Practical Magic Part 2

Ooof, this one was beautiful and difficult. Kudos to Joz for letting this get as emotional as it did, while still generally being lighthearted and fun. It's not an easy balance to hit, and in my opinion she walks that line perfectly.

I also love the way she did the magic system that feels faithful to the movie's, but grounds it in enough internal logic that it feels consistent, without losing the sense of mystery. The magic of this movie has an aspect of nature and earth that she definitely captured. It provided a stark counterpoint to me of how magic usually operates in an rpg. Well-constructed magic systems for roll-playing often lose the sense of wonder that all magic should have. There's a lot of ways of doing magic well, but an adherence to the principles of good game design will often make the magic become very mechanical. And it makes sense that players need to know the carefully calibrated formula of how many points of damage a spell will do. But being so precise with things always feels inherently unmagical.

The problem of course, is that the more you explain a magic system, the more it's internal logic shows through and the less it feels magical. The Harry Potter books do a good job of keeping a sense of unpredictability to the magic; of leaving a lot unexplained. But there's a lot more power in the magic of Lord of the Rings, where it's never really shown on the page. It's more of an overarching presence than a specific mechanic. Like anything, the less you show, the more imaginative power is left alive.

But in an rpg, the players need to have some understanding of the rules of their world, otherwise they can't play in it. Joz in this game showed us a cool approach to this, where the magic was powerful, but it's effects were nebulous and unpredictable. No spells with obvious effects, no magic missiles. All soft power.

This generally jives with a principal that I've found a powerful guiding force within the games I run. Always know the internal logic, but don't feel any need to tell the players. I think GM's are often in love with their own systems and want to let their players in and show off their work. But I think that knowing how the world works makes it mundane, like showing how a magic trick works. When they don't fully grasp how it works, it feels much more alive. But as the GM, I need to know exactly how the world works, because if it feels real and consistent to me, it will feel real to the players (and audience.) That balance of having unrevealed answers is where a lot of the power of the world-building and storytelling comes from. And it also means that when the players actually force you to give up your answers, the answers are actually meaningful and rewarding. Just always make sure you have more secrets than they can find.