This is the idea about stage magician magic - the smoke & mirrors kind. I’m not aware of ANY game or rpg EVER doing it, it could be an augment to alchemy, stealth, etc.
Coating a sword with liqour and water and lighting it on fire? Using flash-powder? Hmm…
Of course, did they even have stage magic back then? And/or was it well recieved socially? (Witchcraft, other stigmas?)
Thoughts?
lol some of the jesters may have done some “tricks” not magic but who knows if that will go in the game.
That would be useful, for example using a smoke bomb to counter archers or scare of the crowd if you get caught stealing, distract guards etc… And setting people on fire never gets old (even if its nonlethal distraction with an oil pot or lighting an enemy’s clothes with more conventional means). And dont forget black powder, i dont know if it was widely used in central europe at that time, but it was invented 9th century, 400-500 years before the game starts. Black powder could be used as blinding\sound distracting grenade, or to just blow the lock that wont let us in (and alarming half of the city guards of course). And keep in mind that blacksmiths knew chemistry at a decent level, or they couldn’t refine ores or craft steel with different properties.
smoke bombs and flaming swords. you watch too many movies.
Stage magicians could be a nice next strechgoal dont you think??
Well, it would be an interesting idea for bard type of character to learn something like that, enabling him to easily get to some places as an exotic performer.
What exactly would prevent someone from putting pitch on their sword and then setting it alight? It probably wouldn’t work very well in a fight, but it’d certainly be a good way to intimidate someone, which if you’re not too strong a swordsman could be quite useful.
+1 for jester armor for bards and thieves.
I love a good show! Sounds like an entertaining idea, but I do not know if this is going to affect the time of production and expenses and so on and so forth with much significance.
At most I would think a court astrologist or alchemist, often the same person. And even that was not seen as magic per say, not in our understanding of the word. Indeed these men were the foremost in intellectual pursuits of their time, not scientists, but something along those lines.
Keep in mind this was the time when Greek knowledge started to be taken more seriously. Partly because of Religion, as the bible was in Latin and in order to understand Latin you had to learn it properly, from Roman and Greek texts obtained through the Arabs. The Latin commonly used was too bastardized and understanding the bible correctly was too important, so leeway was made and the monks read Socrates, Plato and Aristotle (among much else) in Latin to improve their skill in the language.
I think stage magic would be a very good idea. What’s wrong with a little theatrics here and there. Plus it keeps things on the realistic side like a flaming sword which could distract opponents or force them to take a step back or could serve as a means of crowd control. Using smoke to facilitate combat or escape is an age old technique and I am very sure it was used in earlier ages. If any kind fireworks had been used or just discovered in the time line of Deliverance than that should cover the flash powder aspect. Imagine tossing a firecracker bomb in the midst of your enemies…it explodes and pandemonium ensues then you start taking out your enemies one by one before the fire crackers are all exploded…like a medieval batman of sorts. JUST HOURS OF REALISTIC AWESOMENESS!!!
I must admit, this is one experiment I’ve not conducted. But my assumption would be that heat conduction along the tang would cause the grip to heat up.
I think setting a sword on fire is doable, it would not burn for very long. Smoke bombs are an interesting idea…not sure if people were very knowledgeable about how to make them. I think they are trying to have a realistic game play, not sure if incorporating stage magic would be a good thing. Useing bombs as distractions reminds me more of Assassin’s Creed Revelations.
sounds like a good idea to me bro! Stage Magic FTW!
At least some gunpowder “magic” would be cool for distraction. 
I like the idea too…
