Fantasy Classes are Real

[Ifreann]

Obviously correct answer. Let everyone else try and act out their favourite anime or sword and spell story, I'll just join some research group and cheat the laws of reality and produce infinite free electricity and save the world.

---

Which is why mages are the best. Magic powers can be turned to more useful things than combat. But a few dozen people who can use swords really well or become temporarily invulnerable or stab people in the back good? Largely inconsequential.

---

If you can create fire you can boil water, if you can boil water you can spin a turbine with the steam, if you can spin a turbine you can create electricity. While you're going around LITERALLY MURDERING PEOPLE, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, I can be sat comfortably, watching TV, chugging mana potions, generating more power than a nuclear power plant at a tiny fraction of the cost.

Are mages "the best" though?

Why is the ability create fireballs, launch blizzards, create magical defences, and turn people into sheep more valuable than the ability to divinely heal all wounds (Priest), powers over nature or the power to summon demons and dark forces (warlock)

Why prioritise the mage then? Other classes have magic too.

Mages get their power through study and research. I can go to the EU and they'll set up and fund a research group to help me master my powers. I can have a team of very intelligent people figuring out how my power works and clever new ways to apply it. Priests or warlocks count on third parties for their power. They'll never be able to do more than what the gods allow them or what they can barter with demons for.

In fact, the description for Mages sound like their magic has less non-combat application than some of the others.

Because your thinking is limited. You do not seem to be able to conceive of using "combat" powers for anything but murdering innocent people that you have designated as enemies, and I cannot get over how disturbing it is that you seem to sincerely want to be able to murder people even if you would ultimately die yourself, but as I've already explained, fireballs can generate electricity, if I can turn people into sheep then I can learn to turn anything into anything else, and then I can just do things like turn my own stomach acid into a mana potion for infinite mana without having to wait for it to recover on its own. Eventually I'd be able to do literally anything.

---

Do you realize how modern electrical generation works? A sufficiently powerful Mage could potentially generate enough electricity to power, I dunno, the Eastern Seaboard is a reasonable place to start. Not to mention that we can figure out the actual underlying principles behind Magic and start producing magitech to improve quality of life across the world.

Again. Perhaps.

But that requires a number of things.

1. You would have to reveal your nature to the public and government, trust the government, turn yourself in to them/work with them... I'm not sure you want to do that. Depends on your view of humanity and government really; I for one, would expect them to try and exploit/enslave you (and kill you if they can't). I mean, this could easily end in your death, incarceration, or permanent experimentation on you (again, depends on what you calculate the government response to all of this will be). I for one, would be in no hurry to work with our overlords. They fucked up this world, you can bet they will fuck up one with magic too.

Yeah, no, you are completely wrong. Exceptional people already exist in the real world, and they don't get enslaved by the government or forced into experiments or killed to keep them from helping other governments. Real governments don't behave like cartoon villains. Usually.

2. As I said in the OP, your magic is not infinite. If you want to act as a permanent power generator for society, tied to some machine all day taking breaks here and there and generating power for the people... go ahead I guess? It just doesn't sound like its something I would want to do.

Have you not played Warcraft? Magic is infinite. It regenerates.

...

Again, I would focus on securing power and getting rid of my enemies first. If life has taught me anything, its that you can't trust democratic government and their administrators.

The first thing to do is make sure you are safe and protected and that your enemies are all dead.

You don't have enemies, why the fuck do you want to kill people so badly?

---

Transforming a human being into a sheep and transforming an arbitrary volume of air into a nuclear bomb is fundamentally the same thing. But if I could do something about that, why would I need a nuclear bomb? I could transform something into anti-matter if I wanted to make a huge explosion.


Why would I want to kill the US Army? Why would I fight anyone?


I don't think you understand what "thousands of miles" means.

In terms of magic, turning someone into a sheep and turning someone into a highly advanced modern machine are too very different things.

Again, the technique of turning people into sheeps (which requires considerable energy to do) from a set range is something that mages have practiced and perfected. Conjuring a modern machinery is not. Maybe in 1,000 years or so you could come up with a way to do that. But right now, "its not on the menu."

