A lot of different things went into the concept behind today’s post, but it mostly involves my loves of music, RPGs, weapons, and obscure methodology.
Spell casters. There are number of them in D&D, but today we’re going to be focusing on the classic Wizard, the spell caster who spent years and years studying the arcane. And we’re also going to be looking at the concept of them in the modern world.
Now there have been a number of stories, shows, and systems that deal with spell casters and wizards in a modern or semi-futuristic setting. The Dresden Files stories, Shadow Run, and even to an extent Star Wars have dealt with magical wizards in the modern or sci-fi world.
Wizards are rather interesting class. They embody the concept of “Knowledge is power” since all their spell casting ability is based off of their intelligence modifier. At least in 3.5 D&D this also meant that the higher their intelligence, the more spells they could cast and had access to.
This meant that the class was very tactical and with the use of counterspell it meant that Wizard versus Wizard fights were extremely entertaining. Wizard duels were one of the inspirations for the term spellslinger in today’s title. The major reason is that there is nothing like seeing two extremely skilled individuals test those skills against each other.
Now in D&D there are three things that can be used to make a spell. Some of them degrade and others are just hard for the character to learn. They are verbal, somatic, and ingredient based requirements. A quicker definition would be words, hand motions, and objects.
Some spells require one of these things, others two, and some all three. That means wizards have to be prepared to use most if not all of their spells any given day. Wizards also have to memorize the spells they can use for the day in addition to making sure they have those ingredients.
So just like a gunslinger they have to make sure their gear is in working order otherwise it’s a huge risk for them to do anything.
Why is it a huge risk? Well the answer to that actually lies in the song Break the Spell by Hellion (lovely name, I know). but the basic premise of the song is that the main character has people sending demons after him because he is powerful. And because they are envious of his individual ability to have power and be independent they send their minions to deal with him.
This brings us back to the “Knowledge is power” concept. If you are knowledgeable in one or more areas, you are a threat. And people who won’t educate themselves or are trying to prevent others from educating themselves will try to silence you.
The arcane, at least in most RPGs is considered to be ancient knowledge. And today older practices are looked on with scorn because they are deemed too “superstitious”. However a lot of modern problems have old solutions, but because of the stigma against old methods they remain unsolved.
Just like the Wizard in a world of guns, older methods will still work. And while it’s not necessarily a Fireball spell to a gun fight, older methodologies have been what carried us to the modern age and they haven’t lost their potency. Their practice however has declined.
So call on that ancient knowledge, it just might be the answers your problem needs.
Think about it.
Sincerely,
The Irreverent Gentleman
gentlemansuniversityofmanliness 