Magic and Animals

#1

As I have written elsewhere, magic is in all living creatures to some degree, and a part of it is with concentration usable for magical purposes. And humanoids use it.

Animals have this magic, too.

No, I am not thinking of spellcasting beavers, or the strange abilities of magical creatures. I am thinking about common animals in a fantasy world, where magic is a part of everything.

Why animals? Because it takes at least some relative size (comparable to humanoids) to get a usable amount of magic. And if we consider mammals as more evolved, they might be better adapted to magic. But the true reason is their rising intelligence (or more and better instincts, depending on how you see it), and social living common to many of them.

Indeed, if animals have to make magic useful, they need more than any single one of them has. What is more, since their "spellcasting" is more a subsconscious process, they need a clear purpose they know, and can concentrate on. No abstract ideas or wishes are will help them in survival.

So let's have a look at the profile: animals of some size (certainly not smaller than squirrels), living in groups, the larger the better, with some capacity to think.

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Reminds me of the fact that chimpanzees, when preparing for war, work themselves into a frenzy through rhytmical sounds and "dance". Could this be a primitive ritual, focusing the magic to a spell that gives a bit more offensive power, or protects all members of the squad?

(Ironically, primitive tribes may have exactly such rituals for the same purpose. In such a world, the more evolved know to use magic better...)

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Have a look at a great herd of wild horses, as they run freely on the plains. In some moments, even their great speed is not enough to help them from their enemies. Could not this many animals concentrate on a single purpose, if it becomes necessary?

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What may look wonderfully with such a majestic beast a horse is, may be horryfying with some other creatures. Imagine a pack of wolwes, howling together to get just that little speed bonus, and imagine yourself as the prey. Not nice, I guarantee you...

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So, what do you think, have any other ideas?

Magic and Animals

#2

It sounds like a great idea.

Some large birds have complicated mating dances in which the male and the female birds court each other. In our world it is thought that this is something to do with showing their flying skills in order to ensure that they are a good mate; however, maybe in your world the patterns in which they fly actually call forth some minor fertility cantrip.

If size (compared to humanoids) and intelligence are factors in determining the amount of magic that a creature has, then surely the mighty songs of humpback whales, heard over thousands of kilometres, contain mighty magic indeed.

Maybe the darting shoals of fish, 10s of thousands strong, call forth some magic that blurs their outline, making them harder for predators to spot precisely where each fish is.

If magic is scattered everywhere in your world, then it is presumably more concentrated in some places than others. Just like any other natural resource (such as an upwelling of nutrients in the sea), such areas will be rich and abundant in animal life (unless the area is totally barren in other ways).

Magic and Animals

#3

Opens more opportunities for Druids and Necromancers :) Druids may pursuade the groups of animals to share that magic with them, so when they are around a pack of creatures, perhaps they can cast more powerful spells more easily.

And as for necromancers, crushing the life out of each of these creatures and absorbing their life force as their own (Such as my soul mage, Tarquin, doed), could mean more power for them. Which could also be a plot idea, in that in a community of druids, an unnamed foe is destroying all animal life around, the adventurers are either druids who used to share life with these creatures, or are outsiders hired by the druids to put a stop to it.

A nice thought - would be good for Mojena ;) What if plants had the same thing - as more of them grow in groups, woodcutters may find forest trees more difficult to cut down than lone trees. Or large bunches of poison ivy more irritating to the skin than small amounts.

Perhaps, in the focus of Mojena - a group of trees together casts an increased growth on themselves, meaning that the more they are, the more powerful this spell is. Perhaps this is how the Mojen'lar tree spread throughout the entire world - they grow exponentially as more arise.

Plant and animal magic

#4

In my campaign, an entire nation is based around the magic of plants: great trees called the 'Ollwen' raise the local mana level to the point other, less enduring magical animals and plants can take hold. Spellcasters may recieve aid from an Ollwen tree if the tree's alien and simple 'mind' can comprehend him and deems the purpose right (grow...mate...feed...heal...blossom :D )

Some plants use magic to warm/cool themselves in harsh climates, while others use it to kill off competition and pests.

Large groves of ancient trees can develop a consciousness very unlike our own, and cast spells like a circle of mages, used to heal those who come inside, call rain and scare lumberjacks.
Small animals, or whole colonies of them, may erect a somebody-else's-business field around themselves, thus vanishing from notice, while plants may use the exact opposite and cast Lure or Presence (see GURPS Magic) to increase the attractivity of their fruits or flowers. Other plants may use telekinesis or teleport to spread their seeds farther. Some especially hard plants could use Body of Stone or Stoneskin to endure, while casting Stone to Earth and Essential Earth around themselves. Other plants or animals could use Body of Fire to cleanse themselves of pests!

Snow Shoes is certainly an efficient spell for any arctic animal, while Walk on Water or Walk on Air could be used to hunt or escape predators.

Some animals do truly different things though: in my world, the Warlock Cats living in groups of up to thirty, can build Golems to gather food for them, or magically Enslave people to do their work. They are lazy, cynical, and proud about it (yeam, I read Garfield, and yea, I've got two cats at home)

As soon as I think of something else, I will post it, k?

Bees and ants

#5

Dammit, I forgot bees and ants, the most organized of the animal kingdom. While not too smart, remember they can move VERY precisely, putting even the greatest of archmages drawing a pentagram in shame - each ant could carry a grain and create the perfect magic ... if they had an intelligence to guide them.
So, they can cast say Bless Plants around their hive, use the patterns they fly in to telepathically communicate with the queen, or use their magic to strengthem their dwellings.

Beware the power of the bug, millions of tiny magical charges dancing in unison to a tune only they can hear...

Magic and Animals

#6

Continuing the ant theme, any kind of animal like this that constructs a large edifice could instinctively construct in the shape of a magic symbol, much the same way as in our world they construct them so that air ventilates through, etc. I am particularly thinking of the huge termite mounds, but any large ant nest would do as well. In this way, the continual motion of tens of thousands of ants/termites through the ant hill would be as if the symbol was constantly being retraced and redrawn, generating a constant spell. This spell would be something mildly beneficial; perhaps as EchoMirage suggested to increase plant growth near them, or to control the tmperature, or to increase the fertility of the queen, etc. Ants in different regions (perhaps quite close together) would have different structures (and thus spells); just as different termite types have different type hills in our world.

more plants!

#7

why not extend the symbol theme of the termite mound to plants? some could grow into patterns of magical power, and when any sort of energy flows around them, the pattern could be activated: the sun shines throuigh the boughs of an ancient tree, revealing strangely twisted branches, and suddenly...
or the wind - a tree on the top of a hill could certainly use the elemental energy flowing through it to a, ward itself from lightning b, let its pollen fly farther c, attract rain and create soil - a pioneer plant.

or: the pentagram tree - beware! it will grow roots or brances in summoning patterns, but when the beast arrives, it is captured and the tree draws energy from it until the demon/extraplanar critter is sucked dry...

if there is musical magic in the world, some plants could also use the sound the wind blowing through them causes to cause some effect - a constant whistling as the wind blows over a prairie of magical grass...