A think I have wondered about is how magic works in The Elder Scrolls Universe... Or how it SHOULD work atleast and here is your chance to say exactly how you think it is or how it should be (or both)! For the more extreme ones you can even say this: magic is an abomination and it should be eliminated from the lands of Nirn by the end of a sword! Long live the magic free empire under Titus Mede!
Examples of questions:

Is there some magic move with the fingers you have to do? Perhaps the whole body needs to move in some weird way?

Do you have to say some magic words? Which language? Remember, lore-wise daedric is not a language. Just a different kind of letters. (atleast according to http://www.imperial-library.info/daedric/, trust them if you want)

Is concentration and thinking a part of it or can you just walk in a room and light people to flames without really thinking very much?

Do some spells require rituals to be made (like the gate to Camorans paradise which Martin is conjuring up) or do ALL spells need rituals? Or is rituals some time-consuming nonsense?

What about scrolls? How do they work? Should you just speak the words while holding the paper and then the spell should come to you? Or is it more of a helping hand? How has the spell "got in" to the scroll?

Think a little (or not) about this and decide what you think is plausible/realistic/funny!
You do not need to answer all of these questions, just see them as help to get your mind going in the right way.

I'm so confused.

Well, um, I think it's like to force from star wars.

Well since there is a 'silence' spell which prevents soundcasting when it is cast on someone, I'm guessing some sort of vocals are used while performing magic.

As for the language, I don't know. Morrowind's magic scrolls were written in daedric though.


A wizard did it.

All spells have words said, and hand gestures made, and require concentration. It's just game limits, and would really be too much to bother with (No one has even attempted a mod, to my understanding)

I'd like it if armour stopped me using magic more. At level 1 in Oblivion, I was still at >90% spell efficiency with full heavy armour. :rolleyes:

I came to the same question when I was writing the fanfiction. How exactly would let's say, an enchanted telepathic ring work, as played out in a story. After several thoughts and even asking the author herself, I kind of thought (for myself) that the way it is done in the game, with the removing and reseating for some, or just placing on for others, was decent enough. But for rings such as those that are not removed, like a telepathic companion or wedding ring, I drafted in the story that it was activated by merely force-twisting it to the left to instigate the telepathic magic, then when the conversation was done, it was then force-twisted to the right.

We had even entertained the thought that perhaps a kiss to such rings was also part of the magic, and may employ it in future stories.

For scrolls, I came to the thinking that perhaps they were read, as any vocal spell was, but with the scroll in hand it would somehow cause interaction, such as personal affect or teleportation. It is a fantasy afterall, and the world is your oyster when trying to work out the "hows" and "whys". The differences in enchantments, for example. Some, triggered by arcane words and vocal spells, and others, well, just have to be secured nicely or you poke yourself with a envenomed arrow to become poisoned.

I remember reading the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, where white gold was foreign to the fantasy land he was transported to. The magic of it, came from within himself, amplified through the ring. Emotion and direction set it off. I'd entertain the thought it would be the same pretty much in a Morrowind style setting.

As for enchanted things (rings, scrolls, clothing) it is more of an act of will. It is instant. As Eirik said it probably largely has to do with a physical connection. But kissing the ring might be a bit much for me. I'd probably end up blowing off my head with a fireball ring. But I digress. With enchanting, the effect is all ready and contained by a soul. The incantation is finished, probably by the enchanter in some way (speaking, inscribing).
Speaking is also required for regular spells, and I'd think the hand motions direct your spell. So...different hand animations for different effects: self, touch, target

That it for the current selection, rituals sound fun though.

Yeah..same here..
I think they uh, say an incantation, else how would "silence" work if it's not audibly spoken.

When I was 14 I realized why silence spells stop me from performing magic in RPG's.

I felt kinda lame.

Animations should be varied. As I pointed out in a different thread, a spell that raises your strength and a spell that raises your Charisma should not look the same

A really good (no reason others couldn't, after all, spells begin as thoughts) wizard can conjur the spell with just thoughts and hand motions, but most need to incant the spell. Thoughts and jestures just havn't been added to the game.

The world of Nirn was created THROUGH Magic. Therefore Magic is simply a part of it. No point in asking the whys or hows. It just is.

And why is that?

