Comic #321

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It’s important to always get a solid understanding of the primary theories behind any new field you’re stepping into.

Needless to say, Legend of Maxx does not follow the same rules of magic that my book does.

-Jesse

53 thoughts on “Comic #321”

      3. Jesse

        Nope 🙂

        …Maybe I’ll start posting hints in the near future if no one gets it. But I don’t want to give it away. It’s so much more rewarding if someone figures it out!

      11. Jesse

        Oh, all right. I posted a hint in the description of the Halloween strip 🙂 I may give out one or two more depending on how things go.

  3. Trevan Lang

    Jesse, if the Legend of Maxx followed the same magic rules as your book, maxx would have already destroyed the universe.

    1. Green Starship

      “Nine times out of ten, your job is to steer the group away from situations where you’ll need real magic.”

      So, being a Guide. Nice.

  9. Phieeel

    Jesse, have you perchance read anything set in the Discworld universe, ala Terry Pratchett? This writing sounds like it would be at home there, as easily uttered by Cyril/Magic Flower as Rincewind.

  14. dbinitiate

    I’ve seen a lot of forms to do magic, but this one takes the cake.
    No rules, huh? Well… To be fair, magic often is in contradiction to nature’s laws, so I guess that wouldn’t be too strange. Not being in control? I like to think the wizard more or less guides magic energy into what he/she wants to do. Depending on the desired effect, the chance of it actually happening varies. Of course, large or powerful spells have a higher chance of failing. Because of this, most ways to use magic have a limitation to the amount of spells one can cast in order to lower the chance of failure.
    Enough story from me… Welp, now Maxx isn’t the only one that can get the party killed.

    1. HolyAdos

      Usually how powerful the magic than can be wielded depends on their Strength of will (their soul :P) and how much they can cast depends on how gifted they are/ practice.

      This is Terraria though, just pick up some fallen stars and… OH GOD WHAT IF MAXX ATE A MANA CRYSTAL AJHDKJDSHF

      1. HolyAdos

        I mean if yuo eat a health crystal you would either get healthier or just a nasty meal but now I’m wondering if we go by his rules maxx will either rip apart the Universe or become a GOD! or a bowl of 2 Goldfish.

      2. dbinitiate

        Maxx discovers magic! Well… THERE’s your problem…
        To be honest though, that tenth time where Cyril NEEDS to use magic will probably happen 11 out of 10 times when Maxx is involved…

  16. Eegxeta

    I have always taken magic as in of itself being a sort of chaotic energy and what a wizard did is cast spells by weaving that energy into a coherent and ordered form. I have never seen any depiction of magic that suggests otherwise up till now. If it follows no rules then you all you get is chaos and chaos cannot become order without rules, because without rules there is only chaos. Without order magic can’t be used in any way. Just because it follows a set of rules doesn’t mean a wizard would be able to fully control it.

    I created a world for D&D that was heavily based on this concept. People figured out how to use magic but it was so powerful and chaotic that it drove them insane and they became so powerful that the gods had to intervene before the world was destroyed. Even after the gods quelled magic it is still pretty chaotic and if someone fails to cast a spell correctly all sorts of really bad stuff can happen. For example sending everyone’s equipment to another plane of existence or launching yourself 50 feet into the air.

    This comic is based on a world that follows a very specific set of rules like the NPCs and the “chosen one”. It has faithful stuck to those rules and that is part of what makes this comic so awesome. The way the flower described magic breaks everything that this comic has been built upon.

      2. Eegxeta

        This was only few minutes of thought. Anyway the world I mentioned I haven’t gotten around to actual world yet I have been mostly working on the history of it.

    3. Star and Moon

      As stated before, NPCs are governed by the rules of the universe, not EVERYTHING. Magic is not an NPC. Besides, if Jesse followed the strict rules set for the NPCs all the time, well, they wouldn’t be nearly as interesting as they are now.

      Try and keep in mind this is not some deep, lore filled, 500 page book, it’s just a silly comic.

      2. Eegxeta

        Why does something have to be a long deep lore filled book for it to have a set of rules? If you carefully read the comic the rules Jesse has set are pretty strict. Further more no character declared to be a NPC has broken any of those set rules ever, so he has been following them. Jesse is a very talented author and I’m looking forward to reading his book, just have to finish Snuff first Sam Vimes is my favorite Discworld character.

        Well if the flower was saying the magic follows no rules as a hyperbole of its chaotic nature then it makes sense. It isn’t Cyril explaining how things work

        Am I the only person who took what he said literally?

  18. Letrune

    Just me but Terraria’s magic is easy: get falling start, make mana crystals, use them, get wand, start shooting destruction. 😀 Guess that is the tenth time?

    1. dbinitiate

      Terraria’s magic as you describe it isn’t truly magic. The magic the flower talks about in the comic is the ability to truly make anything happen at any time you desire. Spells, which is what you meant, are the formulae to create a desired effect. These CAN be inscribed into an artifact, such as a staff or book, in order to more easily call upon the desired effect. The Dirt Rod is a classic example of this.
      It contains a spell that allows the wielder to control and shape dirt as they see fit. Of course, this spell is most potent when used by a being that is closest to the earth, like a dryad.

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