cast through a gestalt effort made by several
mages after much ceremony and preparation. Individual combat spells are
non-existent, but greater spells that might call lightning to strike an
enemy army are possible. Wizards will be highly protected from
interruption and attack so that they have the necessary time to work
their magic. In a Low Magic world, finding the required number of
wizards to cast a spell might be very difficult and could even lead to
an epic quest. Also, many Ritualistic mages would probably need to hire
bodyguards, warriors, soldiers, etc.

Sympathetic Magic

"Like affects like" is the working phrase of sympathetic magic. All
spells that affect anything need something that is somehow similar to
that being affected. Want to mend a broken bone? You need the bone of an
animal that you have to break, therefore drawing the break from the bone
being repaired to the bone being broken. Want to summon a giant weasel?
You'll need a regular-sized weasel to do it. Dolls that resemble people
are used to hurt those people. Breaking a drinking glass is needed to
break the glass in a window. This also tends to preclude individual
combat spells because of the time and materials (often called "material
components" in gaming) needed. Wizards become more mobile than their
Ritualistic counterparts, but still won't venture very far from a
stronghold stocked with all the things they need. This would probably be
the most common type of magic in a Low Power type of world.

Contagious Magic

Closely akin to Sympathetic Magic (#very# closely akin) is Contagious
Magic. The concept behind Contagious Magic is that any part of a whole
will continue to affect the whole no matter how far away. (It is
interesting to note that the modern Quantum Inseparability Principle,
part of Bell's Theorem [J. S. Bell], says almost exactly the same thing:
that any two particles, once in contact with each other, continue to
influence each other no matter how far apart they may move). Contagious
magicians would need some part of a subject to work magic on that
subject. Hair or nail-clippings from a human. A chip of stone from a
castle. A twig from a tree. From a gaming viewpoint, Contagious wizards
are virtually identical to Sympathetic wizards -- both need extra time
to do their work and both need components. Of course, in a world where
Contagious Magic is common (or the #only# magic), thieves would be the
most popular characters around with every wizard hiring them to get
things like nail-clippings, hair from hairbrushes or maybe even blood
from a wizard's next victim.

Alchemy

Early chemistry mixed with the supernatural. Alchemy doesn't create
magical "effects", per se, but instead creates "portable" magic in the
form of potions, balms, unguents, powders, etc. A combination of
Ritualistic, Contagious and Sympathetic magic, alchemy requires time,
ritual, components, and lots of space. Need a potion that enables a man
to fly? You probably need a few feathers from a pegasus, the blood of a
bird and a few hundred crushed houseflies (like affects like,
remember?). Brew it all together with the ritual that is necessary to
imbue it with magical properties (so it's not just some disgusting
"Cream of Housefly Soup with Blood and Feathers") and, presto: Potion of
Flight. As with the previous three types of wizards, alchemists are not
"battle" mages. They need time and components, but they also tend to
need lots of space for their equipment. Alchemists, however, would need
to hire people to get those components for them, as well as needing
bodyguards, soldiers, etc.

Spellcasting

Typical gaming magic. Magic is manipulated through various "spells":
usually incantations and gestures mixed with a little bit of Sympathetic
or Contagious Magic (called verbal, somatic and material components,
respectively), although any of these things can be optional in some
systems. In some worlds, each incantation works independently of any
others. You learn it like you would memorize, say, a poem, and then you
learn another. In other worlds, you must know one spell before you can
learn its next-higher counterpart. It is at this type of magic that
wizards become useful in one-on-one battles. They aren't limited (too
much) by time or components, and can happily join in with other
adventurers.

Intuitive Magic

Magic exists all around us, all you have to do is reach out, grab it and
manipulate it. "Think, draw power, and make it happen." These mages
alter the world through sheer force of will. Wizards are limited only by
their players' imaginations (and any system or GM rulings, of course).
They can go anywhere without having to worry about having tons of time
or a wagonload of material components. There are no spells to learn.
These wizards are very useful, but also very difficult for the GM, who
has the job of adjudicating all those player imaginings that just won't
work. Any GM settling on this type of magic would be wise to assign a
"Magic Manipulation" type of skill and then apply bonuses and penalties
to it based upon what the player wants her character to do. This is
probably the most common type of magic in a world with a High Magic
level.

Inborn Magic

All wizards have one magical ability that they are born with. In a High
Power setting, a person might be able to manipulate, say, fire in all of
its aspects. In a Low Power setting, that individual might only be able
to start a fire using readily available, readily flammable objects.

Whatever the case, each wizard is generally limited to only one magical
ability. This means that some wizards -- depending on their magical
specialty -- might be in high demand while others are considered useless
by the public. The former will make a great living just using their
inborn ability, the latter will have to learn a trade just to make ends
meet. In such a world, there will never be any "spellbooks". No magical
libraries. And most likely little to no magical items at all.

#Just as a quick sidebar, most historical "magic" in our world was of
the Ritualistic type, with a heavy emphasis on religion and
spirituality, mixed with Sympathetic and Contagious. Even historical
alchemy was a very ritualistic undertaking with spiritual/religious
underpinnings.#

These, then, are Uncle Figgy's seven types of magic. As with the twelve
levels of magic, don't forget that any world can mix and match and blend
any and all of the above.  Also, as I've shown, the types of magic will
also have an effect on the character types (and their usefulness) in
your Fantasy world.

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Chapter 2: The Non-Magical in a Magical Realm

Character Types

Because of the limitations of some gaming systems (and in keeping with
the magic-oriented goal of this Uncle Figgy's Guide), this section is
going to focus on the most common character types found in Fantasy
gaming, and how they would be affected by a magical world. I am going to
leave out wizards because I discuss them in the Levels of Magic and
Types of Magic sections. I also will not deal with Priests/Clerics,
because I discuss them in the section on Religion and Magic.

Thief

The ability of thieves to function in a magical world is largely
dependent on the level, types and classes of magic available. For
instance, in a world where magic lets one see images of the past or
where magic lets one "track" a person by their aura, thieving becomes
very risky, indeed. Who, after all, will steal when the chances of
getting caught are very high? Consequently, in such a world,
pawn-shops/fences would also be very rare -- not having any market to
support them.

In a Low Magic, High Power world, however, the wizards themselves will
probably be the greatest employers of thieves; hiring them to steal
magical items or formulae from their rivals. The thieves themselves will
most likely be magically augmented so as to sense and avoid magical
traps as well as evade magical detection once the job is done -- making
thieving a very high "magic-tech" adventure where the thief himself is
much like James Bond.

Contagious Magic wizards, in particular, would have great use for
thieves. #Someone,# after all, is needed to get ahold of all those locks
of hair, articles of intimate clothing and discarded nail clippings
necessary to work Contagious Magic. Alchemists, too, would hire thieves
to steal necessary components as well as the formula required to work
those components.

All in all, thieving in a magical world is more dangerous than thieving
in a non-magical world. Good thieves in a magical world will probably
have to have some form of magical augmentation just to continue their
career. If, however, tracking-type spells are unknown/expensive, only
the most powerful would have the ability to find who had stolen from
them. The poor, unfortunately, would just have to suffer their loss.
This leads to a world where powerful, magically-enhanced thieves steal
from the rich and powerful, and the not-so-powerful thieves have to
content themselves with only a little bit of gold stolen from the local
tavernkeeper.

Thief sub-class: Assassin

Assassins take on new roles in a Fantasy world depending on the levels
and types of magic available. In a world with Low Magic, High Power, the
only way to destroy an enemy wizard might be through stealth. Alchemists
will only need the services of a hired killer to destroy a rival
alchemist. Sympathetic mages won't have much need for them, and
Contagious mages need to rely on thieves more than actual assassins.
Ritualistic mages, however, might call on them frequently -- especially
in a world where wizards are rare and the death of one might mean the
end of a Ritualistic circle.

If magical resurrection is very common, assassination becomes less
heinous a crime and more of a way of sending a message. This threat
carries even more weight if there is a way of killing someone that makes
their death permanent. Sort of a "I care enough to have you killed so
you'd better stop what you're doing or next time you #won't# be
resurrected!"

For the most part, the assassin is subject to the same limitations as
the thief; especially in a world where someone can talk to the dead to
learn the identity of their killer! A good assassin in a non-magical
world would need to make sure that whomever saw her face wouldn't live
to tell anyone about it. A good assassin in a non-magical world would
need to make sure that even the people she killed never saw her face at
all!

Thief sub-class: Spy

In a world where stealing might be too dangerous, selling knowledge will
probably be a safer bet. Most thieves, therefore, would become spies.
This would most likely be the most common profession for the thiefly
type in a world where all magic is of the Ritualistic or Sympathetic
types. Wizards hiring spies to learn the location, capabilities and/or
rituals of their opponents in the case of Ritualistic magic. Or hiring
spies to learn the exact dimensions/plans/blueprints of a ship or castle
so that an accurate model may be built by Sympathetic Magicians. Again,
these individuals will most likely be (at least in all but the magically
poorest worlds) heavily enhanced by enchanted devices.


Bard

In an enchanted world of all but the most magical, the bard becomes a
valuable addition to the upper echelon of society. With her stories and
tales and songs of heroic deeds and great magics, the bard is a spy who
is not a spy. In a Low Magic, Medium or High Power world, the bard's
stories and tales will hold priceless clues as to the powers and
abilities of rival wizards or the forgotten location of rare and potent
magical items (or even that someone has found the forgotten location of
that rare and potent magical item). In Medium/High Magic, Medium/High
Power worlds, the bard becomes a favorite of the nobility as her stories
and songs might hold valuable information about the magical capabilities
of opposing countries. 	Only at the highest levels of magic does the
bard lose her effectiveness and favor as anything more than simply an
entertainer. This changes, of course, if a bard's songs and stories have
inherent magical power of their own (making them spellcasters with
rather long casting times for their spells). If this #is# the case,
bards will most likely be looked at by the populace with the same
scrutiny given other wizards. If bardic magic is known generally to be
only beneficial, they might be considered the only #acceptable# form of
sorcerer while all other magic users are pariah. An interesting world
could be made where #all# the magic is bardic magic.


Warrior/Soldier

Perhaps of all the standard Fantasy "classes", the warrior is the one
most affected by the existence of magic. In any Low Power world, the
warrior is as effective as he would be in a world without magic. In
Medium or High Power worlds, the warrior becomes next to useless without
some form of magical augmentation. Also, the #type# of magic available
to the average sorcerer is of great importance to the effectiveness of
the warrior. In a world of Ritualistic,Alchemical, Contagious or
Sympathetic magic, for instance, the warrior is relatively unhindered no
matter the power level of magic.

