Line #81 Main/FantasticScience


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9	Humans are naturally curious, and even when ScienceIsWrong we want to know ''why''. In a fantasy setting, these curious people will found whole new academic fields and professions around studying the strange and fantastic flora, fauna and phenomena that exist in it. Just like some schools of {{Hermetic\|Magic}} and VancianMagic will create RitualMagic by [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic analyzing occultism with scientific rigor]], these professionals (not necessarily wizards, though that does help the survival rate) will go about cataloguing, studying and ([[ForScience hopefully humanely]]) experimenting with peculiar phyla in a very empirical way.
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11	Possible Fantastic Scientists include a botanist who studies mandragora, a zoologist cataloguing griffins, or an epi''demon''ologist who studies outbreaks of infectious DemonicPossession to find a cure. Likewise, you can expect their field of study to have a [[{{Whatevermancy}} strange made up name]], like [[Literature/HarryPotter Herbology]], Mythozoology or Impology. All the same, they will go about studying these curious classes as if they were real... because in the setting, ''they are!''
12
13	As a character, a Fantastic Scientist is often TheProfessor or at least TheSmartGuy, possibly a bit of an AbsentMindedProfessor or even MadScientist. You can expect many of them to be a MuggleWithADegreeInMagic. They can be amiable enough [[MrExposition deliverers of exposition]], background, in need of rescuing from their subject of study, or the cause of some shenanigans (like the above epidemonologist letting loose an improved possession plague). Their motivations can range from curiosity, a desire to discover PotentialApplications, or to gain kingship over this kingdom. Their home or office will usually have a MagicalLibrary with truly eclectic books and a BazaarOfTheBizarre composed of their subject of study.
14
15	A MagicPoweredPseudoscience is more likely to be "[[AlchemyIsMagic alchemy works because of magic]]" and modeled on that pseudoscience than an attempt by in-universe characters to model the magic as the regular science that this is. It should be noted that UsefulNotes/{{alchemy}} does not fall under this trope due to the fact that [[ChemistryCanDoAnything it is technically real]].
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17	SubTrope of FictionalFieldOfScience. SuperTrope to SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic, i.e., studying magic specifically in a scientific manner. Will work ''much'' better if MagicAIsMagicA, but doesn't neccesarily depend on that. If an OccultDetective decides to also catalogue whatever it is they detect, they may also be researchers of a Fantastic Science. See also MagicVersusScience, AdmiringTheAbomination. Compare TheSparkOfGenius. If the magical science has practical implications, it may graduate into {{Magitek}}. Compare also AllAccessibleMagic, where magic is presented as a skill whose main entry barrier is simply study and practice.
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19	Not to be confused with FictionScience.
20	----
21	!!Examples:
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23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
26	* In ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'', "monsters" are a class of life distinguished from regular plants and animals by the high concentration of mana in their flesh, which affects their biology and behavior. Exposition about the various monsters the party encounters is often conveyed through [[NightmareFetishist amateur monster enthusiast]] Laius Thorden. At one point he offhandedly mentions that the amount of literature on walking mushrooms is comparable to the amount of literature on dragons, one of the best-studied monsters.
27	* In ''Anime/{{Endride}}'', although the world of Endora is magic to us, with things like [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation innate magical swords]] you can [[SummonToHand summon]], a [[PowerCrystal crystal]] that hangs in a sky and functions as a sun, and a magical ancient transporting device that moves you between the [[HollowWorld inside]] and the surface of Earth, to the multiple [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Omnidisciplinary Scientists]] in the series, it's totally scientific, they just need to research more.
28	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': It is alluded a few time that the Speedwagon Foundation has taken a bit of research into various elements that have occurred throughout the series, including the effects of [[FightingSpirit Stands]] and other phenomenal that is brought to their attention.
