fandomhigh_ooc | Inter-fandom Magic Conversion

Right, so with the amount of various magic-users and other supernatural abilities we have around here, this is going to become an issue FAST. Basically, the question is, how does one fandom's treatment of magic interact with or apply to another's? Even if someone knows both fandoms, they might have some trouble working it out, and I know that with the variety of fandoms represented here, one would be very lucky indeed to be familiar with them all.

So therefore, here's some general guidelines to working out the effects of applying various magic and such between fandoms.

The Basics

Magic is supernatural, regardless of fandom. Why? Because "natural" is when things behave according to the laws of physics (like in the real world), and "magic" is when something is done to make them behave otherwise.

Also, magic is pretty much invariably energy of some sort. The exact source and application can vary widely from fandom to fandom, but it tends to boil down to something that affects other things. Energy, in other words, or perhaps a (super)natural force. But it's simpler to just say "energy" and I don't I've ever seen a fandom anywhere that this description didn't work for it.

Inter-fandom Application

Casting

This is actually the easy part. To cast magic, always go by the rules of the character's native fandom. If you have to speak an incantation, do so. Same if a particular action, ritual, whatever is needed. If according to the rules of your character's native fandom, they would be exhausted or have any other personel side-effect from using their magic or powers, that applies, regardless of what effects other fandoms' characters may or may not have for doing the same.

Why is this? It's simple- different fandoms are different styles of magic. Sometimes the difference is where the power comes from, sometimes how it's channeled, often both. So your character only knows their one way of doing things, while a character from a different fandom might have another way to handle it. Potentially unfair? Sure, but life's not fair. What about learning these other methods? We'll get to that in a bit...

Affects
Inanimate/NPC/Non-magical PCs

The simpler category of working out magic effects. When using magic on any form of inanimate object, a random NPC (such as an animal), or a PC who is completely non-magical, the rules of the caster's fandom apply. Of course, in the case of another character being affected, that character's player may opt to interpret things as they wish, and it's always polite to explain what the effects of what you're doing are when they affect other people.

This ought to be self-explanatory, really. If only one of the two interacting fandoms has magic, it's the only one which has rules to be applied, and therefore it just works that way by default.

Magical PCs

Now we get into the fun stuff. Not everyone is going to be affected by magic in the same way, particularly if they're already a magic user or magical being. If one character casts a spell, curse, or any such thing at another magic user, it's up to the defending character to make the final call on how they interact. So how do you tell? Here's some points to consider-

Is it a very basic, universal effect? A sleeping spell, for example, or a fireball, really needs no explanation.

What's the effect in the originating fandom? Why? Knowing this at least gives you a starting point, the person casting the spell ought to at least give a brief description. The more ambitious may want to delve into more detail, but that's generally not too necessary.

Is there an equivilant spell in defending character's fandom? If there's an exact match, then you can just use that as a standard to apply effects.

Is the effect physical, spiritual, something else? Getting hit by a fireball or bolt of lightning doesn't take much thought to figure out, but a curse that affects a character's mind or spirit is another thing entirely.

Are you counter-spelling? If this is the case, we get into spell interaction.

Of course, you also want to take into account your character's own traits, resistance to magic, etc. But that's just common sense.

Other Spells

If two spells are interacting from the same fandom, obviously its own rules apply. However, if two magics from different fandoms come into conflict, then things get complicated, and both players have to reach a mutual agreement as to how to handle it. Some points to keep in mind-

What is the nature of the two spells? Spells draw on different sources and act through different means. The fundamental nature of the spell is a major point to consider.

What are the normal effects of the two spells? If one attack spell is water-based and another fire, regardless of the energy source chances are good they're going to cancel each other out. Or create a hottub.

What are the strengths of the spells? This can be tricky to measure, and thus highly subjective, but obviously if one is more powerful than the other, it'll overwhelm it.

Expanding on this a bit, the characters' natures need to be taken into account as well. For example, if one character is inclined towards holy magic and a specialist in fighting demons and such, a character who's inherently evil would probably be put at a disadvantage. Another point is to note that if the normal effect of the spell is simply to cause something physical to happen (to an inanimate object), unless the casting is interrupted you can assume that effect *will* happen, unless the casting is interrupted or a direct counterspell is made. And so on.

I grossly oversimplify here, I think, but it's hard to get into detail without going on a case-by-case basis. But really, these are the cases that take the most thought, as spell interaction even within a single fandom can be quite complicated. I'd recommend if you really want to be precise look up info on some fansites, or ask the nearest geek who has nothing better to do than figure out this stuff. *coughs*

Learning (New) Magic

We have an interesting case here at

fandomhigh, in that characters from multiple fandoms CAN interact with each other, and therefore learn from each other. So what happens when a character takes magic lessons from a character of a different fandom?

First, take into account your own character's limitations. Can they reasonably learn magic? Do they have the raw talent and/or power to be capable of it? Also, consider the nature of various magic. If your character already knows one system, how hard will it be to learn something completely different? Of course, some forms of magic *will* be easier to learn than others, so take that into consideration as well.

Finally, respect the native fandom. If, according to the native fandom, your character can't learn its system of magic, then they can't. End of story. There's still other fandoms out there, maybe another one will work. But don't go against the rules of the fandom just because you want your character to be able to use that particular kind of magic.

