[UA] The End of the World, and so on.

[John C]

> >(I figure that most of the old schools of magick would have died right 
>then
> >and there, in favor of more "scientific" schools.
>
>I imagine many of the older schools died out due to changes in society.  A 
>school in medieval times could have been focused on paradoxes of believing 
>what you're doing (trafficking with demons and the like) was evil, but 
>after the church lost control, this was no longer necessarily so.  
>(similarly I don't think modern schools like dipsomancy could have existed 
>before the modern conception of alcohol and alcoholism, although alcohol 
>itself is very old).

Actually, I've thought that Dipsomancy would be one of the oldest forms of 
magick.  Maybe not quite in the same form, but still: very old.  Some form 
of necromancy -- ghost magic -- would probably be the first type of magick, 
but magic and altered perceptions have a long history together.

>I'm uncertain how it fits, but I've been imagining (I'm afraid I forgot it 
>during the thread requesting archetypes) an archetype about hidden 
>potential.  Specifically, it comes from various stories (fictional, i know) 
>about kings dressing as commoners to go out into the land.  More modern 
>versions would be geniuses who don't publish their work or celebrities 
>hiding their identity from the media.  Historical avatars would be 
>difficult to name, because being recognized as such would be breaking 
>taboo.  The way it connects in is that the truth of the situation is hidden 
>from the observer.  Exact channels and the like are up to you to determine, 
>but would involve hiding things literally or figuratively (oo... how about 
>bonuses if you flip-flop your roll to be worse?)

The Man Who Is More Than He Seems?  He has to achieve success, but no one 
who knows him can be aware of that success.  Low level channels would let 
him obscure himself, make him more difficult to find.  The page with his 
name and yearbook picutre is missing when you go back to look for it, 
someone spilled spaghetti sauce on the page of the phonebook that has his 
number...stuff like that.  Higher levels...I dunno.  Maybe something about 
bringing out the hidden potentials in other people, or changing the nature 
(but not the appearance) of reality on a small scale.  Sounds like food for 
thought; thanks!

John Crimmins                     john1x at hotmail.com
     http://www.voicenet.com/~johncrim/index.html
   "Yes, I am acquainted with Mr. DePalma," Dr. Hsu said.  "He was
my pupil years ago.  A young man not without talent, but slapdash,
and huckle-muckle in his worksmanship."
   "What did you say?" the mayor asked.
   "He's a jerk," Dr. Hsu Ting Feng said.
           -- Daniel Pinkwater, _The Hoboken Chicken Emergency_

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