Vault Dweller
Commissar, Red Star Studio
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 28,044
Tags: Teudogar and the Alliance with Rome; Wolf Mittag
<b>Wolf Mittag</b> of <a href=http://www.teudogar.com/home.htm>Teudogar and the Alliance with Rome</a> fame has taken a lot of time to <a href=http://www.rpgcodex.com/content.php?id=87>answer our questions</a> about his new game
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<blockquote><i>4. I played the demo which I recommend to all our readers, and I couldn't help but notice that there are magical weapons and wizardry skills. How does that fit into a historically authentic RPG?</i>
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I included wizardry into the game exactly in order to make it historically authentic: When you're playing "Teudogar", I want you to feel like a genuine Germanic barbarian - and that includes superstitiousness.
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People strongly believed in wizardry, and this belief probably made it actually effective. E.g., if you believed in blessings, knowing that you'd been blessed would free you from worrying about a possible defeat. This would enhance your concentration and courage, thereby actually improving your chances of winning a duel. That fact that you attributed your success to a supernatural cause doesn't bother me as long as there is reason to believe such a "spell" genuinely worked.
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This is the kind of "magic" included in "Teudogar". It's not about gaining instant victory by pulverizing your enemies, but rather about tilting the odds in your favor by giving you confidence, or by demoralizing your enemies. Today we'd consider it plain autosuggestion, psychology, placebo effects, or manipulation; yet it was equally effective when it was called "magic" and its effects were attributed to higher powers' interference.</blockquote>
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That's actually a great way to handle "Magic" in a realistic game world. As George Constanza once said "It's not a lie if you believe it"
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<b>Wolf Mittag</b> of <a href=http://www.teudogar.com/home.htm>Teudogar and the Alliance with Rome</a> fame has taken a lot of time to <a href=http://www.rpgcodex.com/content.php?id=87>answer our questions</a> about his new game
<br>
<br>
<blockquote><i>4. I played the demo which I recommend to all our readers, and I couldn't help but notice that there are magical weapons and wizardry skills. How does that fit into a historically authentic RPG?</i>
<br>
<br>
I included wizardry into the game exactly in order to make it historically authentic: When you're playing "Teudogar", I want you to feel like a genuine Germanic barbarian - and that includes superstitiousness.
<br>
<br>
People strongly believed in wizardry, and this belief probably made it actually effective. E.g., if you believed in blessings, knowing that you'd been blessed would free you from worrying about a possible defeat. This would enhance your concentration and courage, thereby actually improving your chances of winning a duel. That fact that you attributed your success to a supernatural cause doesn't bother me as long as there is reason to believe such a "spell" genuinely worked.
<br>
<br>
This is the kind of "magic" included in "Teudogar". It's not about gaining instant victory by pulverizing your enemies, but rather about tilting the odds in your favor by giving you confidence, or by demoralizing your enemies. Today we'd consider it plain autosuggestion, psychology, placebo effects, or manipulation; yet it was equally effective when it was called "magic" and its effects were attributed to higher powers' interference.</blockquote>
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That's actually a great way to handle "Magic" in a realistic game world. As George Constanza once said "It's not a lie if you believe it"
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But the books were interesting as a window into shamanic cultures