Closing Thoughts

Obviously, this is a complicated deal. Do you really need to know all this? Probably not, but I'm sure that I'm not the only person here who likes to be at least reasonably precise about details. I'm not writing this to be the rules, only a guideline and an aide, a resource for people to use if they like.

Also, it should be taken into account that I just use the terms "magic", "spell", etc., to simplify the explanations. You can replace them with the term of any powers or such that you want and apply it to other abilities and powers as well.

And of course, this is all just for fun. You don't really have to take it seriously if you don't want to, but in case you do, well, here's some guidelines to help you along.

Questions? Comments? I'd welcome feedback and suggestions to expand upon this, and I'm also quite open to answering questions and helping people with figuring out details. I happen to enjoy working out the mechanics of magic systems and the like, so I don't mind helping out with stuff like that in the least.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I had planned on either posting here in OOC or putting a blurb up on my user info page as to just what 'magic' my character can do, as it is not the usual thing, and in her particular case, is very blood specific, ie:she has the genetics to do what she does, but can't teach it to others unless they are also genetically related to her.

Perhaps those who do have supernatural abilities and are willing to share the info would post something just giving the basics for those of us unfamiliar with their fandom.

Of course, there may be some who would rather keep it a secret, and that can be fun as well. *thinks for a bit* Yeah, that could be fun in that way that evil is sometimes fun. :)

Well, for the most part people really only need to know the effects of the magic in order to figure out what'll happen. For the most part though I don't think much is needed to be posted, for me at least it's a rare occurance that I can't easily infer plenty. And there's just so many complications, sometimes it's easier to just take things case by case as they come.

I didn't exactly choose a character whose abilities are easy to describe, either. Lots of... technicalities regarding how mazoku use magic in the Slayers world. Simpler just to make a note of relevent information as needed. ^_^;;

See, here we go, that went so over my head because I don't know your fandom at all, but now I am all curious. When I am not falling out of my chair asleep I am looking it up online to educate myself.

:)

Well now I *do* have a brief description of both Xelloss and mazoku in general in my userinfo, of course. Though it could use rewriting for clarity, but for now it suffices to get the important information across.

Now we're speaking my language...

The way I look at it is sort of the way I handle it in my head- All these fandoms mingle, and while they're curious about one another, there is no issue of "My fandom says you can't do that". When it arises, the characters should act according to what their fandoms dictate and never question why another fandom circumvents that. For example, Draco Malfoy points his wand and recites a few words to fire a lightning bolt, Ed Elrich needs to use alchemy and complete an equation to fire lightning, and all Anakin Skywalker needs do is open his hand and focus ~~his rage~~the Force (or the Dark Side of it, at any rate). And the same should hold true for non-magical characters or characters with science-based powers. Spider Jerusalem, Hamlet and Dr. House should react to The Beast and Delirium the same way they react to each other.

Remember, we all come from different fandoms, but we're all here playing together.

Precisely. I'm sure sooner or later some of these forces *will* have to interact with each other, so it's good to have an idea how all that works. And as I doubt that most people are as much of a geek for the mechanics of magic systems as I am, I figured making a general-purpose outline to apply to everything would be a good idea. As well as tossing in some explanations of why things work as they do.

Hm. Kefka in his canon form would have utterly unfair magical powers - he does become a god, after all. And even regular characters in Final Fantasy games can cast spells like Reflect, which bounces back all spells to their caster.

So I've been making Kefka's current abilities unstable. And obviously even in FF, spells like Reflect don't protect against *everything*. We'll see - I guess we'll have to sort out every conflict when it arises. :D

Xelloss is the 7th most powerful mazoku, period. And when you take that five of those above him are very near the same power to each other (with Shabranigdu trumping them all), that makes that rank even more impressive. I think that with playing a powerful character, the key is to play well and be as fair as possible. Xelloss in canon generally doesn't fight if he doesn't have to, for example.

And while yes, FF characters have magic like that, you *can* limit the power of it. Perhaps, for example, your Reflect spell reflects the magic back, but it's weakened when reflected. And so on. But really, it's all just for fun, so no need to get too worried about it. ;p

Yeah. Kefka in canon doesn't fight unless he feels like it and he's pretty sure he'll win. Otherwise he'll just run, pelting dorky insults. ~~He'll be back later to poison the town's water supply.~~ ;D

True, that was kind of what I was aiming at with FF magic - and if I veer from canon a bit, like i intend to, the reflected spell could hit a wall instead of a person. And I can use Protect or Shell to migitate the effects of a spell cast on me, instead of using Reflect each and every time.

I don't think you really need to veer from FF "canon" at all for magic. After all, Reflect has to be cast before you're hit by a spell, for example, and wears off after a time. Not to mention the consumption of MP and such. So really, all you need to do if you want to limit your character is assume that he's a low-level version. ;p

Argh so much information! I had thought about this though so thanks. As my character is very new to her powers she's asked for help from Draco from Harry Potter, we have some similar spells, but I plan on letting her learn spells for his fandom (maybe)

Impetous for me to get off my lazy ass and work up Seimei’s bio to include mystical abilities.

Yes, info in bios is good ~~though I have to rewrite mine~~. Though I'm sure I can make a pretty fair guess as to his abilities. ;p

...by the way, aren't you supposed to be teaching a World History class today?

Inter-fandom Magic Conversion

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