[GUIDE] MAGIC AND YOU!

[GUIDE] MAGIC AND YOU!

Magic, Azeroth and YOU!

First of all, what IS magic? And what role does it have in the world of Azeroth? Well, it is quite simple. All fantasy realms — be it Westeros, Middle-Earth or Azeroth always has a measure of magic in the air. Lately, there has been a growing phenomena where people like to classify “high” and “low” fantasy role play within the designated worlds.

This, in my meaning, is a completely futile endeavour. Magic is THERE, it was always there — it all depends on the levels of magic used by the individuals able to weave it. Magic is the very element that decides whether a world is realistic or unrealistic. Fantasy is simply fantasy and should not be treated as anything else.
However, we return to the task at hand. What role does magic have in Azeroth? Azeroth, is the kind of world where magic is part of the every day life. You are bound to run into it in most populated settlements around the map and equally you will run into many who are able to cast it during your adventures. It is not a strange, alien force that the average man or woman of Azeroth will cower in fear at the sight of. However some may fear the destruction and discord magic is capable of.

There are even a plethora of zones and landscapes in Azeroth where magic is visibly flowing and enveloping the countryside — the diversity in magic is vast and there are many schools to choose from. Which will be explained later on in the post.


Role playing a sorcerer/sorceress!

A common sight is something I like to call the “Harry Potters” — now, I hate the Harry Potter novels and movies so that pet name may be somewhat biased. But what I am getting at are those who would proclaim themselves archmages and whatnot to wander around their racial capital, flaunting and boasting like they were some god-given gift to role playing a mage or warlock.

It is not in any shape or form a creative way to take up the role as a magician, did you ever see Gandalf turning Gimli into a sheep just BECAUSE HE CAN? No. A humble mage is a good mage. To flaunt power is not to own power, it is simply to boast and try to make yourself out as a special snowflake when you are really just doing what everyone else is. “The man who must brag to himself knows that no one else will.”

So, how to role play a good magician? Well, that all depends on what type of magician you choose to play. Are you good? Are you evil? Don’t have a care?

Choosing your character’s alignment is the first stepping stone to determine what sort of magician your character will be. What you later may want to work on is exactly what areas of expertise he/she has. Choosing too many is just ridiculous, keep it modest. And if you do wish to role play a significantly powerful magician, choose one or two branches of magic that he/she is especially good at.

Another element that plays a huge role when you determine your character’s power is his/her age. If you wish to role play a 19 year old, big boobed supermodel and not a dusty old coot with glasses, then sure, go ahead, but do NOT pretend as if she has power beyond that of said dusty old coot who spent closer to 30 years studying and practicing magic. As a youth you have a very long way to go to even pretend as if you have such power, studying magic is not like taking a doctrine in first aid.

Magic and its effect on your character physically, a quirk not entirely necessary but indeed very fun to put in there. It is widely popular to add a glow to your character’s eyes with the use of magic, which is 100% plausible. Magic IS part of your being and it will affect your visage in many cases. Roleplaying a warlock, a nice trait would be to have your character show deteriorating health and sanity. Fel energy is, after all, corruptive to the core. Use your imagination but do not overdo it! Sprouting demonic wings and horns or levitating on a cloud of arcane energy is generally frowned upon, ladies and gentlemen.

Background, how did your character become a magician? Was there a particular plot leading up to him/her acquiring his/her magical talent? Was he/she born with it? Was it forced upon him/her? There are so many options to choose from, so many questionmarks to fill. The sky is the limit as long as you avoid popular cliché’s such as “I ate a demon’s heart and stole his power”. Making use of the lore is A and O, but not always 100% necessary.

Use it as a guideline to make your character believable and friendly to the world of Azeroth, nothing more. Role playing is about ingenuity and innovation. You do not wish to be stuck with a character who is dull and generic and equally you do not want to be stuck with a Harry Potter.


Azeroth and magic, laws and regulations!
The laws on magic vary greatly from place to place, I have found. A common misconception is made in human society, ergo, Stormwind City. Among humans no magic is actually outlawed, aside the school of necromancy. Warlocks ARE allowed to practice their arts freely within the kingdom as long as they follow the rules of the local coven.