Warriors in a world where there is only Ritualistic magic will be hired
by wizards as guards to protect the rituals from interruption. In a
world of Alchemical magic, warriors will be hired to go and get those
dragon's teeth required by this elixir or those phoenix feathers needed
for that unguent. Alchemists will also need guards. Sympathetic and
Contagious mages have little need for warriors and more need for spies
and thieves.

In the worlds of Spellcasting or Intuitive Magic, however, warriors
begin to suffer. Below are some of the thoughts your Uncle Figgy has had
on how warriors are affected by magic:

Low Magic, Low Power: Warriors are a necessary part of life. Spells are
not powerful enough to hamper their effectiveness. The average warrior
is more than a match for the average sorcerer.

Low Magic, Medium Power: The Warrior is still a necessary part of life.
While spells become powerful enough to be a considerable threat, wizards
are so uncommon that the average warrior will never encounter one. The
average warrior will have a tough time beating the average wizard.

Low Magic, High Power: The Warrior is still needed in society, maybe
more so. With more powerful summoning magics available to the few
wizards that there are, warriors are needed to fight all manner of
magical creatures, constructs and undead. Those warriors, however,
should not hope to have any chance at all (without some form of magical
aid) against the wizard doing all that summoning.

Medium Magic, Low Power: Warriors are a necessary part of life. Spells
are not powerful enough to hamper their effectiveness. The average
warrior is more than a match for the average sorcerer.

Medium Magic, Medium Power: The warrior is still a necessary part of
life, and more of them are needed as many will not survive their
encounters with the more common wizards. Many warriors will still never
encounter a sorcerer, but those that do will often encounter more than
one during a siege or open warfare. Most will die unless magically
protected.

Medium Magic, High Power: The warrior becomes much less a necessary part
of life. Those that do exist may never encounter a wizard. Warriors who
do encounter a wizard directly stand no chance without some form of
magical enhancement. In most battles, if one group of wizards summons
something to fight, the opposing group will probably summon something
else to fight the results of the first summoning.

High Magic, Low Power: Warriors are a necessary part of life. Spells are
not powerful enough to considerably hamper their effectiveness. The
average warrior is more than a match for the average sorcerer.

High Magic, Medium Power: The warrior class becomes almost totally
ineffective. Wizards are everywhere and their powerful magic make
warriors as a large group obsolete. Of course, with this rise in wizards
also comes a rise in magical items, weaponry and armor -- giving way to
the standard Fantasy treatment of the warrior: uncommon, powerful and
armed with at least a magical sword. The average warrior would stand no
chance at all in such a world, while the typical PC warrior's magical
items would more than help balance the scale. Warfare becomes mostly a
case of platoons of wizards blasting platoons of wizards with a few
potshots at whatever magically-challenged soldiers who happen to be
caught helplessly in the middle.

High Magic, High Power: The warrior class as a whole becomes totally
obsolete. Wars are fought mostly by wizards and their constructs, undead
and summonings. The glut of expensive-but-powerful magical items,
weapons and armor makes the uncommon Fantasy-style warrior into an
actual class unto itself -- smaller than the standard class of warrior,
yet able to stand toe-to-toe with even the most powerful wizards if they
have the right equipment.

Very-High Magic, Any Power: Warriors again regain almost all of their
effectiveness because they are spellcasters as well!

Warrior sub-class: Ranger

The ranger is generally viewed as a "woodsy" warrior. Not as big or
brawny, but much more knowledgeable of the natural world. They shun
cities and thrive in the wilderness. In some cases, they might have
magical abilities themselves.

The usefulness of non-magical rangers in a magical world depends upon
the types of magic available. Alchemists and Spellcasters who need
components will often need rangers to find rare and exotic (and most
likely very dangerous) animals. Outside of those, however, the non
magical ranger is nothing more than a specialized warrior.

Warrior sub-class: Paladin

Paladins are featured quite prominently in some gaming systems as
warriors with some form of religious magic. If they have no magic,
Paladins are, like the Ranger, a specialized Warrior (usually an
honorable knight of king or church) and subject to the same basic
limitations in the face of magic as the standard warrior. The only
problem is that, in a highly magical economy, the non-magical Paladin is
of less use than the warrior as he often will not let himself be hired
to retrieve spell components or make a raid on an enemy wizard (unless,
of course, charged by king or church to do just these things).

Paladins with religious magic are usually warriors with many vows
related to whatever religion gives them their power. Their magic is
often a watered-down version of that given to priests of the same
religion. See the Religion and Magic section.

These, then, are the typical character classes of the average Fantasy
game (save Wizard and Priest, each of which are discussed elsewhere) and
how they would be affected by the existence of magic. Of course, in a
game system without "classes" -- where a player can create any character
combination she wants -- these archetypes become much more versatile and
useful; especially if magic is available to them as well! A thief with
an invisibility spell or some form of magic that lets him elude magical
detection is much more efficacious than a non-magical thief. A warrior
with a magical sword and magical armor (or the ability to cast actual
spells) stands a much better chance of going man-to-man with a sorcerer
than a warrior with no magic whatsoever. Magic, no matter the level,
stands equal to technology. If a character has access to magic, no
matter her class, she becomes much more powerful than a similar
character with no magic.

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Magic and Game Balance

As can be seen by the "warrior" entry of the Character Types section,
certain characters would realistically be greatly affected for either
good or bad given the existence, power and rarity (or lack thereof) of
magic. The creators of most Fantasy games preserve the standard
effectiveness of the warrior class (to name the most obvious) by
instituting seemingly arbitrary "game balance" rules that make the
warrior stronger than the average wizard. Perhaps she can take more
damage before dying than a wizard of the same strength. Maybe she can
hit harder. Maybe her pure "physical-ness" makes her more resistant to
magic. Or, the game designers might limit the wizards; making them
weaker than the average warrior. Perhaps he is more easily injured than
a warrior of the same strength. Maybe his physical attacks are weaker or
he is limited in the number of spells he can use. Maybe he is limited in
the type of armor he can wear or weapons he can wield. For the most
part, while these decisions preserve game balance, they can become
seriously unrealistic and rather senseless if not fully thought out.

The examples I give in the "warrior" entry explain one way that magic
might realistically affect warriors as a class without any limitations
placed on the wizards or enhancements placed on the warriors. But there
is nothing wrong, however, with having a world where, say, a warrior's
pure physical "aura" makes him strongly resistant to magic. In such a
world, you can have powerful warriors shrugging off fireballs that would
level a castle and then charging, sword raised, at the offending mage.

Whatever you decide is best for your game world, make sure you have an
explanation ready for your players, and make sure you have thought it
(and all of its logical conclusions) out as far as you can. Your players
#will# want to know #why# their wizard can't wield a sword or wear
armor. They'll want to know #why# a warrior is more resistant to magic
than a thief. Sure, you might get a group of players who just say,
"okay, whatever you say", but how often does that happen?

Uncle Figgy is reminded of the following exchange while talking to one
game designer many years ago: UF: Why can't wizards wield swords:
Designer: Because the intense training involved in magical study
precludes any training in weaponry. UF: But wizards can wield staves.
The staff is a more difficult weapon to wield properly than the average
sword. Plus it's much heavier than, say, a rapier. Designer: The wizards
can't use the staff to any great effectiveness. UF:  Okay, I guess I can
buy that argument. But why can't they wear armor? Designer: Because the
intense training involved in magical study prohibits... UF: Don't say
it. It doesn't take any training to wear armor. It might take some
training to get into and out of it quickly, but anyone can wear it.
Armor's main limitation is weight. Designer: [Long moment of silence]
Actually, the metal in the armor interferes with the magical energies.
If a wizard wore armor, he wouldn't be able to cast spells. UF [Choosing
not to point out the obvious question about leather armors]: Okay, if
metal interferes with magical energies, how is it there are magical
swords or magical plate-mail? What about all those spells that require
metal components? Designer [Now quite ticked at Uncle Figgy]: All of
these decisions were made for the purposes of game balance. They weren't
made to be realistic.

Now, in this case, I would have been willing to accept the game
designer's explanations #if they had made sense.# They didn't. When
writing a story, everything you write, whether it is unrealistic or not,
at least has to make sense. Your readers are going to catch it if it
doesn't; it hampers the "willing suspension of disbelief" that you need
to maintain to capture your audience. The same is true of roleplaying.
Whatever decision you make has to make sense. If it doesn't, you lose
your players. They want to know #why# this is like this or that is like
that. If you don't give them something that makes sense and helps them
suspend their disbelief, they get caught on that one little sticking
point. Most of them will not get past it. In Fantasy, this is probably
the biggest sticking point. Uncle Figgy can't stress this enough: if you
make a decision for the purposes of game balance, make sure your
reasoning makes sense.

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Chapter 3: Magic of the Divine Kind

Religion and Magic

Religious beliefs are a powerful force. Many bloody wars have been
fought (and are being fought) over nothing more than the question of
faith. Fantasy worlds are little different, except that in most Fantasy
worlds, the gods actually take an active hand in shaping events. If you
have gods, how many are there? Do they give magic to their followers? Do
they need their worshippers to exist? If so, what happens if all of
their worshippers are destroyed? Do they have specific spheres of
influence or do they overlap? Is it possible for someone who knows
Priest Magic to also know "Thaumaturgical" (a generic term for
non-divine power) Magic?

In some game systems, these questions are already answered for you. Gods
exist and priests cast spells. In these systems, Priest Magic and
Thaumaturgical Magic  are quite separate. Wizards can't heal and Priests
can't throw fireballs. Not many people think about the whys and
wherefores of this fact, but it's a good one to think about. After all,
if Priests and Wizards could cast the same spells, why would anyone
worship the god who allegedly gives the priest her powers? What would
the organized church's official stance be toward the wizard who had the
same powers as the priesthood? Is he a holy man outside of the organized
church, chosen by the god for some specific purpose? Or is he a
charlatan, a pretender to the priesthood who has tapped into some
nefarious power? By separating Priest Magic from Thaumaturgical Magic,
you don't have to worry about these questions. Unfortunately, though,
you have other things to worry about:

No Gods

There are no divine beings to shape the world. All religions are based
on nothing more than belief and faith. Without gods supplying the power,
Priest Magic is either Thaumaturgical Magic disguised with the
ceremonial trappings of the church or is Ritualistic Magic created by
the combined power of the believers, focused by the priest. Paladins are
nothing more than holy warriors.

