Magic turns in-setting beliefs into gameable content
It's often said that Magic needs to be uncertain, dangerous, or strange in order to be interesting. Games like Dungeon Crawl Classics or the upcoming Arcane Ugly take this route. I, however, feel that Magic is best used as the vector for the players to experience the individual cultures of your world. The quickest way to get your players invested in your game is through gameable content, something they can interact with. I've already described how I use race and culture for this on my blog, but today's focus is on how to use magic to make your fictional cultures tangible. If you do this right, your players will be eating up your fantasy lore in no time. In the 1st century A.D., a book called the Testament of Solomon was written describing how Solomon built his famous Temple. He received a ring from the Archangel Michael, and used it to command legions of demons, named and ranked in their filth, to build the temple for him. For if the Lord is above the demons, and