Over the years, I have seen systems wherein divination is a nonmagical skill, no different from, say, being a persuasive courtier. I strongly appreciate this. It helps sell the idea that the game world and its natural laws are not our own, and that causality just a bit more fairy-tale. Auspicy, haruspicy, scapulimancy, plastromancy, numismatomancy, cartomancy, and more are part of the everyday toolsets of politicians, seneschals, financiers, merchants, actuaries, farmers, prospectors, military officers, and more. Adventuring PCs looking to solve a murder mystery or navigate a long-forgotten tomb could very well turn to the stars in the firmament or a trusty set of yarrow stalks to plot their next move, even without any actual magic.One of the more tepid executions of the concept I have seen comes from Legend of the Five Rings 4e. There, the Divination skill is only once per day, and:>The results of divination attempts are notoriously vague, but should give some indistinct inkling of what is to come in the immediate future (i.e. “you see difficult times ahead,” “an old enemy returns soon,” “a shadow will fall over your father’s house,” etc).One of the more exciting versions I have seen is the Secret Art of Predictionism in Legends of the Wulin. It admittedly costs more than a regular skill, but it can have a significant impact on an ongoing scenario. The player must anchor any given divination in preexisting data points: the more, the better.What are your favorite executions of the concept of divination as a nonmagical skill that anyone can take up? To be clear, I am not talking about divination as future-telling specifically, so this is not limited to "I see this coming" or flashbacks or whatnot. I am referring to divination as any form of answer-finding through seemingly acausal methods, such as producing a lead for an ongoing investigation, or dowsing for the location of treasure.
>>93911778>Thread gets pruned>Instantly reposts itKill yourself
>>93911788I forgot to fill out one of the sentences, so I deleted and remade the thread a few minutes in. That is all.
Divination is explicitly magical practice even in the real world, touhoufag.
>>93912613Not always, astrology was considered a science and a branch of natural philosophy for a long time
>>93911778Probability through high level math calculations. Imagine a mentat who uses some kind of esoteric mental ability to predict outcomes by a special math like equation based on the all the information they know and what they are observing.Basically, a hyper autistic Sherlock Holmes with only a third of the drug addicition.That said, Divination itself should be a subordinate ability or theme to something else. The fact that D&D makes it a school of magic all of its own is as retarded as the whole magic school them making the effect the theme of the school in general.
>>93911778fugen a cute
>>93911778That's a cool idea but I don't think I've ever come across an rpg where that's the case. Other than the two you've mentioned, do you have any other examples?
>>93917478Burning Wheel's astrology skill appears to be similar. Lex Arcana has divinations as core skills, likewise.
