Authentic Thaumaturgy by Steve Jackson Games
Written: Aug 20 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An amusing read in general.
Cons: Pretty vague in gaming terms. Pretends that Magic is real...
The Bottom Line: There is a fun factor in this book.
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| maza's Full Review: Issac Bonewits and Pei Bonewitz - Authentic Thauma... |
Authentic Thaumaturgy (AT) is a magic system book used for the GURPS roleplaying system. It is written by Isaac Bonewits, published by Steve Jackson Games and edited by SJ himself, the original Chaosium edition of AT being out of print since the mid-1980s. The book is written in a semi-humorous style by Isaac Bonewits, who claims to be a practicing wizard and an earnest believer in the power of magic. It says on the back cover that he holds the only Magic degree ever issued by the University of California! He's apparently a real person (well, he is from California), who wrote an earlier version of AT in 1979 as an alternative to the rather poor magic system used in Dungeons and Dragons.
AT describes a magic system which can be plugged into any existing roleplaying system. Like GURPS it uses "Mana Points" (MPs) to describe magical energy. Magical energy is thought of as another type of natural energy, and AT actually gives a formula which equates MPs to kilojoules! (it actually uses kilowatt hours, but since 1 kWh = 3600 kJ -- please correct me if I'm wrong -- the conversion is easy enough) It seems kind of mundane to me to measure magic in terms of kJ, but it does make for a more consistent system.
This system can be used to create magic-users of only moderate power. It cannot be used (without substantial modification) to create magic- users with truly incredible powers such as the ability to raise new mountains or resurrect the ancient dead. Such powers are left strictly to the realm of divine entities. The powers granted by spells are moderate because, according to AT, if something takes twice as much as effort to do by conventional means, then it's going to take roughly twice as much effort to do by magical means. The Mana Point cost can be modified, though, by factors such as what props (material components) are used, or how much time is spent casting a spell, but this relationship remains approximately the same.
This is a bit frustrating if you want your magic-user to be able to excavate a 36-level dungeon by power of magic alone. It does remain true, however, to the feel of traditional magic as described in myth, legend and occult lore, where magic-users usually have only a modest ability to influence the physical world. I am not familiar enough with AT to discuss it's playability, but it seems to be of medium complexity -- i.e. not so complex as to make it unplayable. But then again I have a copy of ARIA Roleplaying and compared with that *anything* seems playable.
An interesting point is that AT does not differentiate between clerical and wizardly magic. Both have the same origin and can have the same effects, and the only effective difference is that a cleric might very occasionally get an MP boost from his/her diety. Even more interesting is that AT does not differentiate at all between magic and psionics. Psionics is merely considered to be a type of magic with less theatrics. I agree wholeheartedly with this idea -- it is my opinion is that (in gaming terms) Psionics/Psychic phenomena is just another conception of magic, and has no more scientific credibility than witchcraft or alchemy.
Bonewits warns people not to attempt any real magic at home. I personally think all magic (including psionics) is a load of bunkum (albeit very fun bunkum) and the worst that's going to happen from reciting a demonic invocation is a sore throat. Bonewits does make some pointed remarks, though, about cultural sensitivity when he warns that using deities from currently worshipped religions (e.g. Hinduism, Vodoun) as game devices might be construed as being disrespectful. I suppose he's right -- but does anyone care to posit how many MPs the Holy Ghost has? :)
RPG Definition for the uninitiated
A typical Role Play Game would be an activity satisfying most of the following:
1. It involves persons consciously playing fiction roles (either medieval, contemporary or sci-fi roles)
2. It involves the collective creation of a story
3. Usually one of the participants is responsible for guiding the activity
4. There is no audience besides the participants themselves (unless there is a demonstration of course).
5. The main purpose of the activity is to entertain the participants.
There are published books, often referred to as Rulebooks, containing unique rules regarding how to create a character (role) or how to resolve specific actions. Generally the success of an action is determined with by rolling one or more dice (dice can be funny in RPGs since they tend to have more than 6 surfaces).
Besides the rulebooks, there are books describing settings in which characters can role play. Settings are very diverse and include high or low fantasy worlds, dystopian worlds, contemporary worlds, or alternate reality worlds.
More RPG reviews that I would love to get a few more ratings:
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Referee’s Screen by Games Workshop
Feng Shui Action Roleplay by Atlas Game
Unknown Armies by Atlas Games
Delta Green by Pagan Publishing
Mortal Coils by Pagan Publishing
Mechwarrior RPG by FASA
Shadowrun 3rd Edition by FanPro
All Flesh Must be Eaten by Eden Studios
GURPS Vampire: The Masquerade by Steve Jackson Games
GURPS Mecha by Steve Jackson Games
Time of Thin Blood by White Wolf
Jerusalem By Night by White Wolf
Dark Conspiracy by GWC
7th Sea RPG by AEG
Blue Planet by Biohazard Games
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
maza
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Member: Nick Maza
Location: Greece
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 14 members
About Me:
I live in Greece. I hate the summers.
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