29	* ''Manga/MagilumiereCoLtd'': Some companies specialize in studying captured Kaii in order to figure out how mutant variants work and develop more effective spells against them. [[spoiler: RIMT in particular has discovered a new variant of Kaii that can grow mouths to devour any magic thrown at it.]]
30	* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', characters mention "metaphysical biology," which seems to be the science of souls. This fits with [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic how souls are treated in the series]].
31	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', [[PowerUpFood Devil Fruits]] have effects that can only be described as "magical", but are treated as a normal part of the world around them and studied with scientific effects. They have been categorized into multiple types based on their precise transformative effects, and there has even been research done into artificially recreating them, even if the results have been deemed largely a failure. [[TheFaceless Dr. Vegapunk]] is even an OmnidisciplinaryScientist whose greatest claim to fame is being the world's foremost expert on the science behind Devil Fruits. WordOfGod has even asserted then when Dr. Vegapunk is finally encountered during the story, many of the mysteries of Devil Fruits will be explained at last.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Comic Books]]
35	%%* ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}''
36	* ''ComicBook/WitchDoctor'' portrays the realm of supernatural creatures as parasites that are best battled by medical specialists rather than soldiers. The first issue of the mini-series treated a DemonicPossession as being similar to a parasitic infection, with the young victim, after being purged, having to remain inside his family home surrounded by protective runes until the main characters could find a more permanent cure for his condition.
37	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
38	** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': The Amazons have an entire one of their outer islands dedicated to the sciences where they study normal things like medicine as well as time travel, dimensional travel, immortality, and mythological creatures.
39	** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' enemy [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Doctor]] [[MadScientist Poison]] calls herself a "Mythobiologist". She studies the biology of mythological beings and [[BodyHorror their effects]] on more mundane life.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Fan Works]]
43	* In ''WebVideo/FixingRWBY'', there are fields of science dedicated to studying Grimm and their biology.
44	* ''Fanfic/{{Visiontale}}'' has several. Among them are soulology, the study of the colors of magic and how someone develops the color or colors they do, magitry, the magical equivalent of the T and E in STEM, and translationism, a school of thought which applies human concepts, like ethics or theology, to monsters.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
48	* Newt Scamander from ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' is a magizoologist, and indeed wrote the book on magical creatures.
49	* In ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'', two of the three original team members, Ray and Egon, are legitimate paranormal researchers who channel their knowledge into the business of "paranormal investigations and eliminations". It's not clear what Peter contributes to the research, if anything, though he's stated to have a [=PhD=] in parapsychology, and he was the one that came up with the idea of making it into a business after the guys got kicked out of Columbia University. WordOfGod is that Egon and Ray are legitimate practitioners of their field (albeit Egon is far better at it) while Peter didn't believe in the supernatural until he was confronted with it.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Literature]]
53	* The ''Literature/AnitaBlake'' series has Preternatural Biology, the study of preternatural (magic/paranormal) creatures, like dragons, yeti, vampires, what have you. It's actually portrayed fairly realistically -- for instance, dragons aren't magic exactly and don't breathe fire, they are giant lizards (many of them hunted to extinction), and trolls are a kind of primate closely related to humans.
54	* In ''Literature/TheArtsOfDarkAndLight'', the [[EvilOverlord Witchkings]], the elves and [[TheEmpire Savondir]] all used or still use magic to aid what we would call their non-magical science and technology (though they don't always distinguish that sharply between the fields). With magic able to view and manipulate very fine structures of matter and energy, as well as supply high-energy charges that real life needs heavy equipment to produce, this has resulted in powerful advances in everything from cosmology and particle physics to magical genetic engineering.
55	* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': In the sequel series ''The Malloreon'', the Melcene University has schools devoted to alchemy, necromancy, etc.
56	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
57	** Ponder Stibbons and his fellows at the High Energy Magic Building of the Unseen University concoct theories of how magic interacts with quantum mechanics, and divide magical force into ever-smaller fundamental particles. The more senior wizards assume [[spoiler:incorrectly]] that the keen lads will grow out of it.
