Ley Lines

[Wordmaker]

In the Dresdenverse, do ley lines run only in straight lines, or can they curve? Or is that one of those things that's up to the GM?

[Papa Gruff]

In the Dresdenverse, do ley lines run only in straight lines, or can they curve? Or is that one of those things that's up to the GM?

In my game there is a huge convergence of lay lines. Basically they are a focal points of my campaign, which centers around the city of Bonn and the valley of the river Rhine.

In our setting, together with the river runs a powerful Ley-Line of elemental water energy. I also have some earth lines erupting from the peaks of the seven largest mountains that we have here. After some research I have gotten the impression, that Ley-Lines typically run in strait lines, witch makes not much sense to me.  If there is one thing in nature that doesn't exist, it is a strait line. ... In the theories i found it appears to make sense i suppose ...

I would like to encourage you to decide for your self. If you think there might be a Ley-Line in your setting then there is one. Period. It's what we did and they make unbelievably strong plot devices. I love the ones we have set up for Bonn.

[EldritchFire]

...If there is one thing in nature that doesn't exist, it is a straight line. ... I would like to encourage you to decide for your self. If you think there might be a Ley-Line in your setting then there is one. Period. It's what we did and they make unbelievably strong plot devices.

This. It's really up to you. Personally, I'd say it's not a straight line. Ley lines are like magical rivers, flowing from point A to point B. I have never seen a river that goes in a straight line.

-EF

[ahunting]

In the Dresdenverse, do ley lines run only in straight lines, or can they curve? Or is that one of those things that's up to the GM?

I've seen it go both ways in other games, though I think straight was generally most common. So i'd go with whatever fits your game. The aspect attachment of ley line is one of the coolest things you can add to thaum imo.

[Wordmaker]

Thank everyone.

I have several ideas for ley lines and independent places of power for my campaign.

I may be running a second campaign set in Las Vegas and I want to use the same overall setting for both. I'm looking at ways to use a ley line that connects both cities to add some over-arcing plot to both.

[Ravangames]

Are there any rules for tapping ley lines or power levels of them?

[Wordmaker]

There's a sidebar in the Nevermore chapter of Your Story which mentions how to tap power from the Baltimore Ley Line. It serves as a decent enough guide for how you'd want your own ley lines and places of power to work.

[ryanroyce]

IIRC, the Nevermore chapter says that its ley line is contiguous with the Fall Line, the geological border between the piedmont (aka the Eastern Appalachian foothills) and Atlantic coastal plains.  That is far from a straight line, and by implication these other cities [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_line ] are all connected to the same ley line or at least very close to it.

[Bubba Amon Hotep]

I once saw a special on TV "Magical Places" with a gentleman using divining rods to attempt to trace the Ley Lines at Glastonbury Tor.

He claimed and the video cameras captured the divining rods tracing a path that winds it way to the top of the hill, then once inside the structure keeps winding ever tighter and tighter as it moves up in an almost tornado like fashion.

I don't have enough information to know if Ley Lines exist or not, but it would fit great in the Dresdenverse.

In short, I would say the curve, and twist, and curl, and fork. 

What happens when a ley line forks and rejoins. 
Would a circle created inside that line be perfect for binding something permanently?

[Big Simon]

Back in 1921, a man named Alfred Watkins pointed out the fact that, even very far back in history, people seemed to create roads in geographically convenient straight lines (as in between places of interest).  People involved in occult groups picked up on the idea and assumed these must be magical lines our souls know about, and follow automatically.  Ley lines are supposedly alignments between places of power, through which magic flows from one place to another.  Where two or more intersect, there's a node or nexus, usually resulting in a place that's spooky or strange.

From a classical perspective on magic, ley lines are geographically straight, based on Watkins' observations, but there have been so many modern interpretations that I don't think it matters much.

[Papa Gruff]

Back in 1921, a man named Alfred Watkins pointed out the fact that, even very far back in history, people seemed to create roads in geographically convenient straight lines (as in between places of interest).  People involved in occult groups picked up on the idea and assumed these must be magical lines our souls know about, and follow automatically.  Ley lines are supposedly alignments between places of power, through which magic flows from one place to another.  Where two or more intersect, there's a node or nexus, usually resulting in a place that's spooky or strange.

From a classical perspective on magic, ley lines are geographically straight, based on Watkins' observations, but there have been so many modern interpretations that I don't think it matters much.

If you google for ley-line pictures you get some interesting examples that underline Big Simons post.

[Wyrdrune]

Are there any rules for tapping ley lines or power levels of them?

they also in the sponsored magic section, sort of. don't have my books with me at the moment, but i think it's under the heading "magic places" or similar.

in our game, a character can make a commitment, to the place/line and gain the power "sponsored magic: ley line of ..." (for using it fully he/she has to be near it) or if he/she researches the right rituals can use the line's power for a single application (also somewhere in the rules for sponsored magic).

[Wordmaker]

I may go with having Ley Lines curve and bend, in that case. Given that the Fall Line is the only ley line we have a concrete description of, it's reasonable to rule that they don't have the always be a straight line.

[smoore]

I wrote a document for one of my  friends games on Ley lines that might be useful. Its at http://www.teuse.net/games/mindseye/krisdresden/ley_lines.php. This was before the RPG book was available and the Fall Line is not on there.

[neko128]

Given that the Fall Line is the only ley line we have a concrete description of...

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/ebt/ebt33.htm
http://www.vortexmaps.com/irley.php
http://liminalthresholds.blogspot.com/2008/04/ley-line-maps.html
http://www.geologyrocks.co.uk/forum/non-conventional_ideas/ley_lines