Divine Magic and Witch Hunters

[Battlekruse]

After reading lore, one question troubles my mind

Witch hunters, being suspect towards magic users all over the Empire, are closely related to the Cult of Sigmar, who's priests are also using magic; although it's divine magic, there is no difference for a non-magic user. Both use Magick as the language to cast their spells and the effects are largely the same (apart from the table when something goes wrong).
So, consider a Priest of Taal/Rhya and a Jade Wizard - basically, they have a similar philosophy, but the priest's magic is accepted and welcomed, but the wizard's magic is, well, let's say, tolerated at best.

Another extreme example would be a priest of Sigmar or witch hunter - be allowed to use magic to bring the 'bad' magic users down with the excuse that he is not using the Winds of Magic but the Gods themselves, although, as said above, there is no difference (at least for 'mundane' people...) isn't this a little bid odd?
What do you think?

[Sionagnis]

well the warhammer world in this respect shares many oddities with our own world. people routinly believe in organized religion which has varying amounts of actual evidence yet routinly laugh about the possiblity of alien theories or conspricy theories. This has been even more apparent with science and religion in the dark ages. Yet again religoin was regularly practiced but many scientists were arrested for questioning certain dogmatic pracitices.

i guess what im trying to say is the source that their magic comes from is seen as more acceptable when its in the shape of a god, since a benevolent god wouldnt allow him to use it for evil. or something along those lines.

[Vikingkingq]

After reading lore, one question troubles my mind

Witch hunters, being suspect towards magic users all over the Empire, are closely related to the Cult of Sigmar, who's priests are also using magic; although it's divine magic, there is no difference for a non-magic user. Both use Magick as the language to cast their spells and the effects are largely the same (apart from the table when something goes wrong).
So, consider a Priest of Taal/Rhya and a Jade Wizard - basically, they have a similar philosophy, but the priest's magic is accepted and welcomed, but the wizard's magic is, well, let's say, tolerated at best.

Another extreme example would be a priest of Sigmar or witch hunter - be allowed to use magic to bring the 'bad' magic users down with the excuse that he is not using the Winds of Magic but the Gods themselves, although, as said above, there is no difference (at least for 'mundane' people...) isn't this a little bid odd?
What do you think?

There is a difference for the non-magic user- magic calls upon the power of the Winds of Magic, which are corrupted by Chaos; prayer calls upon the power of the Gods, which is good and pure. Only a very few magic users (such as Teclis) know that prayer calls upon the warp and the warp-entities known as goods directly without mediation through the Winds of Magic, but that difference is important in terms of how the two magic systems work, how they are modulated, and how they effect the world.

And some Witch Hunters do in fact bring in arcane spellcasters as well as priests to help them fight evil.

[Bingo]

There is a difference for the non-magic user- magic calls upon the power of the Winds of Magic, which are corrupted by Chaos; prayer calls upon the power of the Gods, which is good and pure. Only a very few magic users (such as Teclis) know that prayer calls upon the warp and the warp-entities known as goods directly without mediation through the Winds of Magic, but that difference is important in terms of how the two magic systems work, how they are modulated, and how they effect the world.

And some Witch Hunters do in fact bring in arcane spellcasters as well as priests to help them fight evil.


This is well said, but someone else started a topic like this today. My favorite reply said:

"The empire, where someone who is out to burn witches will fight alongside a burning witch... I smell sitcom"

I lol'ed

[ixion]

If you're saying that religious fanatics like the Witch Hunter aren't fully logical in their actions, i'd say that's 100% historically accurate with real religious institutions.

[Vikingkingq]

This is well said, but someone else started a topic like this today. My favorite reply said:

"The empire, where someone who is out to burn witches will fight alongside a burning witch... I smell sitcom"

I lol'ed

Hehe. More like a buddy-cop movie, with a grizzled veteran Witch Hunter who does whateever it takes because he came up from the mean streets, forced to partner up with a rookie Bright Wizard who believes in going by the book. Oh, the fights over the use of magic, the proper way to burn people, who ate the last donut...

[Thorval]

THE OP IS A HERETIC! Only a heretic would question the faith, and as a heretic, he will be burned.

[Stein]

It's not just the magic they use that the witch hunter looks at. It is how that person obtained that magic. Priests of sigmar, taal, morr, rhya,ect all obtain this magic, which I think they call prayers, from a good god blessing them. And only the most holy and faithful of them get to use the great power of there god. It takes many long years of devotion, prayer, faith and a strict code of how to live there lives before these individuals even get close to obtaining the powers.

While people such as bright wizards, jade wizards, ect have more people able to obtain the powers through training and study. sure you can say the alot of them are fanatical to the empire but there are those that will be seduced by the promise of more power. Because of there lack of trininging in faith this makes them more susceptible to choas then the holy men of the empire.

Also it is interesting to note that the cult 'the sisters of sigmar' are granted the power of sigmar through devotion and faith but when certain members find they can use other forms of magic, these sisters are labled fallen, they are either destroyed for being cursed or they flee for there lives. this show somthing else that seperates the organisations.

[Battlekruse]

I would say that the common people would see no difference between Arcane Magic and Divine Magic

1) Well priests would imply that their magic comes from their divine patron. :) And will lose all of their divine spells if he betrays his faith :)
2) Mag in main profile could be substitute to some other stat - runesmith too using Mag statistic but cant cast at all :)
3) Mundane peole will see difference when priest pray for divine miracle and get it and then some magic-user says his mumbo-jumbo and throw a fireball :) Visual effects of divine and arcane magic is totaly different :)

it's important for the setting to maintain the illusion of difference, I think.
By that I mean priests and common folk are convinced divine magick comes from the Gods, and are more likely to simply burn you than listen to arguments to the contrary.

Wizards* (though not all wizards, I imagine there are several wizards who aren't too interested in metamagic theory) and you as a reader and possibly player know the truth, but it doesn't serve the game to push this truth down everybody else's throat. After all, the theory that divine magic comes from the gods is a perfectly working and practical theory.