58	** Some witches, like Magrat Garlick's mentor Goodie Whemper, are "research witches" who strive for more precision in their magic. When confronted with a spell calling for EyeOfNewt, they set to find out which ''species'' of newt works better for this particular spell, and so on. It's noted that this makes them less powerful as witches (since it doesn't actually matter) but ''much'' better healers.
59	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
60	** Harry Dresden makes a study of magic, describing himself as effectively a magical nerd. When he was entrusted with a Sword of the Cross, he made a study of who would be a suitable person for being a wielder of the sword, and correctly deduced at least one candidate.
61	** He explicitly keeps Bob (a knowledge spirit housed in a skull) around specifically for his ability to be a magic scientist. It becomes a plot point when he discovers that Bob was created for this purpose, and was so successful that ''Mab'', Queen of Air and Darkness, wants to destroy him.
62	** Waldo Butters is great at this. Originally a pure {{muggle\|s}}, when he gets into the spooky side of things he becomes a really proficient magical theorist by applying the scientific ideas he already knew. He still doesn’t have an ounce of inherent magical ability, but he was able to devise some handy {{Magitek}} by working with Bob.
63	* Telemain of ''Literature/EnchantedForestChronicles'' is a magician who studies the technical side of magic and has a habit of talking in incomprehensible MagiBabble, much to the chagrin of the other characters (though Morwen, who has hung around with Telemain a long time, learns to translate him into BuffySpeak).
64	* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
65	** Some of the Classes at Hogwarts operate this way, like herbology. It's basically just botany, but with magical plants. They seem never to study any non-magical skills. This is lampshaded by Hermione in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone the very first book]] when she and Harry are confronted with Snape's obstacle, which is simply a logic puzzle requiring no magical skills to defeat. She comments that an ordinary wizard might have had serious problems solving it, because they "[[UselessWithoutPowers don't have an ounce of logic]]".
66	** Magizoology is the magical equivalent of zoology.
67	** Luna Lovegood says that her mother regularly engaged in magical experiments, one of which "went rather badly wrong one day" when Luna was a child, and killed her. (She mentions this in the context of explaining why she can see thestrals, implying that the incident happened in front of young Luna.)
68	* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'': Oxford university contains a college of experimental theology, which is where they talk about [[MacGuffin Dust]].
69	* In ''Literature/InCryptid'', cryptozoology is a legitimate (though secret) branch of zoology, which often crosses into anthropology when the cryptids in question are sapient. Alex Price's grandfather Thomas was also a sorcerer who wrote down his research on magic (though much of it has not survived).
70	* Theoretical magicians in ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'' [[MuggleWithADegreeInMagic study magic but don't ever practice it]].
71	* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'':
72	** {{Mana}} is just one more form of energy to be studied, like solar radiation or electricity. The academic study of it is called "manaology".
73	** The study of mana mutation is undertaken by the International Community Dedicated to Mana Mutation (ICDMM). Their mission statement is to figure out exactly how it works and then develop technology to treat and/or prevent it.
74	** Lady Sias studies Mt. Daici and how Ceiha's unique climate (constant [[{{Mana}} Fog clouds]] in a magicless continent) affects its geology.
75	* One of the world's top magical theoreticians in ''Literature/LordDarcy'' is [[MuggleWithADegreeInMagic utterly devoid of magical talent]]; he's just ''very'' good at conceptualizing the principles ''behind'' magic.
76	* ''Literature/LoyalEnemies'' has HermeticMagic, justifying the trope. Theoretical magic requires many hours, if not days or years, of meticulous planning and calculations, much like real-life engineering, and the wizard academy of Beloria works much like a real-life university. Theoretical magic is studied like maths or biology and students must write a thesis to gain a degree -- for example, Veres' Baccalaureate paper is on the magical origins of [[OurMonstersAreDifferent darklings]].