It's the exact same thing. Rearranging atoms into another configuration. All I'd need to do is learn how, and researchers will be falling over themselves to help me learn.

I think we can all agree that it wouldn't "be in the spirit of the OP" because it would clearly unbalance things. This is not really about who can destroy the most people from really far away. There have to be restrictions on power.

Magic is to be read restrictively (while combat/physical powers less so) for reasons of balance.

Something you may not have noticed about the real world is that it isn't a video game. There is no "game balance" to reality.

[Alvecia]

Obviously you're falling into the same trap that magic user in fantasy worlds do. You're complacent about the powers you've been given.

The first thing I'm gonna do when I get magic is figure out how that shit works, and apply it to everything.
In fact, I probably wouldn't use any of it until I knew how it worked. What if every time I used a spell, I cut off a month of my life.

I have the powers that transgress the laws of the universe as we understand them, the possibilities are endless, this needs to be studied at once and with haste.

I know you play LoL. Think Hextech, but on a global scale. Can you imagine how advanced our society could become.

Post-scarcity, perhaps?

If we can figure out the method behind the sheep transformation, absolutely. We could literally build Star Trek replicators.
And we would have unlimited resources as well. If we have some mages dedicated to creating balls of ice all day, we could the tranform the ice balls into anything we want. Food, metals, you name it.
Also likely infinite energy, as Ifreann pointed out

Edit: Also distribution of materials, which is often more of a problem than production when it comes to resource scarcity, would be childs play, with the ability to create portals.

[The Supreme Magnificent High Swaglord]

Post-scarcity, perhaps?

If we can figure out the method behind the sheep transformation, absolutely. We could literally build Star Trek replicators.
And we would have unlimited resources as well. If we have some mages dedicated to creating balls of ice all day, we could the tranform the ice balls into anything we want. Food, metals, you name it.
Also likely infinite energy, as Ifreann pointed out

This is why the Medieval Stasis trope is often quite stupid from a worldbuilding perspective.

EDIT: The comic's source is from https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=2305

[Firaxin]

1. The government is going to attempt to detain the people they find out are magical, and if they succeed, study them like the nazis studied the captured jews. Oh and the public will fear them until they prove their virtue, and afterwards they'll still distrust them. Basically the X-Men but grittier.

2. I'd likely be a Priest, because literally everything I do is for Jesus, though I'd rather not be any at class at all. Classes suck, just let me pick my powers damnit.

3. I'd likely go around traveling to heal people in honor of Jesus, but only after I've secured a reliable way to travel. I have no idea what the Church will think of me, but I'll attempt to keep a good opinion with them. I'd also use the newfound political influence to push Ethical Socialism.

[The New California Republic]

1. The government is going to attempt to detain the people they find out are magical, and if they succeed, study them like the nazis studied the captured jews. Oh and the public will fear them until they prove their virtue, and afterwards they'll still distrust them. Basically the X-Men but grittier.

2. I'd likely be a Priest, because literally everything I do is for Jesus, though I'd rather not be any at class at all. Classes suck, just let me pick my powers damnit.

3. I'd likely go around traveling to heal people in honor of Jesus, but only after I've secured a reliable way to travel. I have no idea what the Church will think of me, but I'll attempt to keep a good opinion with them. I'd also use the newfound political influence to push Ethical Socialism.

You wouldn't like me, then, based on my answer.

[Infected Mushroom]

Are mages "the best" though?

Why is the ability create fireballs, launch blizzards, create magical defences, and turn people into sheep more valuable than the ability to divinely heal all wounds (Priest), powers over nature or the power to summon demons and dark forces (warlock)

Why prioritise the mage then? Other classes have magic too.

Mages get their power through study and research. I can go to the EU and they'll set up and fund a research group to help me master my powers. I can have a team of very intelligent people figuring out how my power works and clever new ways to apply it. Priests or warlocks count on third parties for their power. They'll never be able to do more than what the gods allow them or what they can barter with demons for.

In fact, the description for Mages sound like their magic has less non-combat application than some of the others.

