Magic in BG and Forgotten Realms
johntyl
Member Posts: 397
Hi guys, ive got a question regarding the casting of magic in the world of BG and the greater world of FR.
In BG, when spellcasters like priests, clerics or mages cast spell, they murmur incantations, which if i didn't recall wrongly, are in Latin. (See here for eg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcu4KFZOKtM)
1) My first question being: Is this also the case in the rest of the FR world, or is it only unique to BG? If it's the latter, then what kind of language do spellcasters use in the FR or even D&D in general?
2) My second question relates to the difference between priests and wizards/mages.
Correct me if I'm wrong, priests can only cast their spells by chanting a prayer to their respective god. So, should they be fallen (ie. a priest who lost their god's favour), they won't be able to cast any spells. Is that right?
Whereas for wizards/arcanists in general, they do not draw their powers from their respective deities but from the Weave (or Shadow Weave). Which explains why in the novel "Elminster: The Making of a Mage", Mystra has to enlist the help of Elminster (or select her Chosen) to defeat unruly magelords. Mystra cannot directly disconnect spellcasters' access to the Weave, no matter how much she disapproves of their actions. Is that correct? Hope that makes sense! Thanks.
In BG, when spellcasters like priests, clerics or mages cast spell, they murmur incantations, which if i didn't recall wrongly, are in Latin. (See here for eg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcu4KFZOKtM)1) My first question being: Is this also the case in the rest of the FR world, or is it only unique to BG? If it's the latter, then what kind of language do spellcasters use in the FR or even D&D in general?
2) My second question relates to the difference between priests and wizards/mages.
Correct me if I'm wrong, priests can only cast their spells by chanting a prayer to their respective god. So, should they be fallen (ie. a priest who lost their god's favour), they won't be able to cast any spells. Is that right?
Whereas for wizards/arcanists in general, they do not draw their powers from their respective deities but from the Weave (or Shadow Weave). Which explains why in the novel "Elminster: The Making of a Mage", Mystra has to enlist the help of Elminster (or select her Chosen) to defeat unruly magelords. Mystra cannot directly disconnect spellcasters' access to the Weave, no matter how much she disapproves of their actions. Is that correct? Hope that makes sense! Thanks.
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Comments
No the language is the (unnamed) language of magic that is usually transcribed in draconic, elvish or high netherese.
(but who knows, it seems that high netherese = english so perhaps magic is latin -- but that's not official)
Mystra can cut anyone off from the weave but is very reluctant to do so -- her reluctance was never explained. In my head cannon I imagined that every part of the weave that is cut off equals a gain for the shadow weave.
Fallen priests cannot cast spells unless they find a new deity. In 1st ed falling from favor / changing gods resulted in a loss of two levels. In 3rd there was no level loss but an option to add a class that steals prayer powers from other gods.
(godhood section of http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Kelemvor)
Okay so that last part was made up.
Interesting. So innately, she is good-aligned but she is forced to be True Neutral? Do you have a source for that? I'm quite intrigued to find out more.
Also, there's one thing that has been nagging at me for some time. Do all the different deities draw power from their own celestial bodies or do they also have to gain access to the Weave to use Magic? I'm referring specifically to the Time of Troubles when the gods walk Faerun.
And when priests cast spells they have to chant prayers to their respective gods, but when sorcerers or arcanists cast spells they can simply weave magic and NOT have to pray to Mystra?
Thanks for all the help guys, @killerrabbit @ThacoBell @SethDavis
That Mystra died during the Time of Troubles and then Midnight took over her essence and became the new Mystra. Also, focused at first towards good, by trying to block all evil mages from the Weave, but in the end after the Crucible she became a true god of magic with a free for all portfolio, more towards neutral aligned.
That Mystra died too, at the start of Plague of Spells, due to Shar and Cyric manipulations. The new Mystra that emerged 100 years later is just without a story, as WotSC were still trying to recover from the blunder that was Spellplague and 4E.
I was an active member of D&D boards back when 4E was first proposed and the people working on it talked with the community about their improvements. A lot of people warned them that their decisions are going to negatively affect the franchise. They didn't listen. 5E is the result of their attempt to return to the older rules and revoke all the inanities introduced with 4E.
I suspect he meant the lore of the Forgotten Realm setting. Is easy for newcomers to confuse the Rulesets with the general setting of the world.
I have yet to try (and I doubt I ever will) to play 5E, but I did read partially the ruleset and some of the lore. IMO the easiest Edition for a newcomer is 3E.
If true, as I remember they always were in latin, like for example that Vita Mortis Careo, a cleric casts when healing.
They're pretty awesome.