77	* ''Literature/TheMachineriesOfEmpire'' has an entire area of mathematics dedicated to calendar and harnessing its {{reality warp\|er}}ing powers.
78	* ''Literature/AMemoirByLadyTrent'' is written from a perspective of a dragon naturalist, and chronicles the early days of dragon naturalism -- what we'd today call "dragonology" -- as a scientific discipline.
79	* ''Literature/TheNameOfTheWind'' has this as the setting, in the form of The University. There are various grades of magic, starting with almost-science and ranging all the way to god-mode. To make things more exciting, they're all intermixed. It turns out that chemistry and metalsmithing are ''much'' more exciting when you can break the laws of physics.
80	* There's the ''Literature/OlogySeries'' of pseudo-scientifical books about various topics, including books like [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragonology]], Wizardology or [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampireology]].
81	* Peter Grant from ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'' takes this approach to magic, conducting experiments into phenomena such as materials' capacity to retain ''vestigia'' and spells' destructive impact on electronics. Folly records and Nightingale's anecdotes confirm he's far from the first to do this. Drs. Walid and Vaughn likewise conduct autopsies on creatures and victims of magic, conduct medical tests on near-human volunteers, and are attempting to isolate genetic markers for fae ancestry or proclivities.
82	* Arthur Spiderwick of ''Literature/TheSpiderwickChronicles'' is essentially a zoologist of magical creatures.
83	* In ''Literature/{{Vampirocracy}}'', Leon and Ling took college courses in [[OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious cryptozoology]], [[OurMonstersAreWeird mythozoology and thaumobiology]], and [[MagicAIsMagicA thaumodynamics]].
84	* ''Literature/WaywardChildren'': Eleanor West works to document and classify the {{Magical Land}}s her students visit and to study the mysterious Doors that connect them. It's very much an emerging field of study -- classifications like "Logic vs. Nonsense" and "Virtue vs. Wicked" arise from humans trying to make sense of a very messy [[TheMultiverse multiverse]].
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
88	* Helen Magnus from ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'' studies unknown animals, aliens, and monsters.
89	-->'''Helen:''' I specialize mainly in cryptozoology and xenobiology. Teratology, too, when the need arises.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Pinball]]
93	* ''Pinball/AmericasMostHaunted'' has a crew of amateur [[ParanormalInvestigation paranormal investigators]] who use custom hardware to track down ghosts.
94	* ''Pinball/BoneBusters'' features a team of [[TheRealSpoofbusters suspiciously familiar supernatural-stopping heroes]] fighting a horde of [[DemBones animated skeletons]] with energy rods firing glowing electric beams.
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
98	* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'' is based on a MagicalSociety with a strong scholarly tradition, so every self-respecting magus has some expertise in Magic Theory. Other mystical areas of inquiry include faeries, the Divine, the Infernal, and everything in between, in addition to [[ScienceWizard mundane arts and sciences]] that might support magical research.
99	* In ''TabletopGame/CthulhuTech'', sorcery is something you can learn in college. You [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity might not actually want to]], though ...
100	* Artificers from ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' are described this way.
101	* In ''TabletopGame/EldritchSkies'', [[{{Magitek}} techno-sorcery]] is something that is commonly known to exist and in common (albeit heavily regulated) use. There is also a discipline called "hyperspatial sorcery" which uses mathematics to cast spells without the need for quite so much chanting and human sacrifices.
102	* ''TabletopGame/{{EON}}'' plays it straighter than an arrow, since, in this universe, magic ''is'' science!
103	* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
104	** The game uses the term 'savant' to denote anyone who has a scientific understanding of the fantastic forces at work in and beyond Creation, as opposed to people who are just operating on superstition and folklore. Also, anyone who works extensively with {{Magitek}} is called a sorcerer-engineer.
105	** It also uses the term "motonic" for a major field of high-tier scientific study, related to the way that everything in its world is composed of motes of Essence.