Because your thinking is limited. You do not seem to be able to conceive of using "combat" powers for anything but murdering innocent people that you have designated as enemies, and I cannot get over how disturbing it is that you seem to sincerely want to be able to murder people even if you would ultimately die yourself, but as I've already explained, fireballs can generate electricity, if I can turn people into sheep then I can learn to turn anything into anything else, and then I can just do things like turn my own stomach acid into a mana potion for infinite mana without having to wait for it to recover on its own. Eventually I'd be able to do literally anything.

---

Again. Perhaps.

But that requires a number of things.

1. You would have to reveal your nature to the public and government, trust the government, turn yourself in to them/work with them... I'm not sure you want to do that. Depends on your view of humanity and government really; I for one, would expect them to try and exploit/enslave you (and kill you if they can't). I mean, this could easily end in your death, incarceration, or permanent experimentation on you (again, depends on what you calculate the government response to all of this will be). I for one, would be in no hurry to work with our overlords. They fucked up this world, you can bet they will fuck up one with magic too.

Yeah, no, you are completely wrong. Exceptional people already exist in the real world, and they don't get enslaved by the government or forced into experiments or killed to keep them from helping other governments. Real governments don't behave like cartoon villains. Usually.

2. As I said in the OP, your magic is not infinite. If you want to act as a permanent power generator for society, tied to some machine all day taking breaks here and there and generating power for the people... go ahead I guess? It just doesn't sound like its something I would want to do.

Have you not played Warcraft? Magic is infinite. It regenerates.

...

Again, I would focus on securing power and getting rid of my enemies first. If life has taught me anything, its that you can't trust democratic government and their administrators.

The first thing to do is make sure you are safe and protected and that your enemies are all dead.

You don't have enemies, why the fuck do you want to kill people so badly?

---

In terms of magic, turning someone into a sheep and turning someone into a highly advanced modern machine are too very different things.

Again, the technique of turning people into sheeps (which requires considerable energy to do) from a set range is something that mages have practiced and perfected. Conjuring a modern machinery is not. Maybe in 1,000 years or so you could come up with a way to do that. But right now, "its not on the menu."

It's the exact same thing. Rearranging atoms into another configuration. All I'd need to do is learn how, and researchers will be falling over themselves to help me learn.

I think we can all agree that it wouldn't "be in the spirit of the OP" because it would clearly unbalance things. This is not really about who can destroy the most people from really far away. There have to be restrictions on power.

Magic is to be read restrictively (while combat/physical powers less so) for reasons of balance.

Something you may not have noticed about the real world is that it isn't a video game. There is no "game balance" to reality.

What your describing would take many many lifetimes perhaps hundreds of years to even consider achieving a fraction of.

Remember, there is no academy with thousands of years of magical knowledge in this op. You, an inexperienced magic user has to figure it all out. It would likely take most of your life to even be able to figure out the high end feats of ancient mages (real masters). What your suggesting (ex infinite mana regeneration, generating nukes from scratch) would take many many generations of high end mages (people who literally do nothing but study/work magic and benefit from the recorded works of generations of masters before). Without that in place, what your suggesting is like having a complete amateur go from simple algebra to super high end calculus in one lifetime with no works to draw from and no hints.

[Infected Mushroom]

Post-scarcity, perhaps?

If we can figure out the method behind the sheep transformation, absolutely. We could literally build Star Trek replicators.
And we would have unlimited resources as well. If we have some mages dedicated to creating balls of ice all day, we could the tranform the ice balls into anything we want. Food, metals, you name it.
Also likely infinite energy, as Ifreann pointed out

Edit: Also distribution of materials, which is often more of a problem than production when it comes to resource scarcity, would be childs play, with the ability to create portals.

There is a method. But it can only do that (turn brings into sheep at a very high energy cost).

Remember, this is magic not science. And to some extent it is lifted from an rpg setting so it’s always going to be read restrictively (so the classes are more balanced)

[Infected Mushroom]

1. The government is going to attempt to detain the people they find out are magical, and if they succeed, study them like the nazis studied the captured jews. Oh and the public will fear them until they prove their virtue, and afterwards they'll still distrust them. Basically the X-Men but grittier.

