Game Mechanics: The General Principles of Wishes

In Issue 4 we spoke of Wishes, how they are used, and what it is. Well there is two great articles in Dragon Magazine #49 about wishing, and I thought I would give you a teaser of that, by grabbing just “The General Principles of the Wishes”

The General Principles of Wishes

by Gary Snyder

I: Wishes are 9th-level magic spells and are limited in power accordingly; Limited Wishes are 7th-level spells which are even more limited.
II: Wishes cannot change what has already happened, but they can be used to alter or negate the result of some prior happening.
III: Wishes cannot directly affect that which will happen, except in the sense that everything that will happen is adirect result of what is and has been happening.
IV: Wishes are bound by the laws under which they themselves are brought about and used.
V: Wishes have no authority and no power over the abstract,
the insubstantial, or the non-concrete.
VI: Wishes will always act in the simplest manner possible while abiding by the wording of the Wish itself.
VII: Wishes are general-purpose spells, and as such may be used voluntarily in a number of ways, with varying chances for success.
VIII: Wishes will rarely achieve more than one end, and never more than two.
IX: Wishes will fulfill, to the limits of their power, not only the desired end but the means by which that end is brought about.
X: Wishes are impartial, objective and consistent.

More coming soon!

1 comments on “Game Mechanics: The General Principles of Wishes”

  1. Christopher Letzelter

    Arriving late to this article, and finally hearing it on the podcast, it struck me that no mention was made of the Illusionist’s version, Alter Reality. This 7th level spell functions much like the Magic-User’s Limited Wish, but requires the casting of a Phantasmal Force to “render” the wished-for subject real.
    ChrisL in Pittsburgh

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