106	* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'':
107	** Thaumatology is "the academic study of magical theory". Occultism has specialties like vampirology and pneumatology for more specific areas of study.
108	** Pneumatology is from the Greek (πνεύμα) and means "the study of spirits."
109	* ''TabletopGame/MutantCityBlues'' is set in a world where people with superpowers is a rising minority and, after scientific analysis has discovered the intricacies of how MagicAIsMagicA (including facts such as PowerAtAPrice, ElementalBaggage, how NeurodiversityIsSupernatural as a potential side-effect of certain powers, and so on), the result is that forensic science has evolved and is now possible to perform such things as "gunshot residue" testing for HandBlast powers, determining if PsychicAssistedSuicide has happened via X-raying the victim's brain, and so on. The setting is best described as ''Series/{{CSI}}'' meets ''Series/{{Heroes}}''.
110	* The ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' setting's various sourcebooks on monsters, the ''Van Richten's Guides'', are [[DirectLineToTheAuthor presented as the work]] of scientifically minded researchers of the supernatural.
111	* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' has parabotanists and parazoologists, who study Awakened (magical) plants and animals, respectively. There are also academics who study the theory of magic but can't actually do magic themselves.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Theme Parks]]
115	* ''Ride/TheHauntedMansion''[='s=] character Professor Wathel R. Bender is revealed in tie-in material such as the ''Ghost Post'' interactive game to be a "researcher in metaphysicks" (complete with Tesla-like lab). This is not universally accepted across the ride's UnreliableCanon but is the case in the "[[Fanfic/TheMansionverse Mansionverse]]" FanVerse.
116	[[/folder]]
117
118	[[folder:Video Games]]
119	* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': [[NGOSuperpower The Consortium]] has continuously studied all varieties of supernatural phenomena brought about by the [[EldritchLocation Limen crater]]. The various research notes found within their [[ElaborateUndergroundBase facility]] details that the variants they've inquire into were originally from AnotherDimension called Hinterland that harbors a connection with Limen, and the only method that can destroy both is an ArtifactOfDoom that's deep within the former.
120	* The Tolkienesque world of ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'' is undergoing an industrial revolution which has given rise to a very scientifically minded academia. There are many in-universe scientific texts on such matters as [[MagicVersusScience the Nature of Magick and Technology]] or Supernatural Selection, which explores (among other things) the genetic ancestry of elves and orcs and [[HumanSubspecies how it relates to humans]].
121	* In the world of ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'', the afterlife has become a demonstrable reality, and the study of scientific research. The timeless nature of Beaches and the exotic matter that composes them are harnessed for things like ultra-fast computation, AntiGravity, and {{Matter Replicator}}s.
122	* In ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'', there is the field of "Entroponetics", the study of "the pale", the strange patches of anti-reality that covers most of the known world and separates its continents. Scientists of the field study the pale's disruptive effects on probability, consciousness, and reality in general, and its strange connection to sound and radio waves. As the pale covers most of the known world and is slowly encroaching on the remaining patches of land and sea, its study is a matter of some moderate urgency -- slow though it is, at its current rate of growth it will eventually cover everything, even if it takes centuries.
123	* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'': Golden Order Fundamentalism is equal parts a religious and scientific practice, focusing on understanding what are essentially laws of physics created by the Elden Ring. Their prayerbook, the Golden Order Principia, is described as a "dense and complex academic treatise" and their incantations tend to require equally high Faith and Intelligence in order to cast.
124	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
125	** Common throughout the series. SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic is in full effect, with numerous {{Wizarding School}}s and [[MagicalSociety Magical Societies]] found throughout the setting dedicated to the study of magic. Magic is further broken down into "schools" of magic ([[ElementalPowers Destruction]], [[AlchemyIsMagic Alchemy]], [[SummonMagic Conjuration]], etc.), where mages can either specialize or become {{Omnidisciplinary Scientist}}s. These magical institutions also tend to double as a home for scholars of history and archeology, with many {{Adventure Archaeologist}}s found in their ranks.