2. I'd likely be a Priest, because literally everything I do is for Jesus, though I'd rather not be any at class at all. Classes suck, just let me pick my powers damnit.

3. I'd likely go around traveling to heal people in honor of Jesus, but only after I've secured a reliable way to travel. I have no idea what the Church will think of me, but I'll attempt to keep a good opinion with them. I'd also use the newfound political influence to push Ethical Socialism.

This sounds like a realistic and wise use of the Priests powers.

Also, I agree with your predictions about the government.

[The Supreme Magnificent High Swaglord]

If we can figure out the method behind the sheep transformation, absolutely. We could literally build Star Trek replicators.
And we would have unlimited resources as well. If we have some mages dedicated to creating balls of ice all day, we could the tranform the ice balls into anything we want. Food, metals, you name it.
Also likely infinite energy, as Ifreann pointed out

Edit: Also distribution of materials, which is often more of a problem than production when it comes to resource scarcity, would be childs play, with the ability to create portals.

There is a method. But it can only do that (turn brings into sheep at a very high energy cost).

Remember, this is magic not science. And to some extent it is lifted from an rpg setting so it’s always going to be read restrictively (so the classes are more balanced)

And controllable, repeatable, and understandable "magic" is functionally indistinguishable from science and technology; not to mention that limiting yourself to Warcraft lore is silly, because Warcraft lore is frequently contradictory and unclear due to countless retconning.

[Infected Mushroom]

There is a method. But it can only do that (turn brings into sheep at a very high energy cost).

Remember, this is magic not science. And to some extent it is lifted from an rpg setting so it’s always going to be read restrictively (so the classes are more balanced)

And controllable, repeatable, and understandable "magic" is functionally indistinguishable from science and technology; not to mention that limiting yourself to Warcraft lore is silly, because Warcraft lore is frequently contradictory and unclear due to countless retconning.

My only interest is in keeping the classes combat-balanced

[Alvecia]

If we can figure out the method behind the sheep transformation, absolutely. We could literally build Star Trek replicators.
And we would have unlimited resources as well. If we have some mages dedicated to creating balls of ice all day, we could the tranform the ice balls into anything we want. Food, metals, you name it.
Also likely infinite energy, as Ifreann pointed out

Edit: Also distribution of materials, which is often more of a problem than production when it comes to resource scarcity, would be childs play, with the ability to create portals.

There is a method. But it can only do that (turn brings into sheep at a very high energy cost).

Remember, this is magic not science. And to some extent it is lifted from an rpg setting so it’s always going to be read restrictively (so the classes are more balanced)

Just because it's magic doens't mean it's completely devoid of logic. If we can study why and how this method does what it does, what we can do with it can be expanded beyond mere sheep transformations.
The fac tof the matter is that this spell is fundamentally tranforming an object on the atomic level, by necessity. If we can learn the hows and whys, we will no longer be as restricted.

That's the problem with magical RPG settings, they have to remain stagnant to keep a consistent universe for the plot to take place in. But we aren't in an RPG. As per the OP, we're IRL.
We don't have a plot to follow, so why stagnate?

[Ifreann]

Post-scarcity, perhaps?

If we can figure out the method behind the sheep transformation, absolutely. We could literally build Star Trek replicators.
And we would have unlimited resources as well. If we have some mages dedicated to creating balls of ice all day, we could the tranform the ice balls into anything we want. Food, metals, you name it.
Also likely infinite energy, as Ifreann pointed out

Edit: Also distribution of materials, which is often more of a problem than production when it comes to resource scarcity, would be childs play, with the ability to create portals.

At a certain point we wouldn't even need to generate electricity. Transform chunks of ice into charged batteries and teleport them all over the world.

---

1. The government is going to attempt to detain the people they find out are magical, and if they succeed, study them like the nazis studied the captured jews. Oh and the public will fear them until they prove their virtue, and afterwards they'll still distrust them. Basically the X-Men but grittier.