I view "Magic" in the ES universe as kind of the power that holds everything togethor. Mages simply harness that power with strong willpower and a free mind. If you start seeing nothing as solid/fixed/physical fact, then you can manipulate things everywhere. Basically the same deal as the Matrix. I don't think any incantations or gestures would be needed unless one is summoning power from the "gods".

Pretty much like MW's system of spells, without having to switch between smash and magic.

And return poison as a destruction spell. Maybe add disease too!

Actually, there is quite a bit of information in the games regarding how magic actually works. More so in books for Daggerfall and Morrowind, but there are some playable aspects in Oblivion regarding some "methods". There are several schools of magic after all and they seem to all work a little differently. Enchantment certainly has ritualistic elements, and if you have ever created a Black Soul Gem in Oblivion at a specific time on a specific alter, or used candles at an enchantment alter you can attest to that. Restoration is at least tied to prayer in many instances throughout the different games, temples being the best place to purchase those spells or be trained; which consequently leads to the nine and thusly a "tapped" sort of magic. Certain beasts in the games have been able to cast spells, which would lead me to conclude that a particular spoken language is less necessary than the ability draw and focus magic. This does not preclude the idea of Silence in anyway should the quiet of the mind be considered a block or wall to that ability. Destruction seems elemental in it's nature, though there are several spells under this school which are not, it still lends me to believe that these spells may tap into the natural essence of Nirn as opposed to the Nine or soul-trapping rituals. Alchemy is a form of "magic" and I would boil it down to chemistry but there are just too many crazy potions (some affecting luck) to discount it as science, but perhaps it is in the same vein that Destruction taps the natural magic of Nirn that Alchemy also gains its spark. Illusion draws on perception and warps it, thus relative to those that can perceive and are thusly alive. I would venture to say that this is in essence similar to Enchantment where the very soul of some thing is required for magic to work; yet wielding that power along the way of the living thus not being bound to an object.

I think magic should be drawn from the world, and the person is more like a conduit than a reservoir. Your magic rating should be how much energy you can pull through yourself before you get too tired to keep working magic. I also think certain areas should have more magic around making it easier to cast spells. Other areas should have lower magic that you can draw from and it makes magic harder to do. Maybe even different types of magic. Areas where there was a lot of death would make casting black magic easier. Areas with lots of fire and heat would make fire spells easier and frost spells harder (and vise-versa for iced regions).

I'm no lore scholar or anything (though I intend to delve into it at some point), but if I understand correctly, the world was created by the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Gods_by_Pantheon (or more specifically, the Aedra), who left parts of themselves behind (and in some cases, entirely) to form the physical manifestation we know as Nirn. What I've extrapolated from this is that everything that exists on Nirn contains remenants of the et'Ada's essence (hence the reason the substances of certain fauna and flora contain magical properties). Magicka is ever present on Nirn largely due to the passage of Magnus from Mundus to Aetherius (the hole that was rent in the 'sky' by http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Mundus is what all inhabitants of Nirn view as the 'sun', which is what is mostly responsible for the presence of magicka), but one must learn how to channel and direct that magicka for it to be of any use.

My interpretation: :grad:

Scrolls = Parchments that have been enchanted through an encantation ritual with a bound soul, and must be read to release the bound soul into whatever energies that were defined by the encantation.

Enchantments = Much like scrolls, except that they do not have to be read. However, an encantation must still be used to draw the energy out of the enchanted object, and movements must be performed to direct the energy.

Spells = Channels the magical energies that are ever-present on Nirn. Again, encantations are needed to draw the energy, and movements needed to direct the energy.

Alchemy = Draws magical properties from the 'essence' of the et' Ada found within the flora and fauna of Nirn. Can be refined into an elixir for consumption.

Personally, I think the way Morrowind handled the magicka system was okay. My only complaints are that your magicka reseviors should grow in much the same manner as your health or fatigue, and as spells become more powerful, they should take longer to cast. In addition, I think that the better you get at a school of magicka, the less magicka it should cost to cast a spell. I have a character that has a pretty high destruction skill, but if I create my own spell with the exact same effects as one that I purchased, it costs me just as much, and sometimes more magicka than the one I purchased when I was a much, much lower level.

