This question was spurred by an idea for a science fantasy game and how to incorporate magic.
I can see some problems for AIs/Robot mages right off the bat regarding RAW but these are more issues of semantics.
An Artificial Intelligence without a body or articulating limbs couldn't "gesture" so they would need to know the spell at a high enough level to merely concentrate. But, where do we draw the line on "gesturing"? Does a single motor that moves a stick back and forth count?
Some spells are based on Will so I would say a volitional AI would be required by definition but what about IQ without Will?
What about the machine meta-trait which doesn't allow FP but allows HP. Could they cast spells by spending only HP?
If the AI is a sentient program running on a network, where does it count as casting from for distance penalties?
Is there a minimum IQ for learning spells? Could a dog be trained to cast them? what about an IQ 1 computer?
The issue I most wanted to discuss is, how is mana actually focused and what can have levels of magery? I know this is entirely subjective and up to the rules of a particular setting/GM but I wanted to hear what you guys think.
Personally, I would say it doesn't matter whether the hardware running a mind is made of carbon and water or silicon and steel; if it thinks, it can do magic. As for whether or not something can "think" I would just look at the IQ score. So, in my setting, AI mages are fine. In fact, spellcasting could be used as a Turing test of sorts to determine sentiency. For other settings, maybe a divine will decides a race can use magic or only organics have souls where magic comes from.
As for what IQ actually represents, that can be a debate for another time. I imagine this would (will) quickly lead to the "what is sentience/intelligence?" question.
I can see some problems for AIs/Robot mages right off the bat regarding RAW but these are more issues of semantics.
An Artificial Intelligence without a body or articulating limbs couldn't "gesture" so they would need to know the spell at a high enough level to merely concentrate. But, where do we draw the line on "gesturing"? Does a single motor that moves a stick back and forth count?
Some spells are based on Will so I would say a volitional AI would be required by definition but what about IQ without Will?
What about the machine meta-trait which doesn't allow FP but allows HP. Could they cast spells by spending only HP?
If the AI is a sentient program running on a network, where does it count as casting from for distance penalties?
Is there a minimum IQ for learning spells? Could a dog be trained to cast them? what about an IQ 1 computer?
The issue I most wanted to discuss is, how is mana actually focused and what can have levels of magery? I know this is entirely subjective and up to the rules of a particular setting/GM but I wanted to hear what you guys think.
Personally, I would say it doesn't matter whether the hardware running a mind is made of carbon and water or silicon and steel; if it thinks, it can do magic. As for whether or not something can "think" I would just look at the IQ score. So, in my setting, AI mages are fine. In fact, spellcasting could be used as a Turing test of sorts to determine sentiency. For other settings, maybe a divine will decides a race can use magic or only organics have souls where magic comes from.
As for what IQ actually represents, that can be a debate for another time. I imagine this would (will) quickly lead to the "what is sentience/intelligence?" question.
Can AIs cast spells?