And we know that governments today would do that, because they kidnapped Stephen Hawking and experimented on him and forced him to work for them.



Oh, wait, no, that didn't happen. Hmmm.

[The Supreme Magnificent High Swaglord]

And controllable, repeatable, and understandable "magic" is functionally indistinguishable from science and technology; not to mention that limiting yourself to Warcraft lore is silly, because Warcraft lore is frequently contradictory and unclear due to countless retconning.

My only interest is in keeping the classes combat-balanced

Blizzard Entertainment can't even keep the classes combat-balanced.

[The New California Republic]

IM, I need a bit of clarification of the stuff I have underlined here:

Now for the purposes of the thread ... the world is also suddenly populated by demons ... referenced in the above descriptions. For balance purposes, assume that non-magical Class people have superhuman physiques.

Do demons count as non-magical? If they are, that means there are some buff demons wandering around unchaperoned? Or are demons not classed as people?

2. Based on your own personality, interests, and social circumstances... what Class would you be? Feel free to discuss why other Classes don't fit or are close.

Seducer of buff demons. Closest thing to that would be...Warlock...probably...?

3. Having chosen your Class, what do you imagine you would end up doing (if anything) with the powers in a real life 21st century setting?

What does a seducer of demons do when there are demons wandering the Earth?

[Alvecia]

If we can figure out the method behind the sheep transformation, absolutely. We could literally build Star Trek replicators.
And we would have unlimited resources as well. If we have some mages dedicated to creating balls of ice all day, we could the tranform the ice balls into anything we want. Food, metals, you name it.
Also likely infinite energy, as Ifreann pointed out

Edit: Also distribution of materials, which is often more of a problem than production when it comes to resource scarcity, would be childs play, with the ability to create portals.

At a certain point we wouldn't even need to generate electricity. Transform chunks of ice into charged batteries and teleport them all over the world.

This is why you would be the Senior Magical Researcher, and I the Apprentice

[Alvecia]

My only interest is in keeping the classes combat-balanced

Blizzard Entertainment can't even keep the classes combat-balanced.

Good job they're named after an ice storm, cause they're gonna need it for that burn.

[Infected Mushroom]

There is a method. But it can only do that (turn brings into sheep at a very high energy cost).

Remember, this is magic not science. And to some extent it is lifted from an rpg setting so it’s always going to be read restrictively (so the classes are more balanced)

Just because it's magic doens't mean it's completely devoid of logic. If we can study why and how this method does what it does, what we can do with it can be expanded beyond mere sheep transformations.
The fac tof the matter is that this spell is fundamentally tranforming an object on the atomic level, by necessity. If we can learn the hows and whys, we will no longer be as restricted.

That's the problem with magical RPG settings, they have to remain stagnant to keep a consistent universe for the plot to take place in. But we aren't in an RPG. As per the OP, we're IRL.
We don't have a plot to follow, so why stagnate?

A number of reasons

1. Realistically, since you don’t have the existing guidance/recorded works of previous masters it would likely take you a good chunk of your life to even have the chance of replicating the high end feats of ancient masters ... any thought of moving beyond that requires more time then you have (likely generations)... hence talk of conjuring fighter jets from thin air or blocking emails with your mind is simply not in the reach (and just as mages would fave these issues... so would warlocks, druids, shamans etc)

2. The concern of combat and appeal balance between classes. Magic has to be read narrowly and restricvely to give the classes a bone.

[The Supreme Magnificent High Swaglord]

At a certain point we wouldn't even need to generate electricity. Transform chunks of ice into charged batteries and teleport them all over the world.

This is why you would be the Senior Magical Researcher, and I the Apprentice

Actually, it'd likely be useful to have multiple apprentices; many hands make light work, after all. Not too many, of course, for after all too many cooks spoil the broth.

[Alvecia]

Just because it's magic doens't mean it's completely devoid of logic. If we can study why and how this method does what it does, what we can do with it can be expanded beyond mere sheep transformations.
The fac tof the matter is that this spell is fundamentally tranforming an object on the atomic level, by necessity. If we can learn the hows and whys, we will no longer be as restricted.