Scrolls:

Since scrolls even work if they're used by people who aren't magicians, I'd imagine that they work like this - the enchanter (somehow) forces a spell into the scroll, and then seals it with a "magic password". The spell desparately wants to escape the scroll, but it can't unless it's held in hand and the word, or sentence, or poem that is written on it is spoken out loud. When that happens, the force with which it escapes the scroll destroys the parchment and turns it into ashes (or something like that). I would imagine that it then leaves in the direction where you're holding your free hand, unless it's a "on self" enchantment of course.

This theory is partly influenced by the fact that most scrolls in Morrowind simply say "Wrath upon you", while a small number of them has a poem or a longer sentence on them. If you theorize that scrolls were most likely invented as a military equipment for common soldiers, then it makes sense that the first scrolls were Destruction scrolls - hence the kind of aggressive "Wrath upon you" password (if you think about it, it's VERY intimidating to hear your enemy shout something like that and suddenly see a huge fireball shooting at you). However, since it doesn't make a lot of sense to use different "magic passwords" (it would just be a burden to memorize all of them, or to take the time and read what's written on the scroll when you're in combat), the enchanters simply stuck to the most commonly used one, and since then it is the main password for scrolls, simply because it's easy to remember.
Some enchanters were vain enough to swim against the current, however, and sealed their scrolls with poems. In other cases, scrolls of Restoration would be used by priests to issue the blessing in churches or temples during a ceremony, so the words commonly written on such scrolls would be prayers. (It makes sense for priests to use scrolls, since it allows them to combine a magic effect with a certain part of their prayer. If they used spells, they'd need to pause and speak the spell, which would be lame.)

Personally I'm just tired of magic being an "instant bazooka".

Select spell, cast spell. That's all there is to it. (I don't really feel like a magic user)

It would be nice if some spells would just last for as long as you hold down the cast button (Force Lightning anyone?), or some you have to charge up and release (fireball of doom). Perhaps some more powerful ones where you have to successfully complete 2-3 stages before the spell can be cast (meteor shower, yarr!).

This

Just so you all know, magic comes from the holes in Oblivion (Sun and stars) which leads to the aerithrus. In there, are beings who ABSOLUTELY DO NOT want to interact with the beings outside of it. Look to Meridia to those who disobey, for she once resided there till her daddy (Magnus) tossed her out for "consorting with illicit spectra"

I want to see a really dynamic spellcasting system that allows the player to charge up and release the spell. It might be a bit complicated on a controller, but easier with a keyboard.

As a player's spellcasting skills grow, so does his ability to charge his Magicka into the spell more quickly. It would also give him more variations of spell types; cone, line, burst, target, touched, self, area, etc.
Other, more difficult types of spells would require rituals to charge enough Magicka. Perhaps one's companions would be able to join in and assist with it.
Those rituals would be things like resurrection, Oblivion gates, curses, powerful siege magic, and such.

I would also like to see Necromancy as an actual practice one can go into.

I think that was more of a side-effect, because the book says that magic is controlled by thoughts, not words. This coincides with http://www.elderscrolls.com/codex/fiction_breathing.htm



Scrolls are simply enchanted parchment. Their enchanting power is to weak to last for more than one use with any spell of any strength whatsoever.

Enchantments are debated still. It is assumed that either the soul is a being is trapped inside into the enchanted object and told to use it's power to do a certain task, or the magika is removed from the soul and that is put into the object. I personally believe the second theory because it explains Morrowind's auto-recharging over time; the re-incarnated soul would suffer from worse magika and a portion would be sent to the object.

Souls are made of magick. This is the basis of Necromancy. You can control parts of your soul, and the more intelligence you have, the more of your soul you can excess. Your willpower helps you take magick falling from Aetherius and replenish your soul.

Alchemy is just Chemistry in my opinion.

I agree here. I also don't care for the fact of those of low willpower or intelligence having access to magicka (my Orc barbarian shouldn't be able to cast a devastating spell because he chugged some fortify magicka, intelligence, willpower potions). This should be something that needs to be developed by a character dedicated to the art.

The closest I've come to actually enjoying a "mage" type, is with the game, Arx Fatalis. Here you not only needed to properly develop your character (stats, collecting ruin stones), but learn to cast the spells with gestures. Not perfect, but it came close.

Here is a short demo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LueGiUasvFk&feature=related

Spell casting defiantly needs improvement