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Yes. It should be easily accesed and everyday stuff, like in nethack or A.D.O.M.

21 (9.6%)

Yes. It should be hard to access and not typical say the magic word and you shoot lightning magic.

137 (62.6%)

I don't really care.

13 (5.9%)

Only in the form of reactions.

24 (11%)

No.

24 (11%)

Total Members Voted: 219

[Crazy Cow]

Looking through everything in this thread, I think the best magic system to implement, one that would keep Dwarf Fortress feeling like the dark, bloody place it is now, would be on par with the stuff currently in existence. Sure, ghosts exist, and there is definitely the possibility of harnessing their power. But how many have actually done it? Magic should remain like that, occurring in nature and with the chance to be harnessed for !!SCIENCE!!, but much more likely to rip the experimenter apart. You like fireballs? Hunt down some fire imps, skin them, and make a weapon from their bones. Firebreathing? Tear the gizzard from a dragon and hope it doesn't explode. Maybe you want to poison your opponents, ending the battle before it begins. Hunt down giant cave spiders and tear the fangs from their mouths. I don't want to see finger-waggling lightning bolts, and think that that kind of magic would ruin the feel of Dwarf Fortress.

[Urist is dead tome]

Looking through everything in this thread, I think the best magic system to implement, one that would keep Dwarf Fortress feeling like the dark, bloody place it is now, would be on par with the stuff currently in existence. Sure, ghosts exist, and there is definitely the possibility of harnessing their power. But how many have actually done it? Magic should remain like that, occurring in nature and with the chance to be harnessed for !!SCIENCE!!, but much more likely to rip the experimenter apart. You like fireballs? Hunt down some fire imps, skin them, and make a weapon from their bones. Firebreathing? Tear the gizzard from a dragon and hope it doesn't explode. Maybe you want to poison your opponents, ending the battle before it begins. Hunt down giant cave spiders and tear the fangs from their mouths. I don't want to see finger-waggling lightning bolts, and think that that kind of magic would ruin the feel of Dwarf Fortress.

Hear hear!

Alchemy yes.  Hocuspocus fingerwriggling no.

Let dwarves use blood and animal bits and minerals and whatnot to create potions.

Soldiers with potions of steelskin made from hides, steel and blood, to make them nearly indestructable for a time in combat, or crafters with potions of Creativity to induce moods.  Hawkeye potions for archers.  Neural regenerative potions for wounded dwarves.  The list goes on and on.

I said nothing about what drawbacks might be associated with potion use.

Potion use might drive a dwarf into a year-long recovery in the hospital where all they can do is eat, drink, and talk to the doctor.  A second potion use would kill them if they are not fully recovered from the first.

A regeneration potion to clear all bad effects on a badly crippled dwarf might also reduce their effective age, drop all of their skills to zero and rearrange their stats.  THEN they would need a year long recovery in the hospital before being able to be active again.

Perhaps give all potions a small chance of simply turning a dwarf into a maximum stats legendary wrestler in a berserker insane mood.  Or maybe making them explode and anyone that touches their blood has a chance of being affected by the potion.

Lots of FUN can be added to potion use.

First potions were too powerful now they just plain suck. Find an in between.

[Farmerbob]

Looking through everything in this thread, I think the best magic system to implement, one that would keep Dwarf Fortress feeling like the dark, bloody place it is now, would be on par with the stuff currently in existence. Sure, ghosts exist, and there is definitely the possibility of harnessing their power. But how many have actually done it? Magic should remain like that, occurring in nature and with the chance to be harnessed for !!SCIENCE!!, but much more likely to rip the experimenter apart. You like fireballs? Hunt down some fire imps, skin them, and make a weapon from their bones. Firebreathing? Tear the gizzard from a dragon and hope it doesn't explode. Maybe you want to poison your opponents, ending the battle before it begins. Hunt down giant cave spiders and tear the fangs from their mouths. I don't want to see finger-waggling lightning bolts, and think that that kind of magic would ruin the feel of Dwarf Fortress.

Hear hear!

Alchemy yes.  Hocuspocus fingerwriggling no.

Let dwarves use blood and animal bits and minerals and whatnot to create potions.

Soldiers with potions of steelskin made from hides, steel and blood, to make them nearly indestructable for a time in combat, or crafters with potions of Creativity to induce moods.  Hawkeye potions for archers.  Neural regenerative potions for wounded dwarves.  The list goes on and on.

I said nothing about what drawbacks might be associated with potion use.

Potion use might drive a dwarf into a year-long recovery in the hospital where all they can do is eat, drink, and talk to the doctor.  A second potion use would kill them if they are not fully recovered from the first.

A regeneration potion to clear all bad effects on a badly crippled dwarf might also reduce their effective age, drop all of their skills to zero and rearrange their stats.  THEN they would need a year long recovery in the hospital before being able to be active again.

Perhaps give all potions a small chance of simply turning a dwarf into a maximum stats legendary wrestler in a berserker insane mood.  Or maybe making them explode and anyone that touches their blood has a chance of being affected by the potion.

Lots of FUN can be added to potion use.

First potions were too powerful now they just plain suck. Find an in between.

That, my friend, is up to the developer 

Don't tell me that you wouldn't have great FUN turning one or two of your dwarves into unstoppable engines of destruction that might just explode after the fight is over.  Especially if it were, say, an annoying noble.

Think about it!   

1)  Kill annoying noble

2)  Probably kill enemy

3)  Get awesome history moment for future engravings and artifacts.

[Urist is dead tome]

I cannot deny the glory of that!

[Cyroth]

I think different races should get different kinds of magic, and almost all should have disadvantages.

