Historical Magic
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Magonomia's magic is based on real-world beliefs from a time when Europeans took magic seriously.
Differences from Historical Magic
It was necessary to take some liberties with historical magic to make it fun and playable in tabletop RPG.
- Historical magicians were often eclectic; PC wizards in Magonomia have to specialize in just one magical Science.
- The ruthlessness of some historical magic is downplayed. For example, some spells from historical grimoires require killing an animal, but we chose to rewrite them to drop that requirement. Mind-affecting spells don't override a person's free will, and so on.
- The elaborate ceremonial preparations occur offstage. Early in development we made setting up the magic circles and so forth part of the game experience, but we soon found that making it easy to cast spells was a better experience.
Recommended References on Historical Magic
- Bailey, Michael D. Magic and Superstition in Europe: A Concise History from Antiquity to the Present. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Pub, 2007. Print.
- Harms, Daniel, James R. Clark, and Joseph H. Peterson. The Book of Oberon: A Sourcebook of Elizabethan Magic. , 2015. Print.
- Klaassen, Frank. Making Magic in Elizabethan England: Two Early Modern Vernacular Books of Magic. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2019. Print.