Bob (
nuclear_snide) wrote in
fandomhigh2016-01-15 12:13 am
Entry tags:
Defending Yourself Against Magic | Friday, period 2
"Well, glad to see you all back again." Bob eyed the students in appraisal. "This is probably one of the more useful classes you'll actually have here, for your time on the island if not at home, so please pay attention."
"There are many different types of magic, even in just my world. There are a lot more I've learned of since coming here. There are probably even more that none of us have ever heard of. It would be useless to attempt to cover them all. However, just about all of them do have a few things in common."
He wrote in the air (backwards to himself, so they could read it). Materials. "Many types, including some spellcasting and all enchantment, require some sort of material. This can be anything from animal to vegetable to mineral, any many things in between." He underlined the word. "Sometimes you can make substitutions, but there are usually certain requirements to what you use. We'll go further into that later."
He wrote again. Focus. "The materials can also be the focus, or it may be something separate. The focus is an item to help the person performing the magic to concentrate their will. A staff, a wand, a crystal - what it is is generally less important than what it represents to the one using it. Again, we'll cover more later. For now, just know that you can almost always do without one, but the level of difficulty may increase exponentially."
One last word in the air. Will. "You might think this would go without saying, but unless you've got an artifact of some sort that's been previously enchanted, when dealing with magic, someone or something has to be doing it. Call them a wizard, sorcerer, mage, magic-user, whatever you like. This item," he circled the word in the air, "is non-negotiable. It's the only thing that is."
He stepped around that word, eyeing it, and looked back at them with his arms crossed. "This means that when defending yourself against active magic, the surest way to do so is to destroy the one responsible. It may not always be the best way - you risk a last bit of magical explosion, you may be morally opposed to killing - but it would be remiss of me not to mention it." He lightened up just a bit. "Of course, killing them isn't the only way to destroy this component. You could knock them out, or distract them, or find a way to make doing whatever it is they're doing less attractive to them. Blackmail sometimes works."
Hey, Bob told it like it was.
"Mind you, it can be a bit more complicated, but it often isn't. So!" He clapped his hands together and gave them all a huge grin. "Brainstorming time! You've got a sorcerer doing very nasty things."
Look, there he was! Looking like Warden Morgan, because Bob wouldn't much mind seeing him beat up if it came to that. And, with the help of both the Danger Shop and Bob's illusions, looking very upset and throwing bolts around that narrowly missed everyone.
Once everyone had managed to duck and cover, Bob paused it mid-strike and grinned. "How do you intend to stop him?"
"There are many different types of magic, even in just my world. There are a lot more I've learned of since coming here. There are probably even more that none of us have ever heard of. It would be useless to attempt to cover them all. However, just about all of them do have a few things in common."
He wrote in the air (backwards to himself, so they could read it). Materials. "Many types, including some spellcasting and all enchantment, require some sort of material. This can be anything from animal to vegetable to mineral, any many things in between." He underlined the word. "Sometimes you can make substitutions, but there are usually certain requirements to what you use. We'll go further into that later."
He wrote again. Focus. "The materials can also be the focus, or it may be something separate. The focus is an item to help the person performing the magic to concentrate their will. A staff, a wand, a crystal - what it is is generally less important than what it represents to the one using it. Again, we'll cover more later. For now, just know that you can almost always do without one, but the level of difficulty may increase exponentially."
One last word in the air. Will. "You might think this would go without saying, but unless you've got an artifact of some sort that's been previously enchanted, when dealing with magic, someone or something has to be doing it. Call them a wizard, sorcerer, mage, magic-user, whatever you like. This item," he circled the word in the air, "is non-negotiable. It's the only thing that is."
He stepped around that word, eyeing it, and looked back at them with his arms crossed. "This means that when defending yourself against active magic, the surest way to do so is to destroy the one responsible. It may not always be the best way - you risk a last bit of magical explosion, you may be morally opposed to killing - but it would be remiss of me not to mention it." He lightened up just a bit. "Of course, killing them isn't the only way to destroy this component. You could knock them out, or distract them, or find a way to make doing whatever it is they're doing less attractive to them. Blackmail sometimes works."
Hey, Bob told it like it was.
"Mind you, it can be a bit more complicated, but it often isn't. So!" He clapped his hands together and gave them all a huge grin. "Brainstorming time! You've got a sorcerer doing very nasty things."
Look, there he was! Looking like Warden Morgan, because Bob wouldn't much mind seeing him beat up if it came to that. And, with the help of both the Danger Shop and Bob's illusions, looking very upset and throwing bolts around that narrowly missed everyone.
Once everyone had managed to duck and cover, Bob paused it mid-strike and grinned. "How do you intend to stop him?"
