Wizard Lore

[AST Jim]

Wizard Lore (for non-Mages)

Please note that this lore is for outsiders learning about Mages and their ilk, analogous to Vampire Lore or Lupine Lore.  If your character is actually a Mage, or has legitimate ties to Mages, they should instead learn Mage Lore.

Wizard Lore 1-  Magic might be real

Many different cultures have myths and legends about humans with special powers, and the ability to control the world around them.  Those legends have to be based on something, right?
You are familiar with the perceptions of magic from various different cultures.
Some of the things those magicians do defies belief; it can't all be smoke and mirrors, right?
You may have some second-hand knowledge of the magic going on behind the scenes- perhaps you dated a Wiccan in college who had some hard to believe stories.

Wizard Lore 2-  Magic is real

You are quite sure there are people out there who can use actual magic.
You have begun stringing together some of the commonalities between perceptions of magic in various cultures and have an idea of how you think it might work.  You're almost certainly wrong.
Most of the more fantastical stories of magic are certainly just that; no one can throw fireballs around or turn people into newts.  However, a more subtle kind of magic, the kind that someone less educated than yourself might pass off as a coincidence, might just be possible.
Now that you think about it, that Wiccan you dated could do some pretty hard to explain things herself.

Wizard Lore 3-  Magick is real

You have most likely witnessed a few things that you can't explain.
Magick users are definitely real, and they spell it with a "k," thank you very much.
You're familiar with folk remedies from various cultures that are supposed to protect against or remove hostile magick.
Most magick users make use of subtle effects, but the more powerful among them can do things that defy the laws of physics.
Some of these magick users are definitely organized.
You have begun to notice a trend in the accounts of magick, both in historical and cultural records and your own observations, suggesting that there are three fundamental forces behind it- a force for creation and change, a force for preservation and safety and a force for destruction and renewal.  You are sure there is a relationship between these concepts and Magick, but you are uncertain what it is.

Wizard Lore 4-  Magick is dangerous

There are many different kinds of magick users, some more powerful than others.  You may know a common term for the weaker ones, such as "sorcerer" or "hedge wizard."  The more powerful ones are usually called "Mages."
Magick users usually work through some kind of tools or trappings, like alchemical potions or magic wands.  These can vary from individual to individual or group to group, and can differ wildly based on cultural traditions.
Those folk remedies?  Yeah, not so helpful as it turns out.
There are definitely three forces underlying magic in the universe; different cultures have different names for them, but they boil down to the concepts of of Dynamism, Stasis and Entropy.
While magick certainly can violate basic laws of reality, it turns out that it is very dangerous to do so.  Reality has ways of protecting itself from such tampering, ways that can be disastrous for the Mage and anyone nearby.

Wizard Lore 5-  Knowing about Magick is dangerous

You have learned that there is some kind of qualitative difference between Mages and the rest of humanity, that they are "awake" while everyone else... including you... is "asleep."
Because of this qualitative difference, True Magick is not something that can be learned by anyone... though the weaker "Hedge Magick" can, theoretically, be learned by anyone...
Mages do use tools and trappings, but these need not be mystical in nature.  Some mages make use of advanced technology that, to paraphrase a science fiction author, is indistinguishable from magick.  These can be among the most subtle magick users of all.
Mages are divided into many traditions, crafts and conventions, some of which are allied together into larger groups and some of which function on their own.
Almost every group is linked in some way to the concepts of Dynamism, Stasis or Entropy, and Mages themselves sometimes embody these concepts.
These different groups of Mages are in perpetual conflict with each other over these fundamental forces and their role in reality.
There is, indeed, a force that protects reality from tampering.  Mages call is "paradox," and the more their magic fits in with the traditions and beliefs of the populace, the more safely they can use it.  This has led you to start questioning the very nature of reality.  Perhaps what we call "reality" is not a fixed concept, but something mutable based on the collective beliefs and perceptions of sentient minds...