One God

There is only one true god and all others are false. At first glance a
relatively easy solution, but with its own difficulties. If the god
grants power to certain worshippers (priests and/or paladins) where does
other magic fit in the grand scheme of things? How does the church
convince worshippers of the power of the one true god if the worshippers
of a false god can also create miracles through Thaumaturgical Magic? If
the one true god shows his power through frequent divine intervention,
why would anyone else worship the false gods or choose to be atheist in
the face of the true god?

Dualistic Gods

There are two gods at opposing ends -- their wars keep the world in
constant motion. Together, they create the dichotomy of existence: Light
and dark. Good and Evil. Positive and Negative. Priestly Magic is based
on which of the two gods is giving the power. This is good enough for a
simple, black-and-white world with good priests and evil priests;
paladins and anti-paladins, but is very limited and not very deep.
Sometimes, a neutral god might be added whose job is to make sure that
neither of the other gods ever gets too much power lest the world be
torn asunder.

Great Pantheon

The world has many gods who love and live and battle for the attention
of mortals. Gods of such a world usually have distinct spheres of
influence that limits Priest Magic to that represented by their chosen
god. Priests of a goddess of fire and light, for instance, are going to
have much more destructive spells than the Priests of the god of flowers
and healing. Unlike the world of Dualistic Gods, good and evil become
subjective concepts. The gods of one city are good to the people of that
city as long as they're appeased, but evil to the enemy city on which
they rain plague and sickness.

Bucket O' Gods

This world has gods for everything. There's a god of rosebuds, a god of
mice, a god of window washers and a god of the spring rain (who isn't
much different than the god of the summer rain or the god of the fall
rain or even the god of the winter rain). Some take an active hand in
running things, others are aloof. Priest magic in such a world is a case
of asking the right god for the right effect. Want your flowers to grow?
Don't ask the god of mold. Need a blessing on this ship, you might want
to stay away from the patron god of sea-serpents. This can lead to an
entertaining campaign where every god has a name and the PCs, when using
Priest Magic, have to ask the right god. After all, the god of fire has
a different idea of a "blessing" than the god of luck...

Most games rely on either the Dualistic Gods scenario, the Great
Pantheon scenario or a combination of the two (a world in which there is
a pantheon of gods aligned with good, evil or neutrality). One of my own
campaign worlds is of the No Gods variety (it actually has two gods but
neither of them need power from, nor grant power to, their worshippers
and neither takes an active hand in the world). There are three distinct
organized churches of this world. Two recognize the existing gods but
are under no delusions as to the god's participation in the world --
they pray to them in the hope that they can "talk" the gods into someday
supporting their respective causes. The higher ranks of the third church
knows that their god does not exist, but will not let the populace in on
the secret. This church's Priest Magic is nothing more than
Thaumaturgical Magic wrapped in ritual and ceremony and hidden in the
trappings of the church. All wizards of this church's country #must#
join the church as priests or be destroyed as heretics.

In a second of my campaign worlds, I use the Great Pantheon approach
with a twist -- the gods don't battle each other. They are all part of
the forces that govern existence. Where the God of Death and Ruin might
seem at first glance to be opposed to the God of Life and Growth, they
are, in actuality, teammates working toward the greater goal. Each god
knows when to stop his work and let one of his colleagues take over. The
priests of each deity get their power directly from the deity, but only
powers related to the god's domain, and only powers that further the
natural order. The populace itself doesn't really worship any of the
gods in particular, but thank them every day for their hard work in
maintaining the good working order of the universe.

All in all, our own world is rich in myth and legend that give rise to
every form of religion imaginable. Most Fantasy worlds are based loosely
on  a combination of Greco-Roman and Norse Mythology with (sometimes,
but not always) a little bit of Celtic. Uncle Figgy suggests reading all
you can about the various mythologies out there before deciding on any
one (or combination) for your world.

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Priest Magic

In our world, Priest Magic runs more of the Ritualistic type with a
little bit of Sympathetic or Contagious thrown in. In such cases,
Priests suffer the same limitations as wizards of the Ritualistic type.
In most Fantasy gaming, however, Priest Magic is of the Spellcasting
variety: a quick prayer to whatever god, a bold gesture and the miracle
occurs.

The main concern with Priest Magic is that, since it comes from the god,
the god might require that anything done with that magic further the
goals of the god. A god of healing, for instance, might be willing to
heal practically anybody. But that same god of healing might choose not
to heal warriors as warriors exist solely to #hurt# people! The priest
prays to god, goes through the required ritual, and nothing happens.
Also, should the priest act in ways that the god finds unacceptable, the
god might withdraw his power from the priest, rendering him incapable of
magic. This could be permanent or only until the priest properly atones
for his sins.

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Area and Power of Divine Influence

If your world has gods, you have to define how powerful the gods are and
how far-reaching their abilities. In a world of One God, you can simply
say that the god is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present. Of
course, should this be the case, why does the god need priests to spread
his teachings or act on his behalf? If evidence of the god is
everywhere, people will worship the god without needing priests to
interpret the god's whims. And why would anyone dare stand against such
a god? Such a world would likely degenerate into a place where everyone
believes in the one true god, no one goes against the god's wishes, and
everyone lives as wards under the god's care. That's great for fanatics,
but not very exciting for a roleplaying game. This, of course, assumes
that the god takes a meddling hand in the affairs of mortals. If the god
is aloof, then priests #will# be needed to reach him and spread his
teachings and do his bidding. If the god is #very# aloof, then priests
are no longer a necessity as nothing they do will really matter --
although they might still exist in the hope that someday they'll reach
the god (see the example above of my campaign worlds).

The standard for Fantasy gaming is that (even if there is only one god)
the gods are limited in scope, power and range -- which is why they need
priests and why they need to grant power to those priests to act on the
god's behalf. If the god of one area can't act directly in another area,
she'll send a priest to do her bidding. The priest will be needed as a
special "conduit" to the god, interpreting the god's wishes and (in the
case of gods who need worshippers to survive) sending the power of the
people's belief to the god.

A world where there are many omnipotent gods who are also omniscient and
omnipresent makes for a world where mortals stand little chance except
as pawns for the games of the gods. What's the use in trying to attack
of your own free will that enemy kingdom if that kingdom's god can blast
you out of existence before you even reach the walls of the castle? And
if your god is telling you to try, you can bet that he wants that castle
for a reason and he's going to be doing his best to keep the other god
from harming you. Mortals then end up caught in the middle of the lives
of the gods. Probably why most typical Fantasy sticks with the idea that
the gods are #not# omnipotent, omniscient or omnipresent.

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Divine Intervention

Another important question when considering religion in your world is
how active a hand the gods take in manipulating that world. In most
Fantasy, the gods take a slightly-active role: They act through their
priests and paladins, sometimes send lesser servitor beings (angels,
demons, etc.) to accomplish some task or deliver some message to those
who aren't priests or paladins, and #very# occasionally make a personal
appearance. The idea behind most of this behavior is that the ways of
the gods are beyond mortal ken and they have little time to deal with
the mortal world. Thus, they delegate that responsibility to the church
and its officers and members.	The more active a hand the gods take in
the world, the less priests or paladins are needed.

The less powerful a god is, the more he can be active in the world
without unduly changing it. In a Bucket O' Gods setting, for instance,
the gods might walk the face of the earth as they do their respective
jobs. It's probably even possible that the average mortal might run into
them as they work. A farmer getting up before dawn on a cold autumn
morning might meet and have a nice chat with the God of the Fall Frosts,
and after offering the god a nice cup of hot cocoa, might be able to get
some information about the coming winter. "Well, my child, I'm not sure
what the God of Winter Snows is planning for this year, but I did hear
him say something about getting a very late start."

For the purposes of the rest of this Guide, your Uncle Figgy is going to
stick with the traditional Fantasy stance on gods: Slightly active, not
omnipotent in any way, and working through their priests and paladins to
take care of things for them. Also, for the rest of this Guide, whenever
it is mentioned how magic might affect something, I am referring to both
Priest and Wizard magic.

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Chapter 4: More on Religion

Religion and Politics

Churches often wield great political power, and many monarchies require
that the public believe that the rulers rule by a mandate from the
heavens. Very often, public policy and law is based on some form of
religious dogma and very little more. In a world with active, visible
gods, churches can be expected to wield even more power over world
politics. Like everything else involving gods, this is almost entirely
dependent on the role the gods take in day-to-day affairs. A church with
an active, accessible god will have more influence over rulers and their
vassals than churches with aloof gods. After all, if the threat of
divine retribution hangs over the success or failure of the kingdom,
kings aren't too much to blame for passing laws that favor the active
gods over those that don't take much action in the mortal world. If the
God of Healing requires cleanliness before he gives his gifts, for
instance, the rulers of a land are likely to pass laws that prohibit the
emptying of chamber pots into the streets. Also, in a world with active
gods, the fact that rulers rule by divine will might be more than just a
simple belief -- the gods might actually #want# those rulers in place.
On the one hand, this is good for the ruler because anyone who wants to
depose him will have to face some serious consequences. On the other
hand, the ruler had better be fairly certain he's acting in the god's
best interests unless he's looking to be removed (in what would probably
be a very messy, violent way as an "example").

Where there is other magic separate from religious magic, this attitude
might be relaxed. Why bother appeasing the God of Rain if your wizards
can just cast spells that keep your crops watered? This often leads to
organized churches, eager for political power, who seek to destroy
secular sorcery or at least defame it in the eyes of the nobility and
the public. If successful, witch hunts are the likeliest result -- a
world where only church magic is "good" magic and all non-church magic
is "evil" magic. This idea could come straight from the gods, or it
could be created by the church officials seeking to bolster their
political power. Imagine the surprise of the latter if the gods actually
approve of secular magic!

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The Afterlife

Another big concern in regards to Fantasy religion is the final
destination of departed souls. Is there an eternal paradise awaiting the
good and righteous and eternal torment awaiting the evil and wicked, or
is there one dim place where departed souls spend eternity in shadowy
mockery of their former lives? Are all souls recycled, to be reborn
again and again until the end of time, or is there a way off the wheel
of rebirth for the enlightened? Or maybe there are separate afterlives
depending on your occupation in the mortal realm -- farmers tend eternal
fields, warriors fight eternal battles and wizards study eternal
secrets. Perhaps the souls of the deceased become servitors of the gods
they followed in life, or, just maybe there is no afterlife at all and
people simply cease to be.

