Re: Between darkness and light...


Subject: Re: Between darkness and light...
From: McDuff (mcduff@iname.com)
Date: Sat Jul 03 1999 - 15:15:34 EEST


>true indeed, we do not need normally evolving systems, but it is not
>forbidden to use common sense is it?
>in addition, i never mentioned that there should not be cold winters, i
>merely
>stated that they would not, if common sense has anything to say here, be
>very cold in all regions. how could a rainforest, for example, live through
>6months of cold winter and snow?

Actually, there is a way around this, although I do agree that the changes
should not be only summer/winter and that there should be a multi-season
year (there is no reason to stick to normal seasons, why not have 5 or 6, or
make the sun's orbit erratic, or make a moon sometimes eclipse the sun, etc
etc.)  If I am right, and magic is a kind of naturally occurring force that
permeates the atmosphere in Majik, then why do flora/fauna remain impervious
to it?  Why have trees that are exactly the same as in our world, and why
have snow everywhere?  There need not be spells that mortals must perform,
just areas with a high natural magic content in the atmosphere which stop
the snow from forming.  Besides, in the deserts and so forth, there need not
be snow at all.  In rainforests, why can a magical field or this "fantasy
gas" not create a permanent temperature, melting snow as it came down.

>I for one am against this kind of system, not for only because of my
>personal
>opinion, but because of logic.
>this system would seem, to me at least, contradict the very logic base on
>which
>we were at least supposed to be building majik on.


Right.  Well, in this case, why say that Majik world must have same
situations as Earth.  Why can we not think of entirely new systems.  If a
world existed where the sun rotated around the planet for a period of one
year, what differences would occur.  Would you have plants which stored
heat?  I think you probably would.  Would there be normal season cycles for
the flora, eg deciduous trees losing leaves.  Would there be
deciduous/coniferous trees, even, or whole new types which we don't know
about in our world but we make up.

It would seem that if we are going to be writing all this stuff from new, we
might as well make it interesting.  We can make it up.  Base it on logic,
but also remember that this has got to be fun to play and has got to add
something new, and remember that if magic permeates the air then strange
things can happen.  Think of the magic having an effect on plants and things
the same as would radiation in our world:  talking trees, forests which walk
around to avoid the coldest winters, or which shrink or turn upside down or
something.  Flowers could just go into hibernation, like they do now over
winter, or they could glow like deep sea fish, or there could even be whole
species of plants and animals which aren't affected by temperature.
Remember, it doesn't have to work in our world, as long as we can make it
work in Majik.  If we have to re-write physics then we can re-write them - I
don't see any problem with that!

McDuff



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