126	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', Divayth Fyr is an [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient]] Telvanni wizard who has dedicated himself to studying the Corprus Disease, opening a Corprusarium to house its victims while working to FindTheCure. [[spoiler:He does, in a way, during the main quest after the [[PlayerCharacter Nerevarine]] catches the disease. It only cures the negative effects, leaving the Nerevarine as TheAgeless with IdealIllnessImmunity, but [[ThereIsNoCure kills every other test subject]] he tries it on.]]
127	* Some of ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'''s advanced stats are expertise in one of these. Specifically:
128	** Scholar of the Correspondence is a very particular sort of linguistics dealing with [[LanguageOfMagic the Correspondence]]. It's a very delicate art, as the language is so unforgiving making a typo or even trying to pronounce it will set you on fire and melt through lead if overdone, but those who know what they're doing can [[RealityWarper redirect reality closer to their desires]] by hijacking what they know is [[spoiler:the language of the god-like Judgements]].
129	** Artisan of the Red Science denotes skill in a particular form of [[RealityWarper reality alteration]] that must play by certain rules while bypassing others, be it by rhetoric or by exploiting the looser realities of the Neath. It's denoted as a science of breaking chains, but that you ''must'' know the chains to know how to break them.
130	** Kataleptic Toxicology is a variant of chemistry focused on Neath-born substances and their less-than-natural effects upon the human(?) body. It covers substances from the merely exceedingly lethal to the outright esoteric (such as [[MoralityGuidedAttack poisons that know what you did]] and {{Immortality Inducer}}s).
131	** Monstrous Anatomy borders on regular xenobiology, but with an emphasis on the unnatural anatomies of monsters in the Neath and in [[DreamLand Parabola]], how to work with them and how to bring down the creatures through weaknesses innate only to such anatomies. It's also a measure of how monstrous ''your'' anatomy has gotten, and (in a pinch) can double as paleontology in a place as screwy as the Neath.
132	** Glasswork is the science that works with [[DreamLand Parabola]] and its unique framework of physics based on mental metaphor and general dreams. People who often need to work with others' dreams would do well to brush up on it, and it's fundamental to people like Silverers who cross the mirror on a regular basis.
133	** Shapeling Arts is the skill that Rubbery Men and people who have dealings with them use to physically alter their own bodies and those of others. Such changes are ''very'' variable, going from very temporary alterations that let you not break your bones on a NegativeSpaceWedgie or push yourself through a hole the size of an arm, to outright giving yourself new limbs and other permanent modifications; the unifying idea is to evolve into something better, for the situation or for life.
134	** [[spoiler:Steward of the Discordance]] is in ways the opposite to Scholar of the Correspendence thanks to the language being the ''literal'' opposite. Trying to steer reality down paths of your liking with it is likely to freeze your eyeballs until they crack even if you ''do'' know what you're doing, and [[spoiler:the Laws imposed by it when you even ''read'' it can only be removed if you forget it ever happened]]. But knowing this language is a factor, it's better to have it studied, and know what it can do.
135	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' has many different fields of science revolving around crystals and their possible usage.
136	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has Doctor Cid, who studies magicite, a type of magic-bearing mineral, to create nethicite. Nethicite had only been created by the by the gods of the setting before then and absorbs magic. Cid's artificial nethicite has led to advances in the setting's aeronautics and weaponry, but the reason for his studies is that he wants to [[spoiler:free the world from the gods' manipulations]].
137	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has the scientific field of "aetherology": the study of [[BackgroundMagicField aether]], its use in magic, and its effects on living beings and the world as a whole. Healing and spell-casting professions such as thaumaturges, conjurers, and arcanists, as well as gathering and crafting classes, are specific offshoots of aetherology, as each uses aether in different ways.