Humans could have typical RPG style clerical/religious magic.
If any of you have read the black magican series from Trudi Canavan, the human healing magic should be like healing magic in there.
There, healing can almost instantly close any wound, or fix broken bones, but the magican has to touch the body, and the magic can't fix what the body could not heal itself. Also, unlike healing in typical RPG settings, healing magic weakens the guy who is being healed, because he uses his bodies own reserves and nutrients. So its more like natural healing getting extremely accelerated.
(Something like that could be made by a temporatry and significant stats decrease after being healed, worse wound = bigger decrease)
Also priests can bless warriors, which would be like a very minor version of a martial trance and maybe makes human warriors unable to retreat.

Elves have typical natural/druid magic. Animate tree, enrage war animal, maybe even turn your animals around. Maybe a way to bless wood so it becomes like iron in its properties.

Dwarves... I like the Warhammer approach. "Magic is for robe wearing wussies, we use runes". Job would be runesmith, and very hard to train (or even a noble maybe? Attracted by a alchemy lab and several successful alchemists living in your fort?). Runes are engraved into a weapon or armor, and then filled with metal dust, where more valuable dust wields better effects.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This is a *steel breatplate* by Urist McLegendaryArmorer.
It is engraved with +runes of hardening+, imbued with silver dust by Urist McRunesmith.

Besides that he might be able to set "traps" inside rocky corridors and rooms, that set the first enemy on fire, or makes them panic, or sleepy, or something else.
Dust is produces by alchemists, who also use it for potions. Potions are used by soldiers, who have to carry them instead of waterskins/flasks (or inside them), and they raise a stat, depending on the skill of the alchemist and the metal used for the dust.

Goblins... something that includes lots of blood, abducted babies and more blood.


EDIT: Fixed the broken formating, wrote it at work on an outdated IE 

[Urist is dead tome]

I think different races should get different kinds of magic, and almost all should have disadvantages.

Humans could have typical RPG style clerical/religious magic.
If any of you have read the black magican series from Trudi Canavan, the human healing magic should be like healing magic in there.
There healing can almost instantly close any wound, or fix broken bones, but the magican has to touch the body, and the magic can't fix what the body could not heal itself. Also, unlike
healing in typical RPG settings, healing magic weakens the guy who is being healed, because he uses his bodies own reserves and nutrients. So its more like natural healing getting extremely accelerated.
(Something like that could be made by a temporatry and significant stats decrease after being healed, worse wound = bigger decrease)
Also priests can bless warriors, which would be like a very minor version of a martial trance and maybe makes human warriors unable to retreat.

Elves have typical natural/druid magic. Animate tree, enrage war animal, maybe even turn your animals around. Maybe a way to bless wood so it becomes properties like iron.

Dwarves... I like the Warhammer approach. "Magic is for robe wearing wussies, we use runes". Job would be runesmith, and very hard to train (or even a noble maybe? Attracted by a alchemy lab and
several successful alchemists living in your fort?). Runes are engraved into a weapon or armor, and then filled with metal dust, where more valuable dust wields better effects.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This is a *steel breatplate* by Urist McLegendaryArmorer.
It is engraved with +runes of hardening+, imbued with silver dust by Urist McRunesmith.

Besides that he might be able to set "traps" inside rocky corridors and rooms, that set the first enemy on fire, or makes them panic, or sleepy, or something else.
Dust is produces by alchemists, who also use it for potions. Potions are used by soldiers, who have to carry them instead of waterskins/flasks (or inside them), and they raise a stat, depending on the
skill of the alchemist and the metal used for the dust.

Goblins... something that includes lots of blood, abducted babies and more blood.

This is the best one I've seen so far.

[Angel Of Death]

I think the rune idea is fantastic. Maybe dwarfs could have the runes of punishment or humiliation sliced into their back, stomach or chest if they've commited a serious crime.

[Urist is dead tome]

Possibly making a sword with runes on it resistant to rust and the likes? I like this idea.

[loose nut]

I like the idea of runes. Perhaps legendary engravers should be required, in order to scribe them (this is pretty easy right now, I know.)

But magic should definitely cost, in terms of wealth, physical health, mental health, curses, inadvertent monster attention, and/or impregnating the caster with horse foals.

[Urist is dead tome]

I like the idea of runes. Perhaps legendary engravers should be required, in order to scribe them (this is pretty easy right now, I know.)

But magic should definitely cost, in terms of wealth, physical health, mental health, curses, inadvertent monster attention, and/or impregnating the caster with horse foals.

How about just rune engraving be a separate skill?

[Tsukana]

inadvertent monster attention

Oh, it's strange I hadn't thought of that, considering how common it is in literature nowdays.

Cast fireball? K, but you got like six dragons teleporting to you now.

Cast lightning? Have fun with the 50 bronze collosi.

[SirAaronIII]

inadvertent monster attention

Oh, it's strange I hadn't thought of that, considering how common it is in literature nowdays.

Cast fireball? K, but you got like six dragons teleporting to you now.

Cast lightning? Have fun with the 50 bronze collosi.

Use the fireballs to kill the colossi and then use lightning to kill the dragons. It's a vicious cycle.

[Angel Of Death]

inadvertent monster attention

Oh, it's strange I hadn't thought of that, considering how common it is in literature nowdays.

Cast fireball? K, but you got like six dragons teleporting to you now.

Cast lightning? Have fun with the 50 bronze collosi.

Your joking, right? That would make magic a negative thing.

[Urist is dead tome]

People here keep going back and forth between making magic really overpowered to just sucking.

Why not just make skillful use of magic attract attention eventually? It would also be more realistic if this wasn't just for magic but for regular fighters.

[Angel Of Death]

Magic should be powerful, yet have a downside.

For example, a regeneration potion could regenrate limbs but reduce skills to 0 for a temporary time. So, it's not suited just for battle. When the regeneration debuff is over, your current skills dissapear and your old ones come back.