NaNo-plot

[bookish_dragon]

Stupid mage, to let himself get killed like that. Good thing that he'd prepared the magic-jar spell, so his soul was saved. Now he wants his body back. Luckily he has friends, right? Well...he does, but they are not that willing initially to help him. The will, in the end, along with him possessing one of them for short periods of time in order to give them access to his array of spells.
Where was he? Somewhere shady, looking into the practices of some dark cultists. He got caught and killed. They;re probably going to raise his body as an undead or eat it. For all he knows, they're gonna use it as Christmas-decorations, despite the time being high summer.

Characters:
- Mage. Good in his work, but arrogant. Doesn't believe in what he can't see or conjure himself out of thin air.
- Swords man: fancies himself the new Bruce Lee, but he's better with weapons than with his hands. Tends to live in a fantasy-world, but is willing to come down to the real one.
- Tough guy: Ex-boxer, until he got one too many blows to the head. His previous line of work makes him a bit addle-headed.

Big temptation to make one or more of them Christians, just to see how they'd handle the Bible's stance on magic and the mage.

Together, they blunder in where angels fear to tread.

Feedback, love? Ideas?

Comments

[mellinore.livejournal.com]

*Puts brain on to slow heat*

Poke me tomorrow if I haven't replied by then. Just letting the idea percolate a while.

[mellinore.livejournal.com]

The main suggestion would be tension between the wizard and his friends whom he "possesses." It is plausible that it would be harder and harder for the wizard to give up the body he borrows, leading to internal fights when the displaced persona has to struggle to evict the wizard.

Heighten the tension by having the swordsman refuse to let the wizard use his body because the wizard wouldn't leave last time, so the wizard has to use the ex-boxer's for a pivotal spell then can't get out straight away.

If I have any more ideas I'll let you know.

[yattara.livejournal.com]

Hmn, yes, but the spell (in D&D anyway) says that the displaced soul goes into the magic jar. It doesn't stay in the body that the wizard possesses. Of course I could, and will most likely, fiddle with that, since I don't want a D&D-clone, especially since this is going to be set in modern day.

[mellinore.livejournal.com]

*nods*

I think what inspired that thought was an incident in one of the Stainless Steel Rat books - SSR's Revenge, I think.

[yattara.livejournal.com]

Your thought I take it, since I only ever read the first one.

[mellinore.livejournal.com]

A few questions.

Where is this set?

Have you any justification for (re-)emerging magic?

How can the wizard's soul get restored to his body? How can he "possess" others? Why doesn't he get them to kidnap someone for him to "possess" while he gets his body? Or must the "possession" be entirely voluntary?

*thinks some more*

[authrix-yattara.livejournal.com]

Now?

No.

A wizard did it. :P

[yattara.livejournal.com]

Those are very good points, love, but I'm not going to work out the answers to them now. (Especially the last two questions.) It'll come out in the writing of the story.