Master Magi and Magical Matters

[alderwitch]

So, I have been kicking around a lot of things lately, trying to figure out what and how I want to do with Phantom and I know I've brought up her assuming the master magi role before and I think I have a finally good idea on how to do that as I think it would really highlight her struggle with guarding the dimensions while acknowledging that she's very much prime based these days.

 

Tied into that, I was wondering. I know I'm located in Bedlam as a guide but I was thinking that it might make more sense and be of more use if my guide 'role' was not in Bedlam but rather focused on dealing with magical and dimensional stuff since I spend way more time answering those sorts of questions for folks and working on guide book stuff that's aimed at that sort of thing. And frankly, I just like the supernatural stuff the best. Anyway! Started this to get some feed back and the goahead for such things?

[TheAbsurdist]

That makes sense, plus bedlam is a hothouse for low level divine/occult activity.

 

[KnightDisciple]

On Phantom as Master Mage: I think there's some solid reasoning there. I don't know that I'd feel comfortable speaking "definitively", but that's mostly because the most "magical" character I have is Cobalt Templar, and that's more incidental than central (his ring is Described as Magic, but it's basically a GL Ring). Eldritch stepping down from the role makes sense, even if he stays alive a few more years. Could always have him hang around and give tips for a year or two, then run off to go read books for a decade or something. Phantom, of our active magic-focused PCs, is probably one of, if not the, strongest candidates. I don't think there's harm in bouncing the idea specifically off of the other active mage-types, but still. 

 

On Guide Shuffling: It might be worth having some discussions about where the new Guides and Refs might land, duty-wise. This could free up existing guides to take on slightly different duties. Maybe being "the magic stuff Guide" (it's a terrible name but you get the idea) would end up meaning you're assigned to the Character Building team as well? I think it's worth discussing. 

[Raveled]

I have no problem with Phantom becoming Master Mage. She's one of the longest-running magic types around and IIRC her original concept was "under training to become Master Mage" anyway. It's time to close the loop on that story.

 

My only suggestion for future magic stories would be more stories about space magic. All of our space stuff sort of defaults of SF, perhaps reasonably, but I'd love to see more magical weirdness in deep space.

[EternalPhoenix]

I don't really have a dog in this fight. But I do like the idea of having an NPC Big Good waiting in the wings in case things go horribly wrong. Or if the PCs need to know something rare and vital. I understand replacing the Freedom League. Most of them aren't immune to aging and it's been years since we first saw them in Freedom City. The title can pass on, but...I don't know how to explain it. I...don't like PC supremacy in all things. Because life happens to people. There's only but so much time in a day. A NPC is always available for whatever you need them to do. A PC...isn't.

14 minutes ago, Raveled said:

I have no problem with Phantom becoming Master Mage. She's one of the longest-running magic types around and IIRC her original concept was "under training to become Master Mage" anyway. It's time to close the loop on that story.

Though I don't disagree with this.

[Raveled]

 

2 minutes ago, EternalPhoenix said:

I don't really have a dog in this fight. But I do like the idea of having an NPC Big Good waiting in the wings in case things go horribly wrong. Or if the PCs need to know something rare and vital. I understand replacing the Freedom League. Most of them aren't immune to aging and it's been years since we first saw them in Freedom City. The title can pass on, but...I don't know how to explain it. I...don't like PC supremacy in all things. Because life happens to people. There's only but so much time in a day. A NPC is always available for whatever you need them to do. A PC...isn't.

Though I don't disagree with this.

 

There's still NPC magic types around. The UK has a whole passel of them alone! There's still NPCs to turn to if you need them for a story and if you think they're getting too old, then introduce new/younger ones.

[EternalPhoenix]

34 minutes ago, Raveled said:

There's still NPC magic types around. The UK has a whole passel of them alone! There's still NPCs to turn to if you need them for a story and if you think they're getting too old, then introduce new/younger ones.

 

Perhaps using the Freedom League was a bad comparison, even if it's currently the only one available. The League, while important, isn't the Master Mage. The Master Mage is the heroic authority on magic, as I see it. I see trying to replace Eldrich in that role (magic authority) the same as trying to replace Daedalus in the tech realm. Or the Atoms in the science realm. Or Doc Tomorrow in the time travel realm. Yes, there's other NPCs that can fill the same role in stories, but they're not the authority.

[alderwitch]

I understand the concern but book PCs such as Eldrich and Daedalus require a Ref to come in and play them when they're needed for a thread which limits them to what the Refs are available and heavily restricts the development that can happen. You can't have one of them mentor another PC because of the time demands that would place on someone running the character. This is why I'm in favor of moving those sorts of roles to PC hands so that the demands are lifted from Refs and spread out, so a new PC could pitch the relationship they want with that character and allows for that character to be called in as needed and, if I vanished, the mantle can be moved on to another PC wishing to take it up.

[KnightDisciple]

Also, let's be honest...when was the last time Daedalus showed up in a thread? Wasn't it post-Communion? I've barely ever seen him used; PCs like Dok A and Miss Americana are referenced more readily. Or Dragonfly. 

 

In the cases of the Atoms and Daedalus, we're certainly not saying they can't show up, but having them be "the" authority seems a might restrictive, for exactly the reasons Alderwitch mentioned. 

[Brown Dynamite]

I'm not going to jump in on the whole "the authority" angle.  But, do want to correct one thing.  Anyone can use book NPCs.  All it takes is shooting all the refs a pm with the intention.  A denial is rare, it's just that people hadly ask to run book NPC's themselves.  If you needed a retired Eldritch to show up and do the big save in a thread you still could.  

[Avenger Assembled]

I'm pretty solidly on-board with having a PC in that role (as long as we have a way to bypass it if there's a disappearance, and there is!) - there are plenty of NPCs who can fill the role of "NPC magician" if needed.

 

(One reason why we haven't killed off as many NPCs as I personally would like to do is because of the sensible desire to to keep them around for stories.)

 

Of the high-PL PC mystics, Phantom is the one who most closely resembles the style of your comic book shouty mages (Nick is a specialist, Fast-Forward is a poser, etc) - and she's the one whose player has the actual interest in doing it. 

[alderwitch]

Thanks! So, moving forward, it sounds like we want to have Eldrich off to NPC retirement. My thought on the transition is to have a small story with the mantle passing with Taylor and her family then do a wider thread that starts with the shift in the metaphysical world (as I think the changing of the guard would be something many potent mystics would be able to tell in one way or another, with how much detail they know left to the player) and then use that as the basis for the social thread that I've been meaning to run for the magical community.