138	* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': There are [=NPCs=] in the series researching the various fantastic monsters your hunter will find him or herself hunting. You'll even get a few quests to hunt or capture monsters for research. Many of the quests a hunter undertakes will be to bring in samples or even live specimens for the Guild eggheads to analyze. This is even reflected by the materials you get from monsters; hunt something that breathes fire, and you might just carve out an internal organ that holds the flammable powder that fuels the attack. Even creatures and attacks that don't make any sense are acknowledged as an enigma InUniverse, and trying to understand the Dragon element is an ongoing puzzle.
139	* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
140	** ''VideoGame/Persona3'': The Kirijo Group conducted research studying [[ShadowArchetype Shadows]], and invented the [[MagiTek Evokers as a method to artificially draw out one's]] [[FightingSpirit Persona]].
141	** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Cognitive Psience, an offshoot of normal cognitive science focusing on study of the MentalWorld.
142	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has various professors. [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Professor Oak]] studies Pokémon-human behavior and interactions, [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Elm]] does Pokémon breeding, [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Birch]] studies Pokémon ecology, [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Rowan]] studies Pokémon evolution, [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Juniper]] studies Pokémon origins (i.e. evolution in the speciation sense as opposed to Pokémon metamorphosis), [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Sycamore]] studies [[SuperMode Mega Evolution]], [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Kukui]] studies Pokémon moves (including Z-moves), [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Magnolia]] studies the Dynamax phenomenon, [[VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus Laventon]] studies Pokemon ecology, and [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Sada and Turo]] study the Terastal phenomenon.
143	* In the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games, Prof. E. Gadd is usually an OmnidisciplinaryScientist. However, in the ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionSeries'', his job is studying [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts of many different varieties]].
144	* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' is fond of this, along with SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic:
145	** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'': Sorcery is treated this way (even more so in the prequels). Your party visits three separate "magical research labs" over the course of the story, and Claus considers himself a scientist.
146	** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Raine Sage, who is a magical historian with a focus on healing arts and [[{{Magitek}} magitechnology]].
147	** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] Jade Curtiss, who (along with his former friend Saphir) used to be a sort of magical geneticist, and goes back to it after the game. Saphir Neis and Guy Cecil both focus on [[{{Magitek}} fontech]], although Guy is really more of an enthusiastic hobbyist.
148	* ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' series has both this (potions, weapons, armor, and even bombs made out of dead fantastic creatures) as well as SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic.
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Web Comics]]
152	%% Needs Context * ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}'' gives us powerfologists. See BishonenLine for more.
153	* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has several scientists who are studying ''magic''; Tedd Verres seems to be heading in this [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1296 direction.]] They and Dr. Germahn will be sharing a lab for this purpose.
154	* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', the eponymous Court studies the extranormal from time to time, using the term "Etheric Sciences" to describe their studies of magic, which they call "ether." They do this because they believe everything can be explained, so "magic" is a misnomer to them. Kat Donlan discovered that the [[LivingShadow Shadow Men]] actually have mass, and the Suttons are botanists/gardeners who restore magically animated trees to their original state.
155	* ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'', as an RPGMechanicsVerse based on the ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' setting (see above), has this. Of particular note are Misho, a Twilight caste Solar (which basically makes him TheSmartGuy, versed in occult and arcane lore as well as more mundane science and engineering, and the MagiTek that comes from the intersection of the two) and Nova (an Alchemical, who is basically half MadScientist and half SorcerousOverlord).
156	-->'''Misho:''' I know '''[[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0109.html magic science]]'''.
157	* ''Webcomic/PastelDefenderHeliotrope'' presents us ''chatoyanics'' the study of ''chatoyance''. A form of radiation energy particular to the physics of that universe.
158	[[/folder]]
159
160	[[folder:Web Original]]
161	* Website/DeviantArt user Joschua Knüppe has started the project ''[[http://hyrotrioskjan.deviantart.com/gallery/26946429/Dragons-of-the-world Dragons of the world]]'', in which he explains various species of dragons (including their abilities to fly and "breathe fire") in a scientifically plausible way.