Summoning demons and shooting hellfire on the street in broad daylight IS against these regulations. Mages are and have been part of human society for generations and are thus not touched by any laws either, they are students of magic and often defenders of the realm. Or humble scholars seeking to make human society a more comfortable place to live in.

Among gnomes, no magic has shown to be anything but a curiosity in every shape and form. Warlocks are as common as mages and the gnomes generally do not frown upon the use of demonic energies. It is all about science, and magic is a science in its own right.

The only races in the Alliance that will react with hostility against the use of fel magic are the night elves and draenei, whose history justifies their hatred for it. Equally, there is no magic that is outlawed in the horde, the orcs, trolls and tauren may be suspicious of the use of dark magic on an individual level but on a whole, nothing is officially forbidden as long as it kills a human or three.

Save for voodoo — Trolls were well known to use darker and more malignant magic than what is now common practice. Being a witch doctor is a practice frowned upon by the Horde, and most trolls made use of shamanistic rituals and magic instead of voodoo to soothe their allies. More secluded tribes still have witch doctors though, but none of them are officially known as Horde allies.


The schools of magic in Azeroth!The Magical Schools of Azeroth are generally categorized as the Arcane, Fel, Nature, Shadow, Elemental and Divine (The Holy Light). Arguably, Shadow magic is considered divine by many, and is often described as everything that the Light is not.

The best source of lore for Azeroth’s magic is found on WoWwiki.com or WoWpedia.org, however, they took a lot of the lore on it from the non-canon tabletop RPG books made years ago. A lot has changed, retcons were made and in the end, there is not a lot of OFFICIAL lore on each school. I will be describing each of these categories individually.


The arcane / Arcane shadow / Fel

Used by mages and wizards of all races and societies. Arcane magic is in many cases the very core of most other magic. Warlocks use shadow-based arcane magic, and so do Necromancers. Voodoo is a tribal mix of nature and arcane magic and some druids utilize arcane as well. (Boomkins!)

Fel magic is in all aspects also arcane magic. It is the very face of magic gone wrong. It is evil, corruptive and disgusting — it is found residing in the very blood of demons and manifests into a sickly green energy that destroys most everything in its path.

There is no actual “arcane” domain to speak of, however 8/10 types of magic contain traces of arcane. Arcane “shadow” spells are also utilized by warlocks and necromancers, however lore suggests there are TWO different types of “shadows”, the second type I shall explain in greater detail individually.
Source; WoWwiki and Common Sense

The History of Arcane


The Shadow
A contested lore debate, and a fairly new addition to the Warcraft universe. Forsaken priests are known to work under something called “The Forgotten Shadow”, and it is likely this is a referance to the Old God supposedly buried beneath Tirisfal. Which makes this menace all the more sinister.

The common shadow priest or “shadowmancer” utilizes spells unheard of in most arcane contexts, such as “psychic” magic and mind-bending energies. And the ability to shroud oneself in shadow completely. Blizzard has so many questions to answer regarding this anomaly, and one can’t but use one’s imagination for now.
In recent expansions the Shadow seems to be focused mainly around dark shamans, shadow priests and the Twilight Cult. Twilight energy is a form of magic that seems to derive from the Shadow and many servants of the Old Gods often refer to the “Shadow” as if it was a sentient being, perhaps a nickname for the Old Gods?
One can only assume it has something to do with the primordial evils buried deep beneath Azeroth’s surface. The magic seems to encompass the mind — madness, despair, hatred and all the negative feelings and emotions the mortal mind can possibly generate. Which makes sense, if it is supposedly the very opposite of the Holy Light. All in all, it gives off a very H.P Lovecraft’y vibe.

Source; WoWwiki, my own imagination and in-game lore.


Druidism
Used by druids in particular, nature magic involves calling upon the powers of nature itself. A druid’s goals rarely has something to do with anything related to the civilized world. Bark and streams are the prefered setting for these woodland casters.

Druidic magic offers the caster a vast arsenal of supernatural abilities and spells, such as transforming into near any animal they choose to transform themselves into. Druids are known to have a very high resistance to natural venoms and toxins and their spells revolve much around summoning the forces of nature to their sides.
Druidism is not only a school of magic, it is a worship. A religion and a philosophy. The tauren are known to call upon nature in the name of the so-called “earth-mother” while night elven and worgen druids worship elven deities such as Cenarius and Goldrinn.

