As you may know, one of the unique (at the time) characteristics of the original Wasteland is that, unlike other RPGs of the time, there's no magic; it just doesn't fit in the setting.

I am wondering, how would you react if Wasteland 3 has magic? Would it ruin the game for you? Or would it make it better? Would you invest in magic skills for any of your characters? (For purposes of that last question, assume that magic isn't required and all the other skills, including skills like Medic and automatic weapons still exist.)

(Also, for purposes of this topic, assume there's still no revive spell.)

I actually like magical post-apocalyptic settings (Adventure Time being the BEST thing ever) but would of course not agree with defiling the Wasteland universe in such a way. I wouldn't hate it but I would have full sympathy for serious fans who would feel that their favorite lore is being dragged through the dirt for dubious means. As I'm not heavily invested in the Wasteland universe however I would probably pretend the first two games did not exist and create a party of interesting characters, at least one having magical abilities only for flavour. I always imagine my characters as leading characters that could exist in books or on long running TV shows and then it only makes sense that one of the protagonists have magical abilities in a world where magic is real.

The worst thing you can do is to thinly veil casting/active magic type game mechanics and call them real world stuff. Bandaids can't be channeled and bullets can't catch fire just by flicking a switch on the side of the gun. That's just terrible writing and lazy game design.

I thought about how I would implement magic if I were designing such a game. Before I start, note that I have not played Wasteland 2, so I am only really familiar with how Wasteland 1 worked. I think that magic, if it existed, shouldn't be as powerful as in a typical RPG. Another thing to note is that magic generally doesn't require equipment unlike, say, throwing grenades at the enemies. Here are some specific ideas on how it would work.

Each magical effect is its own skill. No having entire categories of magic with diverse effects. (After all, other skills don't work that way.) The cost to using spells would be CON (in other words, the same stat that affects your health). When casting a spell, you would be able to choose a power level, limited by your skill level. Higher power levels are more powerful but cost more CON; injuring yourself trying to cast a spell is certainly possible.

Here are some examples of magic skills and how they would work:

Fire magic: Produces fire. During combat, functions as an attack spell. At high enough levels, it is significantly stronger than early game weapons, but late game weapons would be significantly stronger. Can hit multiple enemies. Outside of combat, can be used to set things on fire (but power level matters). For example, this spell could burn up a wooden door, allowing you to go through.

Electrical magic: Produces an electric charge. Useful in combat to attack, most effective against robots (of course). If used on electronic devices, will cause malfunctions at lower power levels and may destroy the device entirely at higher power levels. (Note that sometimes you may not want to use this at a high power level because you need the device to still be active.)

Healing magic: Allows healing at the cost of the user's own CON. Can heal injuries, but the more injured the person, the greater the cost. Using lower power levels against more serious injuries won't remove the injury entirely, but might make it less severe so your Medic can handle the rest. Can cure status ailments such as poison and disease. (Should it be able to cure radiation sickness? I'm thinking "no" might be an interesting choice here.) If resurrection is possible, it would require this skill to be used at maximum power, would injure a healthy caster (and possibly outright kill one who is low on CON), and the revived character would likely be comatose.

Mind control: Allows controlling the minds of others. More intelligent creatures are more likely to resist, and this magic skill doesn't work on robots.

One other idea is that "magic", as I described it here, might be reflavored as psionics or something like the Force from Star Wars, but the mechanics would be the same.

There is no such thing like "magic":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws
"Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

"Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."

"Any technology, no matter how primitive, is magic to those who don't understand it."

So called magicians are using their bodies as powerful tool to manipulate "forces of nature" (e.g. magnetic field of a planet).

If you want more about "magic-is-not-magic" then read "General Theory of Magic" (like in Einstein's "General theory of relativity"):
http://pilaster.blog.onet.pl/2008/12/18/ogolna-teoria-magii/
It's based on Witcher Universe by Andrzej Sapkowski (writer).

... but if you "like" magic then don't read it.

:>

Is there an English or French version of this article somewhere on the web?