That's the problem with magical RPG settings, they have to remain stagnant to keep a consistent universe for the plot to take place in. But we aren't in an RPG. As per the OP, we're IRL.
We don't have a plot to follow, so why stagnate?

A number of reasons

1. Realistically, since you don’t have the existing guidance/recorded works of previous masters it would likely take you a good chunk of your life to even have the chance of replicating the high end feats of ancient masters ... any thought of moving beyond that requires more time then you have (likely generations)... hence talk of conjuring fighter jets from thin air or blocking emails with your mind is simply not in the reach (and just as mages would fave these issues... so would warlocks, druids, shamans etc)

2. The concern of combat and appeal balance between classes. Magic has to be read narrowly and restricvely to give the classes a bone.

1. I would do it even if it took my entire lifetime to get even the smallest step closer to unlocking magic's secrets. Being a pioneer of humanity's Golden Age is a life well worth living.

2. Who give a fuck about combat. This is the real world, I'm not getting XP for racking up kills. I'm going to dedicate my life and powers to the betterment of mankind, thank you very much.

[Internationalist Bastard]

Ew Hearthstone? Couldn’t even do world of Warcraft? Sigh
Pick Paladin it allows a high degree of versatility making you better at solo play while allowing you to fill a variety of roles in a group

[Infected Mushroom]

IM, I need a bit of clarification of the stuff I have underlined here:

Do demons count as non-magical? If they are, that means there are some buff demons wandering around unchaperoned? Or are demons not classed as people?


Seducer of buff demons. Closest thing to that would be...Warlock...probably...?


What does a seducer of demons do when there are demons wandering the Earth?

Demons are magical. However, there are demons that can take forms that are very appealing to the human eye (and yes they would cater to all orientations).

Only warlocks can summon these demons.

[The Huskar Social Union]

Paladin, mainly because its my main character in WoW since i started it again the other week and its fun. I also like helping people so being able to heal people that get hurt but also fuck people up with a giants sparkly hammer sounds good too. Then again, we live in a world with guns and shit so i probably wont be doing the latter that much. And if i dont get nabbed by the police or government agents for having a fuck ton of special powers ill most likely just be in the Royal Hospital here in belfast helping heal people in my spare time.

Also i like that you literally just lifted the class descriptions from world of warcraft's site.

[The New California Republic]

Realistically, since you don’t have the existing guidance/recorded works of previous masters it would likely take you a good chunk of your life to even have the chance of replicating the high end feats of ancient masters.

But...you have already said that all of this magic stuff is just getting thrust on the world with no leadup, there are no "ancient masters"...

[Firaxin]

1. The government is going to attempt to detain the people they find out are magical, and if they succeed, study them like the nazis studied the captured jews. Oh and the public will fear them until they prove their virtue, and afterwards they'll still distrust them. Basically the X-Men but grittier.

And we know that governments today would do that, because they kidnapped Stephen Hawking and experimented on him and forced him to work for them.



Oh, wait, no, that didn't happen. Hmmm.

Stephen Hawking wasn't magic, nor did he cause monsters to spawn all over the world.

[The Supreme Magnificent High Swaglord]

A number of reasons

1. Realistically, since you don’t have the existing guidance/recorded works of previous masters it would likely take you a good chunk of your life to even have the chance of replicating the high end feats of ancient masters ... any thought of moving beyond that requires more time then you have (likely generations)... hence talk of conjuring fighter jets from thin air or blocking emails with your mind is simply not in the reach (and just as mages would fave these issues... so would warlocks, druids, shamans etc)

2. The concern of combat and appeal balance between classes. Magic has to be read narrowly and restricvely to give the classes a bone.

1. I would do it even if it took my entire lifetime to get even the smallest step closer to unlocking magic's secrets. Being a pioneer of humanity's Golden Age is a life well worth living.

2. Who give a fuck about combat. This is the real world, I'm not getting XP for racking up kills. I'm going to dedicate my life and powers to the betterment of mankind, thank you very much.

Well, I know you're already a Mage; after all, you're clearly reading my mind and saying what I want to say before I get the chance to say it.