magic and power

[afro-elf]

There has been some talk about magic and power in the realm of middle earth

here is some info i got off the net that gives IMHO a good idea of it.
it is QUITE paraphrased



Power

. Only a
very few beings in Middle-Earth still (late 3rd age) have noteworthy power. They are, in order:



The Valar. Only Olmo is remotely likely to make any appearance whatsoever.

Such Maiar as remain East of the sea. Tom Bombadil. Gandalf. Sauron. Sauruman. Radagast. Goldberry.

The Noldor. The Noldor that remain in Middle-Earth are all exceptionally powerful, since they have the power of Aman in
them.

Other Elves have power of a lesser degree, the Sindar more than the Silvan Elves, because the former were taught by the
Noldor in the remote Ages of the world, while the latter were not.

The Numenorians. These high men have power, though rarely Spellcraft or Shapeshifting, and are known to be both
Crafters and Farsighted.

Dwarves. The Dwarves know their Craft, but rarely have any other abilities.

Men, Orcs, and Hobbits occasionally prove to be Farsighted or to be able to bless and curse.

Power as a whole has declined over the long years of Middle-Earth. Where before, perhaps, many of the Noldor could have
stood alone against a Bolrog, by the time of the War of the Rings, their number had shrunk to almost none. And where the men
of Numen or had the strength to oppose Sauron at the height of the Second Age, by the Third, he was all but invincible. Even
the colors and beauty of the land had shrunk, to become something more mortal, less Elvish.




Power by itself is a motive force, not a tool. As such, contests of raw Power tend to be blunt and spectacular. One Power may
try to drive away the other or beat them down. This is a simple contest of attributes. A power exerting itself often has a b it of
its nature revealed. Evil powers most often appear dark and dreadful. Lights may often dim, shadows lengthen, etc. Good
powers, too, will apear larger than life, and often radiate or glow according to their stature. If one power is marginally b etter
than the other, it can hold it at bay, or force it way. If it is signifigantly better, it can hold the other in place, or collapse its will.



Power as an Aid to Sight

Power also acts as a focus of perceptions beyond mortal kin. With sufficient Power a character can detect the presence of
other Powers, either near at hand, or far away. The first is easier than the second. At O-level, these perceptions are limited an
d subjective: "This wood feels evil." or "There's something funny about the old man." At E-level, they solidify somewhat, and
come under the control of the character's will, if he concentrates. "The only evil you feel in the wood is far away." or "Th e old
man is more than he seems." At S-level, they become constantly-working senses: "You feel evil on the borders of the wood." or
"The old man is hiding a power. You cannot read his mind." In any case, the effective range is never more than 20 mile s or so.

At the high S-level, however, characters who actively scry from a high place, or with the aid of a device like Galadriel's mirror,
can attempt to find and contact other S-level powers or engage them in contests.

Power as Vision


In addition to the his or her "radar" senses, a Powerful character can also peep into the symbolic world and the wraith world. In
these visions people apear strangely: Glorfindel as a glowing figure, the Ring as a wheel of fire, Aragorn as a man with a magical
crown, Saruman as a striking snake, etc.

Hiding from other Powers

Hiding oneself from the perceptions of others is exceptionally difficult, more so for evil beings than good ones. If one does not
exercise one's power, one can hide from all other Powers, provided it is not searching for you, in which case; should its e ye fall
on you, a contest is immediately engaged. Active use of power (especially Spellcraft) is like a bugle-call for all to hear and can
draw all sorts of attention, even upon lesser Powers. You cannot both use a Power and keep it hidden.

Power and Healing

Sometimes wounds are not just natural, but supernatural, too. In that case, the healer must have Power greater than or equal to
the thing or person who gave the wound in order to effect a cure. There's a certain amount of craft to this, too, so the hea ler
might also need tools or herbs to do the job right. Aragorn needed Atheleas to cure Merry and Eowyn. Elrond had to melt the
blade-shard that had lodged in Frodo's arm. Speaking of Frodo, don't neglect Endurance as a factor in magical wounding. It
was the Hobbit's Endurance, not his Power, that enabled him to bear up for so long under both the shard, and, later, the Ring.



