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DFRPG / Re: The Laws of Magic and psychic abilities
« on: March 10, 2012, 03:21:04 AM »
In general, you are allowed to do things without using magic that the Laws would forbid you doing with magic. For the most part, the Laws are against doing a certain set of things by means of magic. The big exception being, of course, Outsiders; since this isn't about that, we can discount it.
Psychic powers aren't magic. They're a supernatural power, but that power isn't magical in nature. Since the Laws apply to magic, and since psychic powers aren't magic, the Laws don't generally apply to psychic powers.
This is why the Laws aren't broken if you kill someone with a gun. Or if you stab someone with a unicorn horn, to use an example of using something supernatural that is none the less not an act of magic. Neither is casting a spell, so neither breaks the Law.
So I wouldn't have using a psychic power to control someone's mind give you the Lawbreaker hit. It's not magic, so the Laws needn't apply in a metaphysical or rules sense.
On the other hand, if a Warden sees you put the mind zorch on someone with your psychic powers, expect them to cut your head off. Maybe not 100% of the time, since they might conceivably be open minded enough to look into it and differentiate between magic and psychic brain-zorching. But easily 99% of the time, expect a head-chopping.
Psychic powers aren't magic. They're a supernatural power, but that power isn't magical in nature. Since the Laws apply to magic, and since psychic powers aren't magic, the Laws don't generally apply to psychic powers.
This is why the Laws aren't broken if you kill someone with a gun. Or if you stab someone with a unicorn horn, to use an example of using something supernatural that is none the less not an act of magic. Neither is casting a spell, so neither breaks the Law.
So I wouldn't have using a psychic power to control someone's mind give you the Lawbreaker hit. It's not magic, so the Laws needn't apply in a metaphysical or rules sense.
On the other hand, if a Warden sees you put the mind zorch on someone with your psychic powers, expect them to cut your head off. Maybe not 100% of the time, since they might conceivably be open minded enough to look into it and differentiate between magic and psychic brain-zorching. But easily 99% of the time, expect a head-chopping.