Possibly the main reason to concern yourself with your world's afterlife
is because of all the myriad undead the populate the traditional Fantasy
world. When zombies, skeletons, mummies, ghosts, vampires and all the
countless other undead abound, interesting questions are raised about
the nature of the soul and the afterlife. And, don't forget, that while
many religions of your world might have widely different beliefs of the
afterlife, not all of them have to be true! The priest who believes and
preaches that the righteous go to a good and just reward upon their
death might be very shocked upon his own death to find that there are no
rewards for the righteous or punishments for the wicked; just a hazy,
shadowy existence that spans for eternity and from which there is no
escape.

Before you ever introduce any form of undead into your Fantasy campaign,
you should know where those undead come from. Are ghosts those who
choose not to make the final journey into the afterlife or are they the
souls of those who cannot make the final journey because of some
important, unfinished task, or can their be both? Is there a "land of
the dead" where all secrets are known to those who've passed on? If so,
are the dead able to relate this information directly to the living or
must they speak through riddles? Are zombies nothing more than
re-animated bodies given enough of a spark of life to work the brain and
nerves and muscles, or is part of the deceased's soul brought back from
its final rest to once again inhabit the flesh? These are all questions
that must be answered. After all, ghosts who flee the afterlife have
totally different motives and personalities than those who want to enter
but are unable. If zombies are just reanimated bodies, their creation
isn't necessarily evil (even if a bit disgusting), but if the soul is
dragged from its final reward as determined by the gods, someone is
bound to get a little bit upset.

Most Fantasy is a mish-mash of afterlife beliefs: Punishment for the
damned, rewards for the holy; the truly good become lesser angels and
the truly evil become lesser demons while those of a phenomenally heroic
stature might be elevated to the very heights of godhood. Ghosts are
either evil people who refuse to accept their death, good people who
refuse to accept their death until some task is finished, and
indifferent people who are simply not allowed to rest because of some
taboo attached to their death. The creation of zombies/skeletons is
generally considered an evil act because it somehow disturbs the final
rest of the deceased soul.

In the first of my campaign worlds (the one with the two gods who pretty
much ignore the world) the churches believe in an afterlife where the
good are rewarded and the wicked are punished. The truth of the matter
is that there #is# no afterlife -- departed souls return to the primal
chaos that is always at work behind the universe and from which new
souls and spirits are created. Ghosts are those whose sheer strength of
will enables them to carry on after the passing of the body. Zombies and
other lesser undead are merely corpses (or portions thereof) reanimated
by a spark of spiritual energy. Mummies and liches and such are undead
whose soul returns soon after death to reanimate the body. The dead can
be resurrected only after a very short time after their death, during
which the body retains enough residual spiritual energy to "rebuild" the
soul up until the moment of its passing. Some powerful magics are able
to "store" the soul for very long periods of time, or even to duplicate
it from the impressions it leaves behind. In this campaign world, there
are no servitor beings and no final reward or punishment.

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Chapter 5: Back to Magic

The Physics of Magic

Putting aside Divine Magic -- the manipulation of reality through the
will of the gods who, presumably, created it -- how does magic work in
your world? What are its strengths and what are its limitations? One Web
site I looked at quoted an author of Fantasy who believes that magic
#must# have some form of limitation. If it's possible for a wizard to do
#anything#, he says, then they are gods and you don't have a story. To
him, Uncle Figgy responds: Bull Snot!! Apparently this author was absent
the day they taught logical conclusions (and the day they taught about
all those stories of gods versus gods in the good old mythology
classes). Really though, let's think about this. If #all# wizards can do
#anything# (and are, in his logic, gods) then #all# wizards are pretty
evenly matched, aren't they?

Of course, this means that you're going top end up with a "Battle of the
Gods" kind of world where wizards habitually and constantly alter the
very fabric of reality itself just to get what they want. It would take
quick-witted and very imaginative players to know what to alter to
affect what; and it would take a quick-witted and very imaginative GM to
adjudicate the results on other wizards or the rest of the game world.
There might not be that many players or GMs who are up to such a task.
I'm reminded of the following exchange that took place after a player
was told by the GM that his character had just been possessed by a
highly powerful demon that the player would now roleplay. "Anything you
want to do," the GM said, "you just say so." Player: Well, okay, can I
make all the rest of their (the rest of the party) torches go out? GM:
Yeah. Just say that's what you're doing. You can do anything you want.
Player: What if I want to make the walls bleed? GM: Just tell me you're
making the walls bleed. I told you, you can do #anything#. Player: Okay.
Can I make...? GM: Dude! Don't you get it!? You can do #anything!!# Just
say so! Player: [Pauses and thinks for a moment] What if I want to...?
GM: Forget it. The demon has left your body in search of a better host.

In light of that particular travesty, I'm willing to concede a little to
the qualms of the aforementioned author. Simply for ease of play and GM
adjudication, it might be easier if magic #is# limited in some way.
While many might opt for what appear to be arbitrary, game-balance
rulings to accomplish these limitations, I've always thought that the
only true game balance comes from having your world balanced. If your
world works in a reasonable, logical way, your game will automatically
fall into balance with it. Accomplishing the former accomplishes the
latter.

Now don't get your underpants in a wad when I say the words "logical" or
"reasonable". I already know that magic isn't supposed to follow rules
of logic or reason, that's why it's #magic!# But you, as the ultimate
creator of your world, need to set rules for how that magic works, and
then you have to follow those rules. Even if you say that the only rule
for magic in your world is that it's totally random and illogical and
unreasonable, you've set a rule for that magic and you have to stick
with it. You've set a path for it and you'll have to trace that path to
its logical and reasonable conclusions. (In this case, you've pretty
much eliminated the concept of the traditional spellcaster. The mages in
your world summon up the magical force -- or channel it or create it or
whatever -- and hope that whatever happens when they let it go is
something close to what they wanted it to do. Magic items are pretty
much #all# going to be one of a kind as no wizard will be able to
duplicate whatever it was that created the magical item in the first
place! In such a world, wizards might actually be hunted down and
destroyed in an effort to preserve the order of the world.)

For the most part, the magic types that I have listed are fairly self
limiting: Alchemists require lots of time, space and material
components; Ritualistic mages require lots of time, space and ceremony;
Sympathetic mages require something that represents the target of their
magic; Contagious wizards need some sample of their targets; and those
with Inborn magic are generally limited to only one ability. That leaves
Spellcasters and Intuitive wizards as the most threatening to game (and
world) balance.

Most games limit Spellcasters by requiring the use of verbal, somatic
and material components. Spells require the wizard to speak a few
esoteric words, perform some arcane gestures and do a little dance, and
somehow utilize items of a sympathetic or contagious nature. Thusly, a
wizard who is gagged or silenced can't speak the words -- no spell. A
wizard who is shackled can't perform the dance -- no spell. And a wizard
who is bound can't make the gestures -- again, no spell. Pretty strong
limitations in and of themselves even if you forget about the
requirement for material components.

Now, your Uncle Figgy has never been a fan of material components. Aside
from the fact that their use in traditional Fantasy spellcasting either
reeks too much of Alchemy or is very arbitrary, the concept breaks down
quickly if you consider everything a mage might need to carry with him
if he wants to go adventuring with his mates. I'm sorry, but when I
think of a mighty adventuring party, I #don't# think of the brave
warrior, holy cleric, mysterious thief, and the wizard with his caravan
of bearers and wagons hauling boxes of dried flies, iron filings, golden
statues, ball bearings, rose petals and a couple bottles of dragon's
blood -- all so he can be ready to throw whatever spell he might find he
needs during the course of the adventure! Add to that the fact that
spell components are easily lost, damaged or stolen (which any
intelligent creature will try to arrange if he knows he has to face the
wizard) and you've more than limited the mage -- you've crippled him!

Unfortunately, many game designers use the idea of spell components to
kill two (and sometimes three) birds with one stone: Since many spell
components are rare and/or difficult to obtain (Dead Bird number 1: No
component = no spell) they will be very expensive (Dead Bird number 2:
Bleed off excess PC wealth) or the PCs will have to go and get it
themselves (Dead Bird number 3: Instant adventure!).

Also, the rule of material components has a great impact on the number
and types (and hence, value) of the magical items available in your
world. After all, if the creation of a flaming sword requires a weapon
of exquisite manufacture, constructed by a master-craftsman, that was
quenched in the blood of the dragon and sheathed in the feathered skin
of a phoenix -- well, don't expect to see too many of them. That's fine
if that's the feel you want for your world, but if you envision your PCs
armed with enchanted items of every description, you might want to
rethink the material component rules.

Another way to limit both Spellcasters and Intuitive mages is with skill
requirements. Simply put, working magic takes a lot of brain-power and
practice -- if you aren't skilled enough at using magic, you don't get
the results you wanted (or you don't get any results at all!). This
means that with enough practice and experience, any wizard will be able
to cast any spell. But a lot of wizards might never get that far. Many
may decide that it's too much hard work to learn those more powerful
spells. Still others might not survive to that point, having been killed
early in their wizardly careers when they tried to cast a spell they
weren't quite ready to cast.

A third way to limit Spellcasters and Intuitive mages is with a "spell
point" system. In such a system, wizards have a certain amount of spell
points available to them. They must spend some of these points to cast a
spell (the actual amount of spells usually depends on the power of the
spell itself; stronger spells have a higher cost, weaker spells have a
lower cost). When the caster runs out of spell points she can't cast any
more spells until her spell points recharge. There are also many
different ways to explain the spell points -- perhaps mages store
magical energy like a battery, or maybe casting spells drains their
physical (or mental) strength. Recharging those spell points might
require sunlight, meditation or just good old sleep.

It's important to know that some game systems might even combine some of
these methods (AD&D combines the components and skill methods while
GURPS combines the skill and spell points methods).

Another thing you might want to consider are the actual "physics" of the
magic in your world -- a decision that is totally separate from how the
magic works from a game standpoint. Does the magic in your world follow
an orderly pattern; always acting and reacting in the same manner, or is
it chaotic and random with spell effects that are difficult to
duplicate? Is it a "balanced" form of magic in that, if a wizard makes
something appear, it actually disappears from somewhere else? Or is the
wizard actually creating that thing out of thin air? Is magic the will
of the magician altering reality itself, or is magic a force that is
locked inside every thing under the sky awaiting a wizard to unlock its
potential? This particular decision won't have much great effect on the
actual gaming aspects of your world, but it will give added depth to the
world itself. Wizards might never know (or care if they do know) that,
when they cast a Sphere of Water spell, a couple gallons of water are
drained from a well somewhere on the other side of the world, or that
the Start Fire spell they're casting really isn't creating any heat but
is just causing the flammable object to release the flame that is
already stored inside it. Also, most Fantasy assumes that magic is a
renewable resource -- there's always more no matter how much is used.
Interesting worlds can be created by #not# making this assumption.
Perhaps each spell a wizard casts makes the world slightly less magical.
For each fireball, a pixie dies somewhere. For each magically summoned
storm, a unicorn ceases to be.

