At the Feast of Highbridge this past year, the Order of the Magi held a Round-Table discussion about spells in the realms that were either ambiguous or cast incorrectly. The full list of spells from the discussion can be found here but I wanted to prompt a discussion today about the two confusions that occured with the spell divine aid, and hopefully generate some discussion on it (or even reach a consensus).
As a reminder, the spell divine aid reads:
This spell allows the spellcaster to send a request for aid to a higher power. The request cannot be specific and the higher power may send whatever aid they see fit. This spell comes with no guarantee that the EH won't simply listen to the request and say "No." This spell cannot create an effect that will last beyond the end of the event, other than for healing purposes. A spellcaster who uses drama and theatrics has a better chance of success.
So, what are the questions? The first question is what counts as a "specific request" for the purposes of Divine Aid? Clearly a request such as "Please grant me a cry of life" is specific, while a small ritual, followed by the call of divine aid is not specific at all. A few marshals that I am aware of draw the line at a general statement of what you want help with, for example "Please help...we are all dead" or "we are trying to fight against Pathos, please help!". Personally, I feel as long as a desired result is not specified other than "aid" or "help" or other vague terms, it should be allowed.
The second question is if the caster can choose who the higher power is. Personally, due to the wording of the spell, I feel the answer should be yes as the spell allows you to send the request for aid to a higher power. That said, a marshal can always override this and have whoever they want answer, and some people view the spell as "it doesn't specify they can direct, so they can't."
What are your Views on these questions?
What other questions on the Magic System would you like the Magi to discuss?
