Enchanted Realms Rulebook
Fantasy Physics
What fantasy writers tend to do by default is take a realistic-physics world and add magic. Let’s be clear: that is not Enchanted Realms. This is a world where gods grant powers to mortals to do their bidding, and strands of magical energy can be captured by thought, word and motion. This is not a world with earth-based physics, and it should not assumed to be one. Again, the world “chimerics” is the term that will be used repeatedly to mean the natural way that the world works -- or fantasy-world physics.
To be fair, the GM is the ultimate arbiter of how his or her world works; however, it is strongly recommended not to get trapped into chemistry, aerodynamics, fluid-dynamics, fossil records and all those sciences of our world. While Enchanted Realms absolutely has sciences and physics, players should not make assumptions they work the same way as ours; further, players should avoid arguing rules based on that premise.
That said, it is the GM’s duty to ensure that the physics of the fantasy world works consistently -- or if they don’t, understand why. Therefore, here are some suggestions of fantasy lore.
First, understand the triangular relationship of fire, lightning and ice. Fire is an effective defense against ice. ice protects hinders lightning; and lightning blocks fire.
Another important feature of the fantasy world is weather and crop-cycles. Forget photosynthesis and seasons based on orbital revolution of the planet. No, weather is controlled by greater air spirits, who can be angered. While these spirits, called “kamii” by scholars, prefer routine and normalcy, which explains the seasons, these beings ultimately command the winds, rains, temperature, etc. It is not that elves are really good at meteorology that allows them weather omen but rather their fey-blood that creates an empathic connection to sense the will of the emis in the region.
Diseases are not a collection of bacteria and viruses. Instead these are malevolent energies that spawn from an origin closer to miasma theory. Plants and animals do not have a cellular structure. Rather living organisms are structures of the four humours: blood, bile, phlegm and acid. Moreover, the chemical structure is constructed from the four elements: earth, water, air and fire -- with quasi-elements assisting in everything’s nature.
However, perhaps most importantly to grasp is that everything living thing, even undead, has a lifesong. This is an energy shell that surrounds and passes through the being. Perhaps some call it an aura or a bio-field. However, its energies are like a fingerprint, unique to every being. At the same time, patterns of a lifesong can identify the creature as a particular race, gender, temperament or even memory and intention. The lifesong is a very basic and essential concept of fantasy-world physics in Enchanted Realms.
Players and GMs should understand that when playing Enchanted Realms, it is not a Medieval Europe simulation.