In my own campaign world, magic is a field of energy that surrounds and
fills everything. By channeling and focusing this field, wizards can
cause changes elsewhere in the field. To limit the number of wizards, I
decided that the ability to manipulate the magic field is a recessive
genetic trait. To limit the power of the wizards, I decided that it is
difficult to focus and channel the magical field (the Skill method of
limitation), requiring wizards at a lower level of skill to perform a
minor ritual (speak a word or two and make a gesture or two) to aid in
the focusing of the energies involved in a given spell. As the wizard
becomes more skilled with the spell in question, the focusing aids
become less and less necessary and are soon dispensed with altogether.
Channeling and focusing the magical field is also very tiring (Spell
Point limitation system), although skilled wizards are able to take more
of the strain (a certain spell will cost less points when cast by a more
advanced wizard than by a beginning or intermediate wizard). Magic is
very orderly -- the same spell, unless acted on by outside forces,
always acts in the same manner -- and is balanced in nature -- water
created by a wizard is taken from elsewhere in the world, water that is
destroyed is sent to somewhere else in the world. Most wizards of my
campaign world are not aware of the theories behind magic use, although
there are universities that know of the whys and wherefores of the
magical field's existence and workings.

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Chapter 6: Magic and Society

Magic and Law

Generally, it is to be assumed that if magic is, for the most part,
beneficial to society as a whole, it will be freely and openly accepted.
This doesn't necessarily have to be so. If the rulers of society don't
want the people to benefit from magic, wizards might well be outlawed no
matter how good their works. In such a system, there will be more than
just a little bit of spin-doctoring by those in charge -- anti-magic
propaganda will run rampant: it's evil, it's unnatural, wizards are
actually demons, etc.

If magic is widely regarded as legal and acceptable, wizards will likely
be regarded as a man carrying a crossbow. There's nothing inherently
illegal about it, but if he uses it to commit a crime, he'll be legally
liable. The same would go for magic. If a wizard uses his magic to harm
someone, he's just as much a criminal as a person who stabs someone with
a dagger. Unless, of course, the wizard in question is so powerful as to
be outside the law -- either a part of the power structure (a world
where all wizards are part of the police force) or so powerful that none
but the hardiest of heroes hope to stand against them.

Certain magics might be heavily regulated. In a world with minted coins,
for instance, spells that create gold become quite dangerous to the
economy and would likely be viewed as counterfeiting unless used by
authorized personnel (wizards working in the kingdom's mints, for
instance). Some magics might be totally illegal. For instance, those in
a highly secular world might be forbidden to cast any magics that tamper
with the final departure of the soul. And, in worlds where totalitarian
governments rule, even the most beneficial knowledge or healing magics
might be banned from use by everyone but the government's agents.

As far as you need to define it, the average laws of your world will
cover magic. Harming someone by magic is still harming them. Stealing by
magic is still stealing. And murder by magic is still murder. Other
magics available might need to be judged on an as-needed basis, based on
society's attitude toward the magic in question. In a world where
freedom is cherished above all else, any kind of possession or
mind-control magic will likely be frowned upon or banned outright. In a
world where water is a precious commodity, magics that destroy water
could likely end up in a death sentence. In some societies, there might
even exist a book of law that outlines the legality of every possible
use of every possible magic. And if a wizard comes up with a magic that
isn't on that list, she can expect more than a little bit of intense
scrutiny.

An interesting campaign could be that all magic is illegal (perhaps due
to some severe magical catastrophe in the distant past). PCs are wizards
who must build their power (for whatever reason) while staying hidden
from the authorities and suspicious peasants, or they are sympathizers
who believe that magic could be far more beneficial and useful if only
the authorities and the public could be convinced of its safety. Of
course, this becomes a difficult proposition if there are evil wizards
waiting to flaunt their power over the masses at every opportunity. The
PCs, then, have the difficult task of defeating the evil wizards while
trying to convince the populace and its rulers that it is the person,
and not the power, that defines if magic is good or evil.

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Magical Surprise

In a world where magic is uncommon, wizards are much more powerful
because of their "surprise" factor. In a world where magic is common,
however, wizards lose that benefit -- people just won't be that
impressed by magic if their village boasts a wizard of its own. And in a
world where magic is an everyday occurrence, wizards become run-of
the-mill. What this means is that citizens of a magical society cannot
be taken unawares by magic. It will be at the back of everyone's mind
all the time. Precautions will be taken against magical attack. Any
strange occurrence will be viewed as though it was of magical origin.
(This, of course, can be a good thing to the skilled non-magical thief
or assassin -- it might be difficult for the authorities of a
highly-magical society to grasp that the person who killed the local
constable wasn't a wizard under invisibility armed with magic that
causes instant death, but was rather a very-skilled assassin armed with
nothing more than an untraceable contact poison). Magical defenses will
be common, as will wizards employed as guards and detectives. Many jails
and dungeons will be somehow proof against magic, so as to hold any
magic user captive.

As an adjunct to this, it is important to note that a populace will
always seek to protect itself from the more common threats. This
includes magical threats. If certain attack spells are more frequently
employed by sorcerers, it is highly likely that most towns will have
some protection from those spells. Thus, the wizard with the lesser
known, less commonly used spells (which are usually the least
"instantly" powerful) becomes more powerful in some situations than the
wizard armed with the "spell of the day". For instance, if fireballs are
the most common attack spell, expect most towns to have many areas that
are magically fireproofed. If it is lightning bolts that are most
commonly employed, civilized areas might be loaded with magical
"lightning rods" that collect and harmlessly dissipate the charge from
such attacks.

This goes with the spells that PCs use as well as those utilized by
NPCs. If all of the bad guys in your campaign habitually animate zombies
to serve in their unholy armies of the night, it is only a logical step
that the people of your world will start protecting their dead from such
animation as a way of protecting themselves! Possibly, cremation would
become common, which could lead to serious problems for the PC who has
died before his time and is cremated by superstitious peasants before
his friends can pay for a resurrection. If all of your PCs constantly
use the same types of magic when dealing with the bad guys, expect word
to get around (either from those who've managed to escape the PCs' wrath
or simply from good, old magical divination) and expect your bad guys to
start being prepared for those magics. Such tactics are also a good way
to explain why (in most systems/campaign worlds) there are just #so#
many different magics out there. When people get wise to one, you move
to another or you suffer.

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Magic and Health

Medieval cities stink. I mean they really reek. Literally. The average
peasant hut was a single room structure. All the living was done in that
one room. Cooking, eating, sleeping, sex, childbearing. Everything
except going to the bathroom, which was usually done outside, not far
from the hut. In the cold of winter, the livestock was brought into that
one room at night to keep both human and animal warm and alive. Refuse
was fed to pigs and goats (there wasn't anything that we know as
"trash") or whatever else would eat it. Life was dirty and nasty. Lice
and fleas were common on most people and all but the most-cared-for
animals (usually horses). Rats and other scavengers ran free through the
streets simply because of all the food available to them. In a larger
city, a house might have more than one room, but waste disposal
(including human wastes) was still a matter of chucking it all out the
window. It's no wonder that diseases thrived -- both common and sexually
transmitted. Injuries often led to infection, gangrene and amputation,
and even childbirth commonly led to death.

Magic can change all that if it is common enough. Open sewers and
latrines become a thing of the past if magical tunneling is cheap and
easy. Contaminated water need never be drunk if it can be easily
purified or created. Another big carrier of disease can be eliminated if
there exists a magical way to exterminate rats, fleas, ticks and other
scavengers/parasites. Or, they can be gotten rid of by getting rid of
their food source: no garbage means no rats and no flies. Clean bodies
(and livestock) means no fleas and no ticks. Cleanliness and sanitation
go a long way to preventing most diseases/plagues. Even low-powered
magic can deliver easy access to all these things, making disease lose
much of its bite even if there are no powerful healing magics. If
powerful healing magic also exists, those who do catch some terrible
illness need only see their nearest healer for a magical cure.

Very powerful healing magics, however, could allow for an immortal
aristocracy/theocracy -- as long as rejuvenating or resurrection magics
exist and are reserved for the rich and powerful or the most holy. If
anti aging or resurrection magic aren't available in your world, you
have no problems, but if they #do# exist, GMs would be wise to come up
with a reason why such abuses can't happen in their world. (In my own
world, the lower-powered healing magics are cheap and easy.
Resurrections, however, are extremely difficult because of the workings
of my world's afterlife, q.v. Even those who #are# resurrected are
limited in the number of times they can be resurrected simply because of
the "generational loss" of rebuilding a copy of the soul from a copy of
the soul, etc. And only #extremely# powerful and rare magics can
actually prevent or reverse aging.)

Also, if magical healing is available in your world, what about non
magical healing? Are there surgeons and physicians and herbalists
working in those areas where magical healers can't or won't work? If so,
how do they all get along with one another? One possibility might be
that you go see the doctor first, and he refers you to a magical
"specialist" only if he can't fix the problem. Another is that magical
healing might be limited to followers of specific religious sects (in a
world where divine healing is the only magical healing) -- mundane
healers in such a world might be actively hunted by the church!

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Magic and Food

Probably the main thing that limits the size of any city is the amount
of food that can be supplied by the surrounding countryside. Primitive
farming techniques (and primitive genetic stock) are what ensure that
harvests are not great enough to support cities of very large size.
Modern farming methods (and hybrid plants bred for hardiness, disease
and pest resistance, and high yield) are what lead to the large harvests
that are enough to support our modern cities. Also, safe transportation
of foods after harvest ensure that more food reaches our modern cities
intact. Lacking such things, medieval cities are small out of necessity.

With magic, all that changes. Magical breeding programs, whereby two or
three generations of plants can be raised and bred in but one growing
season, can lead to very hardy, high-yield crops. Magics that "bless"
plants, making them grow stronger and making them resist disease and
pests and drought, help ensure a large harvest. Magic can be used to
make soil richer in essential nutrients and remove stones that would
hamper good root growth. With strong enough magic, the trees themselves
might be made to pull themselves out of the ground and replant
themselves at the edge of a field to act as a wind and frost break.
Plant magic might be used to make plants grow quickly to maturity, say,
three or four times in only one growing season -- thereby tripling or
quadrupling the land's yield (although such activity would very quickly
drain the nutrients from the soil, but see above). Or, simple plant
strengthening magic might make one acre yield as much as two. Powerful
enough magic might even enable wizards to actually create food and water
from nothing! (All of this assumes, of course, that the powers-that-be
#want# the populace to be well-fed. If they don't, such magics might be
totally forbidden!)

