> This is where the fantasy trope of “some people can just do magic, and nobody ever wonders how they get to be so special” collides, hard, with reality and common sense.
I'm not sure about that. In a world where some people have always been able to do magic, most people would accept that as simply "the way things are".
That reminds me of a comment in Clyde Kluckohn's book on Navajo Witchcraft. He said that Navajo suspected both the very wealthy and the very poor of being witches. The very wealthy because only witchcraft could make you wealthier than everyone else. The very poor, because of course they were ruled by envy and resentment and would happily use witchcraft to enrich themselves at everyone else's expense.
The economics can get very complicated. In European witch hunts, the accusers and the accused tends to be of the same level of wealth, with the accused being *slightly* less wealthy.
Only if it fits their notions of hierarchy. Resentment of merchants is very wide-spread, and many cultures try to declare that they are the lowest level of society -- but they grow rich. Nobility resent the rise of upstarts who join the nobility, and often other parts of society join in the contempt for one reason or another.
Something I've noticed in history is that when warrior classes actually spend a large part of their time fighting, they care less about a new member's "impeccable ancestry" and more about "Can they afford armor, weapons, and a horse? Can they fight well? Can they take orders? Congratulations, welcome to the club." In both Japan and Europe it wasn't until after the samurai and knights became primarily bureaucrats that suddenly you HAD to come from "a proper knightly/samurai family" or you were considered beyond the pale.
Going by what you said here about 'monstrous' children, I'm guessing that in a more historical setting this means the tieflings (I.e., humans with obvious infernal ancestry) or other children who were born with or develop early signs of nonhuman ancestors and magical powers, like a lot of sorcerers, will die very quickly and badly.
As compared to the usual treatment that got in Pathfinder or AD&D, at least as I recall.
Oh yes. Possibly not even intentionally. There was a woman acquitted of murdering a boy in Britain because the prosecution hadn't proved to the jury that she had tried to kill him as opposed to getting the fairy out of him.
> This is where the fantasy trope of “some people can just do magic, and nobody ever wonders how they get to be so special” collides, hard, with reality and common sense.
I'm not sure about that. In a world where some people have always been able to do magic, most people would accept that as simply "the way things are".
There are people who have problems with the idea that anyone has more abilities than anyone else in reality.
True, but I get the impression that's a rather recent development. In most societies people just accept the existence of heirarchy.
In particular, witchcraft accusations can be spurred by resentment of prosperity, from a good farm to winning the king's favor.
That reminds me of a comment in Clyde Kluckohn's book on Navajo Witchcraft. He said that Navajo suspected both the very wealthy and the very poor of being witches. The very wealthy because only witchcraft could make you wealthier than everyone else. The very poor, because of course they were ruled by envy and resentment and would happily use witchcraft to enrich themselves at everyone else's expense.
The economics can get very complicated. In European witch hunts, the accusers and the accused tends to be of the same level of wealth, with the accused being *slightly* less wealthy.
Only if it fits their notions of hierarchy. Resentment of merchants is very wide-spread, and many cultures try to declare that they are the lowest level of society -- but they grow rich. Nobility resent the rise of upstarts who join the nobility, and often other parts of society join in the contempt for one reason or another.
Something I've noticed in history is that when warrior classes actually spend a large part of their time fighting, they care less about a new member's "impeccable ancestry" and more about "Can they afford armor, weapons, and a horse? Can they fight well? Can they take orders? Congratulations, welcome to the club." In both Japan and Europe it wasn't until after the samurai and knights became primarily bureaucrats that suddenly you HAD to come from "a proper knightly/samurai family" or you were considered beyond the pale.
That is at least in part because the warrior in fighting times can hit you over the head if you ask too many questions.
Going by what you said here about 'monstrous' children, I'm guessing that in a more historical setting this means the tieflings (I.e., humans with obvious infernal ancestry) or other children who were born with or develop early signs of nonhuman ancestors and magical powers, like a lot of sorcerers, will die very quickly and badly.
As compared to the usual treatment that got in Pathfinder or AD&D, at least as I recall.
Oh yes. Possibly not even intentionally. There was a woman acquitted of murdering a boy in Britain because the prosecution hadn't proved to the jury that she had tried to kill him as opposed to getting the fairy out of him.