Many druids will also devote themselves to Aviana, Malorne and so forth. Druids often fall into differing factions depending on their focus — the druids of the Scythe, Antler, Talon, Claw, Wild, Fang and Grove.
More information can be found on WoWwiki or WoWpedia. There is really WAY too much about druidism to read about for me to write here.


Necromancy

Modern necromancy was first introduced during the third war and the staging of the Reign of Chaos. The story begins with the Burning Legion, and ends with the Lich King.

Necromancers are practitioners of twisted death magic, another form of corrupted arcane much like fel magic, it encompasses raising dead corpses as minions and taining to souls of the living. Necromancy also offers a vast array of necrotic diseases and plagues, the most powerful known being THE plague itself which ravaged Lordaeron during the third war.

Necromancers are powerful but will always succumb to their own greed and magic, most necromancers with their reckless use of magic will succumb to the curse of undeath themselves over time, some however transcend the living state only to become immortal and nigh-unkillable Liches, which are considered some of the most powerful magicians to date.

More information found on WoWpedia.


The Light
An entity just as conflicted as the Shadow. Many believe it is a living, sentient and sapient being of pure good. While to most paladins the Light is simply a philosophy to which they dedicate their lives.

The only known incarnations of the Light are the mysterious Naaru, whose holy power seems to have done little to convince most humans however. Many renounce the Naaru as they seem far too otherworldly to be something so worldly, while the draenei treats them with respect and reverance.

There are also many ways to worship the Light. Many strictly follows a certain code; “Respect. Tenacity. Compassion.” While others pray and pay worship to it as if it was a god of some manner. Humans, albeit the first real worshipers of the Light on Azeroth, have been known to twist and turn the philosophy of the Light to suit their own goals and needs.

Onto another matter. Writing this guide from the good roleplaying realm of Argent Dawn (EU), I have often come across many strange and peculiar ways to worship the Light.

A rising flood of zealous madmen have come to the roleplaying hub of Stormwind, and while the Scarlet Crusade showed us a little bit of that good ol’ fashioned “hellfire and brimstone” attitude towards “heathens” and “pagans” it was for those reasons they were outlawed.

Many appear to mix the Holy Light of Azeroth with something akin to the Emperor of the Warhammer universe or the catholic madness occuring during the 1600′s in our own world. This, my friends, I cannot help but question.

Do people even roll a paladin these days and check these wonderful lore pages before they decide how their character acts and believes? It does not seem that way. At any rate, if you ever consider rolling a paladin, I would suggest taking a peek at the Cathedral Square on Argent Dawn to see how NOT to do it. Or potentially pay Arathi Highlands and Stromgarde a visit.


Shamanism

Shamans, unlike druids, do not worship any nature deities or talking trees even though the two schools seem very similar. Instead, the shaman calls upon the power of elemental spirits, and the spirits of their ancestors.
There are so many ways of shamanism it is almost impossible to number them all. Orcs practiced the art long before the Legion came, and draenei discovered it upon their transformation into the broken. There are some humans known to practice it, and the Wildhammer dwarves. Trolls took up the art after the Horde renounced the use of voodoo.

Ceremonial totems and rituals are often involved in the use of shaman magic, and it is a very potent ally for the avid healer and do-gooder. Shamans are primal casters but they are not as aversive to civilization as druids are. However they do prefer to stay in places where the spirits are easy to reach.
More information can be found on WoWpedia.

And with that, gentleladies and gentlemen, ends my first article. Hopefully there shall be many more to come during my time on RP Centric. I’d like to extend special thanks to Madame Centric for offering me this chance to help bettering our community as a whole. And I shall do my utmost to make magical role play a little better for everyone.

My article on magic shall be written in three parts. This one was a bit of a content teaser.
Stay tuned for the next part; How to role play a sorcerer! A more detailed and thorough report on the subject, where we shall look into every nook and cranny of role playing a spellcaster within the world of Azeroth, and beyond!

*Note Author unknown* I stumbled over this ages ago and I do not recall where but apparently its from Argent Dawn *