All this food then has to make it to the cities. In such an economy,
there might be constant caravans of normal wagons heading constantly to
and from the cities in much the same way as the pony express carried
mail: a fresh driver and a fresh team of horses available at stopping
points along the way in an effort to keep the food travelling non-stop
to its destination. Add magic, and the transport of this produce becomes
even easier. Fleets of flying carpets or magical barges might do brisk
trade in getting the food to the cities quicker than any wagon.
Magically refrigerated wagons or ships need not worry about the length
of the trip. Nor do those food that have been magically preserved. A
wagon or ship whose interior is enchanted by "stasis" magic becomes the
ultimate in food transport.

Thus, Fantasy cities become much larger than their medieval
counterparts, but that's not the only impact such things will have on
the world.

The first, and probably the least obvious, is nutrition. Fresher foods
mean more nutrients. The more variety in diet a populace has, the
healthier they tend to be. And if food is easily acquired and well
preserved before it #is# acquired, the risk of fatal food poisoning
dwindles rapidly. Also, the more well-nourished an organism is, the more
resistant to disease (probably the biggest killer in a medieval society)
it is.

The second area where magical food production will have a large impact
is the art of siege, which will be discussed in Chapter 7

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Chapter 7: Magic and Warfare

Magic and the Arms Race

I was in a discussion once about the enchantment costs as listed in a
certain game system (which shall remain nameless). It seems that, in
this game system, it was easier/cheaper to enchant a suit of armor to be
almost impenetrable than it was to enchant a sword that could penetrate
it. Game terms, it took more to make a sword +1 than it did to make a
suit of plate mail +1. Most of the people were polarized on the issue:
it was either that the system was right and realistic and should be left
the way it is, or it was that the system was wrong and needed to be
totally changed. Fact is, neither side was looking at the facts that #1)
It's your world, change what you don't like to make it what you #do#
like, and #2) How would such a thing likely affect, and be affected by,
the world itself?

Historically, arms and armor are involved in a neck-and-neck race: one
will take the lead for a little while, and then some advance in the
other will push it ahead. For example, when all weapons are slashing
knives that cut, someone invents chainmail that can't be cut through.
The response is a thin, strong blade (or projectile) that can slip
through the links in the chainmail. So someone invents something
stronger, say, plate mail (now, historically, armor and weapon invention
wasn't quite so linear, but "necessity is the mother of invention" or so
they say. When there is a need for better armor, there will be better
armor, and when there is a need for better weapons, there will be better
weapons). Plate mail is heavy and expensive, and pretty much immune to
the weapon of the average soldier. So, enter mancatchers and billhooks
and, yes, even whips -- all to yank the plate mail-clad knight from his
horse. Then enter knives like the estoc -- a very strong, dagger-type
knife with a diamond cross section that pretty much existed for the sole
purpose of punching through the armor of a downed knight.

Basically, the average world will have an "average" weapon and an
"average" armor. The standard weapon will be able to easily penetrate
sub-standard armor, will stand probably a 50/50 chance of penetrating
the standard armor, and will have very little chance of penetrating the
above-standard armor. When the above-standard armor becomes more
commonplace (either through supply/demand or lower manufacturing costs),
demand will dictate that an above-standard weapon be created. All other
weapons and armors then drop a notch on the scale. What was once
standard becomes the sub-standard, what was once above-standard becomes
standard, and someone will likely invent something that is, once again,
above-standard.

Traditionally, above-standard weapons and armor are available only to
the elite -- usually because of high manufacturing costs (this also
applies to the costs of magical enchantment). Standard weapons and armor
are available to the soldiery, and sub-standard weapons and armor are
available to the general public.

So what makes weapons and armor drop a notch on the scale? In one word:
Power. If the most-holy knights of Figland all have plate mail +1, the
king of rival Figgyosk is going to make darn sure that his wizards are
working overtime on armor-piercing swords +2. #And,# just to go one up
on the king of Figland, the king of Figgyosk is going to be doing his
best to make sure #his# knights have plate mail +2.

In my own world, as enchanted armors became more and more common, the
wizards discovered ways to make magical weapons that ignored some of
that armor. Even if you don't decide to use a magical solution, however,
there are still ways around too much armor vs. too little weaponry.

First of all, armor-piercing arrowheads (the bodkin, for instance) have
been around for some time. In a world where everyone is walking around
in plate mail +2, it is highly likely that such an item would have been
invented and would be the projectile of choice. A GM of any system would
be well within her rights to dictate that such an arrowhead would attack
as though the target armor were two classes worse (thus making that
plate mail +2 effectively just plain old plate mail). Add a simple +1
enchantment to that arrowhead, and, well, you get the picture.

Secondly, who says you even have to penetrate the armor? Heavy maces,
morningstars and mauls do quite nicely in putting large, immovable dents
in that thick shell. Imagine trying to breathe (and fight!!) with a bent
piece of steel compressing your lungs (whether you took damage from the
blow or not!). Also, other weapons were invented that didn't rely on any
kind of damaging power to take out those turtles on horseback. Whips,
mancatchers and bill hooks all do nicely for incapacitating the armored
juggernaut.

Now, all of these will fluctuate depending on the relative poverty level
you might happen to be in. The standard armor and weapons in a poor
farming community, for instance, might be hard leather, large knife or
cudgel, and the shortbow. In the royal city, however, the standard armor
and weapons might be chainmail, shortsword/broadsword, and crossbow. And
among the king's elite, the standard might be plate mail, great sword
and crossbow.

So what was Uncle Figgy's solution to the whole issue about enchantment
costs? Well, as I've tried to show, people are an inventive bunch. When
any one thing begins to dominate the market, something better will come
along. If enchanted armors become commonplace because of inexpensive
enchantment costs, you can bet that the rulers of your world will have
their wizards working triple-time to come up with a cheap way to enchant
weapons that can beat that armor. And if they don't come up with it by
the next summer solstice, off with their heads! Hey, who won't find a
way under that kind of incentive?

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Magic and Siege

Most GMs are quite able to imagine the effects magic might have in open
warfare: fireballs and lightning bolts, tossed by wizards on both sides
of a conflict, scouring across the ranks. Morale improving spells
bolstering the bravery of the soldiery. Fear spells trying to break down
that morale. Slain warriors raised as zombies to continue fighting even
after they've died. Wounded warriors rapidly healed so they can quickly
rejoin the fight.

Sieges, on the other hand, are often neglected in Fantasy.
Traditionally, sieges are a race between starvation and disease inside
the city and starvation and disease outside the city. Using catapults,
attackers would often lob the rotting carcasses of pigs, cows and even
fallen warriors over the walls of the city to aid in the spread of
disease among the defenders. Sometimes, the defenders would lob them
right back. Such tactics become useless in the face of magic. If the
defending city possesses good, magical sanitation, it might never fall
to disease. And if magic enables small plots of land to produce acres
worth of food, it might never fall to starvation.

In such a case, other methods would be found. Magically summoned or
created creatures could be used with no fear of loss of life by either
side. The attackers might well use powerful magics to create earthquakes
that would topple walls or to create tunnels to go under the city. And
everything that would be used in open warfare would also be used in the
siege. More subtle magics might also be employed -- powerful fear magic
aimed at the entire city might well demoralize the defenders enough to
hand themselves over to the enemy. In such a case, the heroic PCs might
be employed by the city to sneak behind the enemy lines and destroy the
wizards responsible...

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Magic and Gunpowder

Most Fantasy worlds assume a setting that is #just# pre Renaissance --
advanced enough to have large sailing vessels, decent mining and
metallurgy, and steel swords; but not advanced enough to have gunpowder.
That's fine, but rest assured that at some point in your world's career,
at least one player is going to try to "accidentally" create gunpowder:
"Uh, yeah. I'm just going to throw some random ingredients together in
this mortar. What's this one? Hmm. Sulfur. Yeah. And a little bit of
this saltpeter. Ooops! Darn! I just knocked some powdered charcoal in
there. Oh well, I guess I'll just grind it all together. Darn! When I
got up, I bumped the table and knocked a lit candle into it. What
happens?"

If the GM is very generous, then PRESTO!, the PC has just invented flash
powder (many players don't realize that it has to be pelleted into
grains before it actually has the properties commonly known as
"gunpowder"). If the GM is realistic, she might require the player to
make some intelligence rolls at some pretty hefty penalties before the
PC can even comprehend the very #concept# of mixing those ingredients
together. More roles (at appropriate penalties) to mix them in the
proper ratios and then come up with the concept that the whole mess
needs to be pelleted. But even after all those rolls, the PC might get
lucky and end up inventing gunpowder.

Many Fantasy worldbuilders loathe the idea of gunpowder and magic
together -- they avoid the issue at all costs. But there's no real
reason to do so. First off, if magic is common, nobody would even #want#
to invent gunpowder; the need wouldn't exist. And if gunpowder #had#
been invented, who would want to work their butt off, risking life and
limb, only to create a small amount of a substance that accomplishes the
same thing a wizard could accomplish just by wiggling his fingers and
saying a few words?

Secondly, gunpowder isn't the panacea that some players might think it
is. Just because you have gunpowder doesn't necessarily mean you have
guns. The manufacture of a tube strong enough to withstand the explosive
forces necessary to propel a projectile with any great force is no easy
task, and the average weaponsmith probably won't be up for the job. And,
contrary to what many might think, dynamite #isn't# gunpowder wrapped in
a paper tube. Also, remember that gunpowder that gets wet will have to
be re-pelleted before it can be of any use. And in a world where wizards
can hurl spheres of water or create rainstorms or very heavy fog,
keeping gunpowder dry becomes a difficult prospect indeed. In the same
light, gunpowder can be touched off by any spark. Carrying that musket
for it's limited one-shot-per-battle potential might not be such an
attractive idea when compared to the risk of it (and it's powder in your
backpack) being set off by the first lightning-bolt or fireball you're
hit by (Uncle Figgy remembers a game where a wizard cast a fireproofing
spell on his gunpowder to keep it from being touched off by just such an
occurrence. It took him a couple of minutes of wondering why his musket
wouldn't work before the other players reminded him that gunpowder is
useless if fire can't ignite it). And keeping it all in a magically
fireproof, sparkproof, waterproof case until you're ready to use it
makes it next to useless except in siege situations or ship-to-ship
battle. Even then, one insanely patriotic wizard with "Dispel Magic" and
"Fireball" could seriously damage the enemy's army before it even
reaches your caste walls.