162	* ''Literature/ImpracticalMagic'': Istima is a WizardingSchool that has courts teaching and studying the various approaches to magic. This includes studies of magical resonance, magic reserve recovery, energy calculations, and various other aspects of applied magic.
163	* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': There are professions such as [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/excerpts-from-training-seminars-for-lesser-known-foundation architectural zoologist]] (specialist in living buildings, not possessed by ghosts or something similar, but really alive, that eat and excrete) and practical demonologists, among others.
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Western Animation]]
167	* ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'': The dragonology and dragon behaviorism Hiccup and his friends study (and discover) at Berk Dragon Academy. In Season 2, it expanded and started to focus on combat oriented elements due to Alvin learning how to train dragons and other threats rising up against Berk. By the time of ''Race to the Edge'', it's all over the place as the Riders use the Dragon Eye to find all sorts of new dragons.
168	* In ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends: WesternAnimation/GoodWiltHunting'', Adams and Douglas, the two nerd that discovered Coco, try to start the scientific field of Figmentology, since imaginary friends are real on that show.
169	* Twilight Sparkle shows signs of this in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', especially when she hooks up Pinkie Pie to a monitoring device to gather 'scientific' data on how Pinkie is able to predict the future outside of real magic.
170	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', the lost tech of the [[{{Precursors}} Eliatropes]] is described as "magical science". Nox, the BigBad of season 1, is also such a fantastic scientist, studying the principles behind [[LifeEnergy the wakfu]] and time magic to attempt TimeTravel. Even before finding the [[AmplifierArtifact Eliacube]], as a humble clockmaker, he was able to build a flying pocket watch, albeit one lacking a durable power source.
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172
173	[[folder:Real Life]]
174	* The early modern scientist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus Paracelsus]] classified supernatural creatures based upon their primary element: Gnomes-Earth, Undines-Water, Sylphs-Air, Salamanders-Fire. He was also a pioneer in the study of medicine, geology and chemistry. Until the 1700s and sometimes even later, this was common. The famed astronomer Johannes Kepler, for instance, was also an astrologer, since astronomy had not been divorced from astrology when he wrote (that only happened later). Isaac Newton believed in alchemy and astrology, which in his time were no longer viewed as sciences, with him being ridiculed for it. Into the mid-1800s, many geologists believed in a literal [[GreatFlood global flood]] based on Literature/TheBible (plus creationism). Only with increasing geological evidence that showed it didn't happen or was an exaggerated retelling of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_deluge_hypothesis the Black Sea deluge]], along with the theory of evolution were they abandoned (at least, they have by most scientists -- a creationist fringe still exists). The so-called creation science and current intelligent design movements are considered pseudoscience at best by the scientific community, but if true would be this. There is also in the modern-day cryptozoology (the supposed study of "cryptids", hidden creatures like {{Bigfoot}} or the [[StockNessMonster Loch Ness Monster]]), parapsychology (the study of alleged {{psychic powers}}), and ufology (the study of [=UFOs=], usually positing they are [[TheGreys extraterrestrial or interdimensional vehicles]]). All these would qualify if they did/do have any merit, though the scientific community doesn't accept any of them. However, ufology has a more legitimate counterpart in astrobiology[[note]]not to be confused with xenobiology, the study of ''synthetic'' life[[/note]], the study of the potential for extraterrestrial life which focuses on the things we ''can'' observe like organic compounds in space and planetary habitability. Several animals known to us today like the giant squid were once considered cryptids (a century ago), but because cryptozoology has to rely on anecdotal information in place of the scientific method, it's not considered a real science (in addition to evolutionary biology, the fossil record, and satellite imaging reducing its merit even further).
175	[[/folder]]

Context Main / FantasticScience