| Daw |
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Disclaimer: None of this is new; none of this is all that clever.
None of this is better organized than my current thoughts.
First, because I am writing this, a digression. Why is it that so many people believe that invisibllity is such a powerful thing? After all it can be defeated in a peasant hut with beaded curtains and a dog and cat or two. Musn't forget the ultimate unbeatable magic invasion, for those castles with high ceilings in the great halls, flying plus invisibility. Gasp! In all these millennia living with magic it is sad that no one has ever though of filling a lot of that empty space with inspiring and decorative banners, perhaps with bells and fish-hooks sewn onto them. Oh, mustn't forget, perhaps a dog and cat or two. A family of pseuddragons? These are easy things.
How would people living in a magic world deal with magic threats? The same way we have evolved to deal with physical threats, we make communities. It started with packs and still hasn't ended. Admittedly we aren't doing so well here in the real world, but we are in a period of flux, hope we get through it OK.
Posit that we are talking about a world where magic exists, and has existed for a long long time, possibly longer than the physical world has existed. You know, at least 90% of Fantasy Role Play campaign settings. Communities have allowed us to band together to make us less inviting prey for predators, animal or sentient. We can pool our resources to make us more able to deal with hard times. We can get together to build walls, train together to better fight off those who want to harm us... Or reason with them and make them our allies, increasing our communities.
Why wouldn't this odd concept, community, help us defend ourselves from magic? Yeah, I know, didn't think I would catch anyone on that hook; of course community helps defend us from magic, at least from the unsubtle stuff.
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Community is like an extended organism, ask any decent sociologist. Members of the community have varying degrees of sensitivity to the needs of the community, if they don't they aren't part of the community. There will always be people who become disaffected from a community, it's almost like a natural part of the communal entity. This will be important, in a bit.
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You ask how is it, what is the mechanism that community uses to protect us from magic? ... I'm waiting, really, you have to ask...
... Stubborn, aren't we? ...
Finally, the mechanism is one we are all familiar with, morale. Communities focus morale. Healthy, contented communities have a LOT of morale to focus. Roads and defenses are maintained, food is stored to mitigate famine, all kinds of ways. Assuming magic exists, why doesn't community focus our communal morale to protect us from it? OK, I'll stop trying to catch you with trick questions, of course it does. It does it well.
The mechanics of this are basic, and ubiquitous. The trappings of it are already visible in nearly every campaign setting. Uniforms, Symbols, Rituals, Belief. Does the healthy community believe the city watch is strong, and alert? Why of course it does. When a member of the community legitimately assumes the mantle of that position (Puts on the uniform and MEANS it.) he gets an almost (ok, beyond almost) magical boost to doing all those things the community expects from a guard, he is more perceptive, more capable in a fight, tireless in the pursuit of justice... (Wasn't the fertilizer supposed to go to the garden?). It sounds trite, and is, but that doesn't make it not so. If the Royal Guard has a universal reputation for flawless defense of King and Country, a 10 point morale bonus goes a long way to keep that reputation going. Your church, or even Granny Maeve, is wise and protecting you? That holy symbol symbol or charm grants you REAL protection, not limited to a measly +3 either.
Wait you say? That trinket does nothing for you? Putting on that uniform doesn't spiff you up like the other recruits? This is all just hokum, isn't it? You, my friend, are separated from the community. Doesn't make you bad, just separate. You do not get the full benefits of Community. That sucks you say? Why in the world would a community not include a good person like you in its loving embrace? It's for the good for the community. Communities are great against threats that everyone recognizes, they just don't spot them all, and a subtle threat can literally drag a community through the Gates of Hell. That's why you are here. Your job, should you decide to accept it, is to recognize and alert us to threats we aren't seeing. We will love you and reward you for it. Pay no attention to those gallows and crosses, those aren't for you, they are for those bad folk that are trying to lead us all astray. Our enemies are always trying to break our morale. You will be a hero, recognized and revered. You might even find yourself a part of the community, strong of spirit, able to give up your wayward ways.
Or else not. And please stop saying we are all boring, it is just not polite. You happily reap the benefits of community, even accepting the Blessings from the priesthood. As you will, everyone must walk their own path.