From the Back Cover
A Magical Medley Within This Tome...
Medicine man, astromancer, magician, monk, sorcerer, occultist: A Magical Medley has something for everyone! We've compiled a variety of magic systems and magic-related miscellany for use with FUDGE and other role-playing games. Here's what you'll find inside:
FUDGE Magics and Other RPGs Never heard of FUDGE? That's all right; we give you tips on how to use this book with other role-playing games. But just in case you're interested:
FUDGE is a customizable role-playing game - a game designer's construction kit. The magic systems in A Magical Medley show just how flexible the FUDGE game is. And if you'd like to explore FUDGE further, the complete FUDGE rules are free on the internet! (See page 128.)
Magical Design Have you ever wanted to design your own magic system, to get magic "just right" for your campaign? Here's how!
African Spirit Magic Meet the Mganga, Mchawi, and Walozi - the medicine men, sorcerers, and witches of Africa. Characters can use masks, amulets, and fetishes to commune with the spirits and perform magic.
Bioenergetics Bioenergetics presents a science fiction "magic" system with telepathy, telekinesis, and other mind powers. Bioenergetics skills can be used to heal, to protect, and to navigate between the stars. But not every Bioenergetic Scientist uses his powers for Good....
Celtic Magic Many fantasy worlds draw on Celtic myth for inspiration. Celtic Magic provides information on the Celts, plus a magic system for druids, bards, and other Celtic characters.
Chinese Magic Buddhist and Taoist Monks, Feng-shui Men, and Chinese Doctors and Alchemists all have different magical powers in this system, based on Chinese myths, legends, and philosophies.
The Gramarye The Gramarye is a powerful and versatile magic system for typical fantasy campaigns. A mage can do almost anything within the scope of the "Realms" and "Colleges" he knows, if he has enough mana to power the spell....
Occultism Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Occultism is a flexible magic system that does nasty things with a Sanity attribute. Perfect for 20th Century "occult" role-playing, Occultism works with historical and fantasy games as well.
Magical Items From the Amulet of Beneficial Quantum Manipulation to the multi-purpose Wizard's Cloak, A Magical Medley offers unique and interesting magical items.
Magical Adventures The Tomb of Shrak Ironfist is a complete adventure in the classical "dungeon crawl" style, rich in magical traps and treasure. Several adventure "seeds" will help you design your own adventures.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Magic and Society Beyond the physical workings of magic, there's another question GMs must address - the interactions between magic, mages, and societies in the campaign world. The more powerful magic is in the campaign, the more it should affect the civilizations in that world. It's impractical to try to determine all the ramifications magic may have on the culture, ecology, economy, history, and politics of the campaign setting, but the GM should explore the major possibilities when designing a magic system.
For example, if only a few people have the ability to cast magic, society may revere them as elite wise men - or revile them as evil-doers. If magic users are elite and powerful, they should rule the world (and perhaps do, either openly or secretly) unless there are checks and balances in place. Possible checks include persecution of magic users, binding oaths enforced by more powerful mages (this can lead to renegades who refuse to abide by the rules), or the mages' vulnerability to armies of sufficient size to overwhelm them before they can complete a spell. If mages are very rare, their effects on society should be less, although they may have cumulative effects over time.
The GM should decide what laws the various societies within the campaign world impose on mages and the use of magic. In some places, magic may be illegal, or taxed, or regulated. There may be magician Guilds who protect their members but punish non-members caught practicing magic. The possibilities are endless....