Power and Leadership

Great Power goes hand in hand with great Warfare. An S-level or M-level Power can put his or her will into the troops of their
army, thereby making command easier and giving a boost to their Warfare in all contests. A high Power allows the building and
co-ordination of an army far, far larger than might be possible under ordinary laws of logistics and morale. The converse, of
course, is that once the controling Power is removed, the army will fall apart. If these rules seem to trample on the preserve of
Warfare, too bad, cuz it's the way things work.



Levels of Power:

Ordinary Power

provides only the barest protection against invasive spells and magics. Magical abilites lie mostly dormant
at this level, or work only sporatically. A character with Ordinary power will on ly be able to sense the most overpowering
forces in the area (10-20 miles), and then only dimly. Merry, Pippin and Sam all had O-level Power.

Exceptional Power.

Characters with Exceptional power will be able to use freely whatever magical abilites they purchase.
Their defense at this point is stronger, and they can usually detect uses of power nea rby (10-15' radius) or directed against
them. If they concentrate, they can detect the general feel of an area or person: good or evil, powerful or weak, etc, and
discern far-off workings of Power. (Provided the other does not hide itself,) Occasionally , they will see with a second sight or
into the wraith-world. Legolas had E-level Power.

Supernatural Power puts a whole range of extra-ordinary senses at the command of the character. They can detect the
nature of any being , see through magical disguises and invisibilities, even read the surfac e-thought of an adversary, through a
simple power-contest. Only an extra-ordinarily subtle creature can hide their intrinsic power or nature, or work magic nearby
(5 miles or so) without being sensed. By climbing to a high place or by concentrating, the Supernaturally Powerful being can
descry things happening far away in other parts of the world, or engage in power contests (usually indecisive) with a distant foe.
Upon concentrating (1 to 2 minutes) they will be aware of all powers in the area. S-lev el Powers can also percieve the invisible
or penetrate magical disgues. The latter requires a contest of power. Two or more supernatural Powers may open themselves
to the minds of others in the same room or area, and hold a silent "conference call" with each other. Gandalf, Elrond and
Galadriel had S-level Power.

Mythic Power is all that Supernatural Power is and more. Even speaking the name of a being with Mythic Power is
dangerous. Sauron had M-level power.


Here we come to the rarest of all abilities, and our main example is Gandalf. Unfortunately, we do not see Gandalf work many
spells in the course of the LOTR and those spells he does cast often seem inconsistant. Therefore, I've had to simplify a bit.
Let's start with what Gandalf can't do:



He can't fly. If he could, he wouldn't have an eagle carting him all over the place. This goes for levitation, too. Or
teleportation. All very un-Gandalf.

He can't burn snow. He says so himself. I take this as a general principle, that he can't do things which a blatantly unnatural
nor sustain a magical operation indefinately. He can, for instance, make a flash of fire, but can't shoot plasma from his fingers
like a flammenwurfer.

He can't communicate over long distances. Indeed, he denies that such a thing is even possible without a Palantir.

So what can one do with Spell-casting?

Illusions

A Spell caster can make himself appear as someone else or to make one object appear as another. Or, as Gandalf does, he
can keep people from recognizing him for who he really is, until he wants.



Enhance Nature

Spellcasters can make any natural process happen very quickly in a very short burst. They can, for instance, make a hot tounge
of flame as Gandalf does. Or make wood rot. Or weaken stone. This goes in reverse, too. He can make a fire go out. Or sto p
a cracking beam. They can also interfere in the processes of a living body. So theyt could put someone to sleep by turning on
their body's natural sleep cycle. Or kill them by stopping thier heart.

The only thing they can't do is make continual chan ges in
the order of nature. As soon as they stop concentrating, the interference will stop. Now, if they've set wood on fire, it will
continue to burn. If they've put someone to sleep, they'll stay sleeping. If they've killed them, they'll stay dead.< P>

Spellcasting
can also inhance the function of any object. A door, for instance, is supposed to shut. So a shutting spell will make it stay shut.
It's also supposed to open. So an opening spell will make it open. A battering-ram is supposed to crush, so an aiding spell will
make it cursh harder.

Make Light

Big deal, you say. But you never have to go without a torch. And you can read in bed.