Thank you but I’ll pass ;)
Knowing the usual results of automatic translation, it’ll take less time for me to learn Polish than trying to decrypt the result of a Google Translate pass…

"magical post-apocalyptic settings" is ambiguous. I can think of three categories that would fit the description.

1. Something like what I described: that is, a Wasteland-like setting with a little bit of magic. Here technology is still dominant (and likely the cause of the apocalypse).

2. Post-apocalyptic fantasy. Basically take a fantasy world and apply an apocalypse. Examples include Bard's Tale 3 and D&D's Dark Sun setting. Typically, the apocalypse is the result of magic or some vengeful deity. (There are examples of such events in mythology, including at least one biblical example.)

3. Settings where the interaction of technology and magic causes an apocalypse. One possible example happens in Final Fantasy 6; the entire later part of the game is post-apocalyptic. (Interestingly, Chrono Trigger has a post-apocalyptic setting, but it feels more like 1 than 3.)

Which one are you thinking of in particular?

4.) An apocalyptic event destroys most life on earth but also unleashes magic in various ways. I just love the idea of exploring humanity and civilization after an apocalypse, and I love the idea of exploring what would happen if people developed true undeniable magical abilities. 'What ifs' are what makes for good sci-fi and post-apoc and magic are two excelllent modifiers to our social and technological order.

Would remnants of old superpowers try and capitalise on magic? Would some societies shun the practise and those with proficiency? Who would be lost in history, who would spring out as new contenders, and who would seek to lord above all?

Of course, there is the question of just how powerful magic is. Magic, as I described in the post above, would be relatively tame power-wise and would be risky to use. In other words, not having magic would not put one at an extreme disadvantage. In such a world, magic would not be the best path to becoming lord above all. On the other hand, if magic were extremely powerful, then the world would be radically changed, and anyone who can master the art could take over the world. As one can see, a decision like that has enormous implications for world building (not to mention implications for game balance: If healing magic is powerful and risk free, why train in non-magical healing?)

A very different setting I would be interested in seeing is a common magic setting. In other words, magical ability isn't the sort of things that requires a special birth or training to do. Magic becomes a daily element of life, with people using minor electrical magic to power appliances (if technology exists and is common), fire magic to cook food, and so on. In this setting, *everybody* would have the capability to use magic, and if someone is unable to use magic, that person could be ostracized and bullied because of it. (The PlayStation game Saga Frontier 2 uses this as a plot point, except that that game has only medieval level technology and steel, the highest tech thing you encounter, tends to interfere with magic.)

Not enough settings handle the interplay of magic and technology, and of those that do, they are often in opposition. Where is the use of magic to power technology? Where is the idea of combining them? (Actually, Final Fantasy 6 did the latter, but you don't get to use MagiTek Armor enough in that game.)

I described low level electrical magic as making certain things malfunction, but now that I think about it, it could also be used to power such devices.

All of this discussion makes me want to play Arcanum.

I've also recently been playing Shadowrun Returns and there are both magic and tech in that game as well. I haven't gotten much into the plot/world to know much about it, but it seems cool/to work from what I can tell.

Dark Sun has been coming up a lot lately. I never played but want to badly.

And Chrono Trigger has been mentioned to me a few times lately, which I'm not familiar with but feel like I want to/should be.

There is a lot of unexplored terrtory when it comes to worlds that combine tech+magic. I look forward to experiencing more.

Torment: Tides of Numenera will have elements of both technology and magic existing in the same world. Its whole premise is kind of post-apocalyptic in nature because it is about civilizations that have come and gone and the stuff they've left behind and how the people who exist now discover and appropriate the things that came before them.

There is magic in the game already. You fire a shot and enemies stand right in front of your face. Try to imagine it in real time. How can this be? Magic!

Might and Magic and Wizardry series have some serious science-fiction elements and quite a few titles in the series have both tech and magic.

What? No. That's a ridiculous idea and completely ruinous to a tightly defined and well-written setting. Why not throw in superheroes, aliens, vampires, and ghosts while you're at it? Not every setting needs every trope and the fucking kitchen sink.

That said, Wasteland did have magic in it ... anybody remember the crystal ball?

what if your aunt has balls, and you call her your uncle?