All in all, in a world where magic is as common as it is in traditional
gaming Fantasy, gunpowder loses much of the reliability that it
historically possessed in our own world. In a world with less magic or
lower-powered magic, gunpowder will have a higher potential and greater
reliability.

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Chapter 8: Magic and the Rest of the World

Magic and Technology

A famous Science Fiction author once wrote that any sufficiently
advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. The opposite of
this is also true, any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable
from technology. This, of course, is limited by the feel that the
Fantasy worldbuilder wants for his or her world. In most Fantasy worlds,
science and technology are relatively non-existent in the face of magic.
Wizards take the place of research scientists and magical healers take
the place of physicians and surgeons. Usually because people are kept
too busy simply keeping alive to ponder the workings of the universe.
But in a world where magic is less common or low-powered (or Low Magic
areas in an otherwise High Magic world), technology has a chance to
grow. It goes right back to that necessity-being-the-mother-of-invention
thing: If magic makes life easier, safer and cleaner, people won't have
a need for technology.

If you decide that technology #does# exist, you have to ask yourself how
the magic-using society gets along with the technological society. Those
few Fantasy worlds that deal with such things assume that wizards (and
priests) work to actively stomp out technology, thereby ensuring their
own job security as the only ones who can make life easier, safer and
cleaner. This does not always have to be the case. Wizards could, for
instance, view technology as another form of magic -- they may even
trade knowledge with the scientists of their world. And if wizards work
together with scientists, interesting things can happen: Is that iron
creature attacking the party a magically-animated iron golem? Or is it a
technological robot, with gears and flywheels and mainsprings, that is
kept powered by magic and imbued with a necromantically summoned spirit?

In my campaign world, most wizards do not think about technology and the
populace sees no need to develop it. Advanced technology #does# exist,
however, as a bizarre blend of magic and science. A magic-tech item
might be a wood-burning furnace that boils water to turn a generator
that creates magical energy. Or, it might be as simple as a permanent
"ice" spell cast on an item that has an adjustable "wind" spell blowing
across it for a magical air-conditioner. All an example of magic
blending with and replacing technology.

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Magic and Wildlife

Another big issue in Fantasy worldbuilding is how magic affects the
flora and fauna of your world. Are there creatures and/or plants that
can use magic? If so, how? Are they limited in magic's use in the same
way that your wizards are? It seems unlikely that animals or plants
would be able to use magic of the Alchemical, Sympathetic, Contagious or
Spellcasting types, but there are some who would argue even in our world
that animals can perform rituals, and in a magical world, who's to say
that some of those rituals can't be Ritualistic magic? Most commonly,
however, animal and plant magic is of the Inborn (natural) type. Still,
interesting results could come about if animals are capable of using
Intuitive magic to fill their needs -- to lure prey, heal young, hide
from prey, etc. And what about divine animal magic? Certainly the God of
Mice might grant little boons to his charges in helping them avoid the
cat or the mad farmer's wife. Unless you have decided that plants think
and feel (in which case they're just animals with a different
physiology), it is highly unlikely that they will be able to use
Intuitive magic, although divine magic might still be a possibility.
Intelligent animals could be quite capable of utilizing all the types of
magic, but animals that intelligent should be viewed by the
GM/Worldbuilder as another race, not just as animals.

The biggest question to ask about your magical animals and plants is do
they just #use# magic or is magic a vital part of their existence? If
they just use magic, then taking them out of the magical environment
makes them just ordinary animals and plants with no special abilities.
But what happens if magic is part of their very existence? What happens
to them if you take them to a magically-dead area? Do they slowly weaken
and die or do they simply cease to exist, their whole being depending
totally upon the presence of magic? Whatever decision you make, remember
that it should probably apply to any intelligent races you have created.
If you have decided that dragons are totally magical beings, then they
should be affected in the same way as a non-intelligent magical creature
that has been removed from its environment. If they just lose their
magical abilities, you have to decide if a dragon's intelligence is a
result of magic (in which case it becomes a big, ordinary lizard) or is
totally separate from the existence of magic (in which case it becomes a
smart, big, ordinary lizard -- unless you've decided that it's ability
to flight and breathe fire don't rely on magic, either. Then it pretty
much stays exactly the same. This was what I did for one of my campaign
worlds: dragons are totally biological, not magical, creatures -- taking
them out of their magical environment just removes their ability to cast
spells).

Another big question to that needs to be answered, is what happens to
the animal's (or plant's) magic after it dies? If a plant shoots magical
laser beams out of its blossoms, can those blossoms be cut off and used
by the PCs or NPCs? If an animal has an organ that generates magical
fear, can that organ be used? It's generally assumed that such things
still carry a little bit of their magic after the creature in question
has been disposed of -- they become spell components for Alchemists or
Spellcasters suffering under the Material Component limitation. But do
they carry enough magic for even one use after the creature's death? If
they do, expect your PCs to cut off those useful flowers or organs and
haul them around with them. If you don't want that, assume that the
creature's death drains all but the most residual magic out of the parts
in question.

On a non-magical note: Animals in our world tend to fear humans. They
don't attack unless their territories are threatened, their young are
threatened, or they are wounded, crazed, cornered, or very, very hungry.
In a Fantasy world, however, common animals might not yet have learned
to fear humans. Or they might be just so big and powerful (perhaps
through inborn magic) that humans just aren't a threat. The problem
there is that such powerful predators need powerful prey or the average,
ordinary animal in the ecosystem gets wiped out fairly quickly. As
usual, balance is the key. A ratio of 20 prey for each predator (of
approximately the same size) is about right for an area with fairly
active predators (in our world, this is a more "mammalian" ratio,
reptilian predators require much less prey for the same time-period in
the same area). In my own world, some of the most common animals have
great magical abilities that protect them from those predators that
would happily take on an entire platoon of magic-wielding warriors. Of
course, rabbit-hunting is a much more difficult sport in my world...

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Chapter 9: Fantasy Things to Think About

The Dungeon

Perhaps the hoariest cliche in Fantasy is the dungeon. At worst, a
dungeon is nothing more than a collection of traps, monsters and
treasure placed seemingly without reason in a complex of rooms and
corridors that have been placed with little to no purpose. They're great
for a night of friendly hack-and-slash, but hardly realistic or
sustainable through an extended campaign.

Humans tend not to build large complexes, either above or below the
ground, without some purpose. When they do, all the rooms and corridors
will be placed with a thought toward that purpose. And, once they build
it, they'll be very reluctant to abandon it. Still, accidents and plague
#do# happen, and it's possible that the fantastic castle of Lord Gunther
the Mighty could be lost to the ages, or the fabled city of El'Adrill be
buried beneath the sands of the desert. Add to that mines that have been
mined out, large cave complexes, and humanity's fondness for very large
and very grand burial places, not to mention any demihumans who enjoy
large underground living spaces, and you have lots of room for the
existence of the locale itself.

The problem come not in whether the ruins/dungeons can actually exist or
not, but in the inhabitants themselves. Smaller creatures that might
take over an abandoned area are easily driven/frightened off by the
first group of adventurers to come along. Larger creatures might lair in
a place, but will prey upon the smaller. Intelligent creatures will band
together to drive off such a predator, while the unintelligent will
simply begin to avoid the area -- making the predator have to move
elsewhere if it wants to remain fed. The likeliest inhabitants for a
"natural" dungeon are organized groups of intelligent creatures. Bands
of orcs, goblins, etc. Of course, if you're running these creatures as
actual NPCs and not mindless "monsters" (see my "Guide to Good
GameMastering", particularly the section on NPCs and "Monsteritis"), the
dungeon-crawl becomes much more interesting. Such an adventure turns the
PCs less into heroes and more into criminals (in the orcs' eyes, anyway)
who have broken into the creatures' homes to loot, pillage and plunder.

One exception to this would be crypts and tombs; catacombs of the dead
ruled over by an undead king and all of his undead minions. Since the
undead have no real ecology, there is no need to worry about
predator-prey relationships. Another exception would be the dungeon
created by some great power and stocked with various creatures by that
power for some nefarious purpose. Since the great power controls all the
creatures, it can easily keep them from preying upon each other or
fighting amongst each other. Such a scenario might be created by a
powerful evil wizard who is training a powerful army. Also, one can
envision an ancient ruin still guarded by the manufactured automatons of
a long-dead wizards; the society has long since vanished from the world,
but its tireless guardians still patrol the city streets, waiting for
new orders that will never come...

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Nonhumans

Much Fantasy features the existence of nonhuman races. Elves, dwarves,
halflings, orcs and goblins abound. These are familiar archetypes. Most
people are familiar with at least a couple of these. The problem comes
in when the worldbuilder has one idea of what, say, dwarves should be,
and the players have another. One of the biggest problems with these
traditional races is just that. They are traditional. And that means
that they can easily be stereotyped (by either players or even Gms) and
they have also begun to get mundane. Stale. New races have the advantage
of being different, possibly bringing a breath of fresh, magical air to
a new Fantasy world. But totally new races have other problems. Probably
the biggest is that they #are# new. Your players might not want to play
them at all (if that option is available to them) because they aren't
certain what the race should really be like. Plus, you'll have to tell
the players constantly what their characters would know about the new
races. ("Okay, Bob, your character knows that all Koobiens love to eat
sweets...") If you're going to use totally new races, be sure you have
outlined them (and their likes and dislikes) as thoroughly as possible
before you enter them into your world. Help your players to know as much
about the new race as they can (if you plan on letting the race be
played as PCs) or as much as their characters might have learned about
the race before they began their adventuring career (if you don't plan
on letting the race be played as PCs).

Should you create totally new races, you have to decide which will be
allowed as PCs and which will not. Races that are much more powerful
than the average Player Character will not fit in well with an
adventuring party, the same goes for races that have
psychologies/thought processes that are radically different from the
average PC. For the most part, your Uncle Figgy is pretty much opposed
to creating Fantasy races that are not made available to the players,
except in the most extraordinary of circumstances -- if the race is not
available because it is too powerful, why haven't they taken over? If
the race is too alien, it becomes difficult for the GM to even run it
properly. I would say that exceptions are due for a campaign where the
too-powerful race has taken over and all the PCs are fighting to
overthrow them, or where the too-alien race is overrunning the world for
whatever alien reason and the PCs are one of the many lines of defense.

