N/Arcanery/Guideline

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[edit] Balance

This principal tenet states that in making a spell, item, monster, character class, etc., one must be careful of making it too strong, too weak, or too ordinary. Something must needs be interesting about the article and its content matter in order for it to attract attention and be worthy of participation in the writing of legends.

Consider, for example, Psionic Storm in StarCraft (yes, it's science fiction, but it borders on magic) which is considered by most players as an extremely powerful spell, capable of quickly wiping out concentrations of units under its area of effect. However, each cast also drains so much energy that the High Templar casting it cannot effectively cast more than two such Psionic Storms. Furthermore, the spell has a slight delay, during which the enemy forces might leave its area of effect; it cannot affect structures nor structure defenses; and the casting High Templar can easily be vanquished before it can cast a single Psionic Storm. To compensate for these weaknesses, other spells and attacks/units of the StarCraft system must be utilized by strong players. Similarly, in crafting articles concerning magic one must make sure that a spell does not become too powerful/irresistable.

One exception to this rule is the development of spells at the top of skill trees and are which the most effective and powerful of all spells available. However, even in this case the spells cannot be totally powerful, such as the spell "Rain of Chaos" in WarCraft 3, which could take down a significant portion of an enemy player's forces in one cast. More powerful spells are however available for deities, which cannot of course be available for humans.

[edit] Applicability

All spells must be useful. There is a significant difference between the Harry Potter spell that opens doors and nothing but doors, and a generic wind strike that can turn the tumblers inside locks AS WELL AS plenty of other things including magical projectiles, wind storms, telekinesis, etc.

In deciding which spell type to use--simple in meaning but complicated in application; or complicated in meaning but simple in application; always try to choose the former. Doing so allows Users of Magic more room to experiment with their creative minds and thus becomes more stimulating. If one thinks for a long enough time, provided the effect of a magic component is not too limited, many various uses may appear. It is the task of the writers of magic to analyze the consequences of each and every aspect of the article and its implications to ensure efffectiveness.

[edit] Format

When writing articles, try to incorporate the following components where they seem fit:

• Alternate names
• General description
• Use (ie. methods of casting or using, raw materials, required training/knowledge)
• Category (ie. ritual vs. chant, beginner vs. advanced, necromancer vs. priest)
• Limits of use (ie. one-use vs. charge-limit vs. infinite)
• Advantages of use
• Weaknesses of use (ie. costs to the spellcaster, time consumption, counterspells and counteritems)
• Concept art if you are artistically oriented

If you believe that some additional rules should be added, please do so.'