Re: Magical ecology?

>From: Boris Karpa <karpa@?????????.???.il>

>This time, Facility 6 is running an experiment with a magical energy
>generator (sorta like the water mill in Thieves' World). But this time,
>they
>hook up the general to something bigger (either a huge dam or a nuclear
>reactor, I haven't decided yet). However, they underestimated the amount of
>energy released and couldn't contain it. Now the reactor/dam is releasing
>pure magical energy in epic amounts, causing an ecological disaster of some
>description, and the PC's have to go in and shut it down.
>
>Question: What's is the ecological effect of a continious release of pure
>magical energy (not formed into spells) in really large amounts?
>Is it going to be felt in orbit?
>Will it affect spelljamming shipping? Will it affect tech ships (I have
>both
>IMC)?

I would imagine it would depend entirely on how you define what "magical
energy" is.  On Athas, for instance, magical energy is life energy.  If you
define it this way, it could do anything from make everything in the area of
effect healtheir to actually bringing everything in the area of effect to
life.  If, instead, it is Astral or Ethereal in nature, than it would have
no real effect on the Material but would act like a flash flood in the
appropriate plane.

No matter what, I would imagine that spellcasters in the area of effect
would find themselves vastly more potent, but would experience a significant
lack of control at the same time.  Some might simply die, the same way an
electrical device will short out if too much current is passed through it.
Magical items may experience the same problem - a sword +1 might suddenly
spike to a sword +10, and then begin to heat up and then melt.

Technological ships may or may not be affected, depending on how you define
"magical energy".  It may be that nothing will happen.  It may be that the
ship will suddenly become a vast, sentient golem.  It may be that "magical
energy" and "electromagnetic force" are the same thing, and all of the
circuits on every sophisticated electronic device on board will blow.

Really, it all depends on what "magical energy" is.

Richard Gant
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words;
on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them
unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
     -James Nicoll

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