When coming up with new races, decide where they stand in relationship
to every other race. Most Fantasy worlds assume that humans are the
dominant species on the planet -- elves are too slow-maturing a race to
be as prolific as humans, orcs are too primitive to be much of a
concern, and dwarves hide themselves away rather than take an active
part in worldly affairs. This leaves the humans who are prolific,
advanced (at least more than the orcs) and who are more than happy to
take an active part in worldly affairs (preferably to run them
entirely). This is an easy assumption. We know humanity and what it
does. We know what their societies are like. We know their likes and
dislikes. We know their wants and needs. We have seen them, and they are
us.

Of course, some explanation should be given for why humans are on top of
everything. In most Fantasy, humans are the upstarts; the newcomers. The
"elder" races are content to sit back and watch what they do. None of
this has to be the case. In my own world, there are eight races -- any
one of which is available to be used as a PC. Humans #are# at the top of
the heap, but mostly because #they# are the elder race (there are
actually two more races of the same "age" as humans, but one is
reclusive and the other values freedom and fun above anything else.
Three of the other races have evolved from the humans, one of the others
evolved naturally on their own, and the last race was accidentally
created by a group of wizards that is unaware of what they've done (my
world's equivalent of toxic waste). Because of the differing social
needs of the other two elder races, and the relative "youth" of all the
other races, humanity is the dominant race in my world.

All of these assumptions of humanity's dominance can easily be turned
around. Elves, with their long lifespan and magical talents might get
tired of the way humans are managing (or mismanaging) things. Such a
world might feature dominant elves acting as parental guardians of
humans, maybe even treating them as children! Even those few enlightened
humans might only be awarded the social status of an intelligent Elven
teen...

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Economy

"After defeating the kobold chieftain, you open the chest. Inside is 300
copper pieces, 200 silver pieces, 100 gold pieces and 10 platinum
pieces."

Ahhh, treasure. The reason for adventuring in the first place. Grab the
loot, kill more monsters and grab even more loot. Never once giving any
thought to just #who# is minting all this cash in the first place.

What!?

Exactly. Traditional Fantasy is filled with treasure of every
description, but the most common is the generic gold piece, silver piece
or copper piece. But just what #are# these "pieces" and where do they
come from. Most people assume that the word "piece" means "coin". But
saying 500 gold pieces sounds somehow more Fantasy than saying 500 gold
coins (and don't ever say 500 dollars!). But coins have to be minted by
someone. Who is minting the coins in your world? And what are they
really worth?

In our society, coins (and bills) are nothing more than an adult game of
pretend -- acceptable roleplaying, if you will. The metals that our
coins are minted from aren't particularly valuable, and neither is the
paper for our bills. We pretend that they are, though. We all agree that
a dollar bill or pound note have some intrinsic worth. It is through
this mutual agreement that our economy works. Most Fantasy doesn't have
that sort of agreement. The coins of Fantasy really #do# have some
intrinsic worth. Gold coins really #are# worth their weight in gold.

Most rulers mint coins as a way of immortalizing themselves. It's hard
to forget who your king is if his face is on every coin you handle. And
with Fantasy coins, the value of the metal makes giving up coin for an
item a simple matter of trade -- you're trading pieces of rare metal for
whatever item you're purchasing. It's simple and it works. Unless you
take those coins to another realm where gold may or may not be worth as
much as it is in your own.

But it is the rarity of these metals that gives them their value --
realistically, if a group of PCs dropped into town with a few hundred
thousand gold pieces (which, presumably were collected by the monsters
from many different countries -- rich indeed would be the country that
had minted so much gold coinage it didn't even notice when a few
thousand of those coins went missing), the local economy would bottom
out. That much gold making that sudden appearance would devalue all the
gold in the area. That was another reason behind minting coins, an
attempt to keep a steady handle on the amount of wealth in the economy.

A big problem in most Fantasy gaming is how to bleed off excess PC
wealth. Uncle Figgy doesn't think that is what the problem is at all,
however. The big problem is what PCs are doing with that much wealth in
the first place! How did they get it and where did it come from?
Gemstones and objects d'art would be much more likely treasures in a
medieval milieu -- there just aren't all #that# many coins around. If
the PCs got the treasure from slaying monsters, just what were the
monsters doing with it in the first place? Is there some sort of
"monster market" where monsters can go to do trade? Can they walk into
town and buy things just like PCs? Are there evil "dungeon-supply"
salesmen who travel drawbridge-to-drawbridge selling things no
self-respecting cavewife could do without? If not, then why do these
monsters collect treasure? It obviously has no value to them. And if the
monsters realistically wouldn't be collecting all this coinage, then the
PCs wouldn't realistically be acquiring so much of it that taking it
away from them becomes that much of a necessity.

Another thing to consider is what the PCs would do with all that
treasure if they #did# get ahold of it. Unless your world has reliable
banking institutions, they're going to have to bury it and hope that no
tunneling monster with a penchant for collecting coins (see above)
stumbles across it. And if they immediately start flooding the local
market with it, someone important is going to take notice. In a medieval
setting, wealth meant power, and, to most nobles, any power other than
their own was viewed as a serious threat unless it was a #very# strong
power, indeed. Any PC coming back from a day's adventure with a few
thousand gold that he couldn't hide might well be met by the tax-man and
a squadron of armed and armored soldiers. "Why thank you for finding
this lost coinage of King Greldon the Greedy. I'm certain you realize
how much it would help the kingdom in these most troubled times. Why a
donation of, say, ninety-five percent would earn the appreciation of the
king himself, thank you very much."

Now, old coins were small simply because of the rarity (and difficulty
in mining, that's why they were so rare) of these metals. Even so, gold
is a heavy metal, and one could easily assume that 100 coins weigh at
least a pound (some game systems make this distinction for you, others
do not). Kind of a tough proposition carrying about twenty pounds of
coins (only 2,000 gold pieces!!) on your back as well as around twenty
pounds of armor and twenty pounds of all your other adventuring gear
while you try to fight and run and do all that other adventuring stuff.

And, again, the question that begs asking is just where did all that
treasure come from in the first place? It can't all be from some ancient
lost civilization, can it? And it certainly can't all be stolen -- many
people would likely do trade by barter, not cash. The average person
might be found to have one gold piece on them at most, and then only if
they were going into the city for some reason or another. Depending on
the economy, the average person might never see a gold piece, and three
gold pieces might be someone's entire life savings.

In a realm with a more stable economy, however, that much treasure
becomes a possibility, but monsters still won't have reason to value it
(and therefore keep it) unless they either have an economy of their own
or they are allowed to take part in the common economy. But, in that
stable of an economy, these "gold pieces" begin to take on more of an
arbitrary, set value with one gold coin having about the same worth no
matter where you might take it in the realm. There might even be set
currency conversion ratios between realms. In such a system, much flavor
can be added to a game by giving names to the coins. One gold tower
might be worth ten silver bunkers in one country, but only worth six
silver dukes in another country, and worth thirteen sharfas in another
country. In some realms, it might have no worth at all!

This last is how I have set up the economy in my campaign world. All of
the countries have coinage that is based on the copper, silver, gold
setting of traditional Fantasy (copper worth the least, silver
moderately valuable and gold the most valuable), but the coin sizes are
different from country to country (depending on the wealth of the
country) and therefore some are not worth as much in one country as they
are in another. All of the countries have different names for their
coins, and some countries don't use any coinage at all, doing trade by
barter only. Thus while one gold coin is fairly valuable in its country
of origin, it is worth much less if carried to a second country (a
richer country) and worth much more if carried to another, poorer
country. And if carried to yet another country, that same coin might not
be worth anything at all! There are no "monsters" intelligent enough to
collect coins that are not accepted members of the world economy, so PCs
cannot go around slaughtering them for their treasure or they'll likely
be hunted down as murderers. So, in this world, for PCs to make money,
they either have to hire out their services or sell those objects, gems
and weapons they might find on their adventures.

As with everything else, "world balance" is the key. As long as there is
a logical origin for the treasure in your world, you shouldn't have to
worry about taking excess wealth from your PCs -- they simply won't be
finding it! It is when you don't have any logic or reason to the economy
of your world that you end up with such problems as too much or too
little wealth in any one area.

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Illness and Disease

Fantasy is full of sickness and disease. Heroes must rush to find the
cure for the king's stricken daughter. Adventurers routinely stumble
into towns wiped out (or in the process of being wiped out) by the
plague. Mummies and other magical creatures are able to instill magical
decay in those they touch. Illnesses and diseases abound.

Your Uncle Figgy defines illness as any debilitating sickness that keeps
a character out of action and may or may not kill him. While this might
be a good convention for Fantasy novels (the character lies unconscious,
delirious and in a high fever while his comrades rush for the cure), it
doesn't work all that well in a Fantasy game. No player wants to be told
that her character is out of the action for what could possibly be the
rest of the game because she has contracted tetanus from that last sword
fight.

Disease, on the other hand, is defined as a severe sickness that may
eventually kill the character, but will only have a minor weakening
effect (say a -1 to -3 to a couple of stats) throughout the duration of
the sickness, up to and including the actual day it kills the character!
Unlike an illness (which may also be deadly), this allows the character
to continue to take an active part in the adventure and even in
struggling nobly until the end trying to find a cure. And, unless the
player agrees to let the character die at the end of the disease's term,
a cure should always exist. It may not be easily available (a whole
adventure spanning many gaming sessions might be required to find it)
but it should exist. As a general rule, the quicker the disease can kill
the character, the easier the cure should be to get ahold of.

In keeping with cinematic style, illnesses should never be visited on
PCs (NPCs are another matter -- a good adventure might be to find a cure
for the illness of the bedridden king), but diseases can be. For the
most part, assume that an area suffering under the plague will be
treated as if all of the NPCs have an illness, while the PCs are only
affected as if by a disease. The exception to this are those #very# mild
illnesses that annoy us in our own world. A touch of realism and humor
can be added by having the mighty warrior catch the flu or the noble
knight be prone to sea sickness. And don't forget to call for rolls to
avoid catching a cold after the wizard douses the battlefield with his
"Frosty Raining Hail" spell. Such minor illnesses can also add drama to
the game: The sneaking thief will have a hard time sneaking if he has to
roll to avoid sneezing at an inopportune moment. (If he fails and
sneezes, nothing immediately deadly should happen -- perhaps the guards
have been alerted and now the thief must find a good hiding place...)