Magical Duels
When opposing magical energies collide, chaos reigns
If there’s one idea I’ve repeated ad nauseam in these articles, it’s that arcane magic should be chaotic and dangerous to use. Trying to tame the forces of creation and destruction as a mere mortal with a pouch full of bat shit and a book should be a high-risk high-reward scenario. Part of creating a sense of chaotic danger around magic is having magic react violently to contact with opposing magics. This creates potential for a very cool and under-explored concept within RPGs: the magical duel. When wizards duel with each other, the results can be catastrophic but fun to play out. So let’s discuss how and when to use a wizard’s duel in your games.
If I may make a bold claim, the idea of a magical duel comes not from fantasy, Arthurian romance or mythology, but from Old Testament scripture. Moses and the plagues might be an example of this, but the first real example of power vs power comes during Elijah’s duel with the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. In this story, the prophets of Baal perform ritual and prayer to have Baal send fire onto a stone altar. They fail to ignite the sacrifice after hours of trying and then Elijah orders that the alter be soaked with water. Elijah then prays to God who ignites the altar and the fire evaporates all of the water which was collected around the altar in a trench. The people of Israel then kill the Prophets of Baal. This story illustrates a battle of belief and divine power and can represent a kind of caster’s duel between priests.
A further evolution of the wizard’s duel can be seen in T.H. White’s 1938 edition of “The Sword in the Stone.” Although White’s revised edition removed this story, it was immortalized by Walt Disney in his 1963 adaptation. Walt Disney portrays the duel in a comical fashion, but tension is still present throughout as Arthur’s life hangs in the balance. This duel also showcases a clash of styles as Mim relies on trickery and raw magical power while Merlin utilizes creative thinking to win the day.
One-on-one formalized dueling between wizards even occurs in Harry Potter, although I must say that I’m not a fan of this portrayal. Magic in The Wizarding World always felt a little to clean and precise for my liking. Still, dueling is a central part of this universe and it will likely be a touchstone for players of a certain generation. In my game though, they’ll be in for a rude awakening.
In the RPG world though, I’ve found the feature of magical dueling largely absent. There is one game that handles magical dueling well though: Dungeon Crawl Classics. While 5e sums up the mechanic of countering spells with the spell “Counterspell,” DCC allows any caster going after the attacker in initiative to counterspell using defensive spells, negating spells and by casting the same spell as the attacker. Both casters roll off to see who wins the clash and then a roll is made on a table based on the results. If both casters roll the same on their spell checks, chaos happens. This chaos can include pocket dimensions opening, time looping, demons invading, etc. It is a perfect representation of a class of chaotic forces though.
I don’t know why more games haven’t tried to adopt these mechanics, but they absolutely should. Magical energies clashing should be a chaotic and dangerous event and one that everyone remembers. Yes, it means that things can get hectic and there will be unforeseen consequences. That’s the nature of the beat though. Again, magic is chaotic and any GM who wants to add these mechanics to their games should keep that in mind.
In summary, look to DCC to understand how these scenarios play out. Magical energies clashing should be a terrifying proposition for players, but it will create a hell of a cool moment. Embrace the chaos of the situation.