Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus H.
Both, actually.  But I understand how the author is trying to illustrate as something that can't just be explained in layman's terms since he is trying to make magic as a science.
Unfortunately, that makes this series a bit troublesome to read because of the too much running around the bush. |
OK, there's probably several ways to do it. Let's try this way. This is an analogy comparison so it's definitely not going to be an exact definition.
Think of the setting as a JRPG.
Someone's "max Psion count" is, as expected, their max MP. However, in this setting, every turn of combat, your MP naturally refills completely. Using magic in this setting is literally converting MP into the effect. Your MP can also be fiddled with, and some magics that fiddle with your MP do so to counter whatever magic you're trying to use -- that kind of magic is called Counter Magic.
Every spell in this game has a minimum magical stat requirement to use it and has at least one magic type. You can think of these stat requirements as falling in to the following categories:
- Magic Strength
- Magic Complexity
- MP cost
Characters also have a Casting Speed stat, and magic also has a minimum Cast time required in order to take effect.
There are also some abilities in this JRPG analogy.
For example, one ability is called BS Magic. BS Magic's benefit lets you ignore requirements for whatever magic types are associated with it. However, it has a downside -- your magic stats are treated as lower for almost all other magic types, and it's usually low enough that you just can't use anything else. The only exception to this penalty is for magic that directly affects other people's MP and magic. So Tatsuya, the main character, has BS Magic (Decomposition, Regrowth). This dropped his magical stats for practically everything else to zero except for his Counter Magic and other MP manipulating abilities.
Magic also uses focus items. Some magics, like Counter Magic, don't require a focus item and don't get a lot of benefit (if any) from using one. However, most magics do get a benefit -- usually by increasing the user's casting speed -- and you would have to be insane not to use one. Examples of focus items are wands or talismans.
Out of the focus items available, an electronic type of focus item called a CAD is currently popular because it lowers MP cost, drastically increases Casting Speed by a huge percentage over other focus items AND reducing the minimum Cast time because of how the magic is prepared, and requires very little preparation by the user, letting most users actually use magic quickly. This benefit is so drastic that users are totally willing to deal with the hassle of needing to have their magic stored as electronic data, just to be able to cast more spells in the same amount of time. Generally, if someone's not using a CAD, it's because they have abilities that focus on whatever other type focus item they've decided to use, whether it be talismans, carvings, or whatnot. Otherwise, everyone uses a CAD.
(I'm not really done...but figured I may as well post it before going further.)