Magic Power and Ley Lines

Nick and I were talking again about his ongoing rpg project which seems to revolve around magic as its main theme - everyone is a magic user of one sort or another, and power is summoned by your character from (possibly among other sources) geographic places, or ley lines as you might call them, and their intersections.

I pointed out the interesting politics such a situation might make for...possibly analogous to the Middle-East's oil in our world. There might even be a very similar place in that fictional magic world, where power is highly concentrated and thus greatly fought over. Or perhaps the power in such a spot is already highly controlled and monopolized, and those on the outside or otherwise denied access are resentful, jealous, and ever conspiring against those controlling the magic "oil" fields. Interesting campaign setting, even if it doesn't become an rpg in its own right.

I recently re-read Robert Aspin's Myth Adventures and he made mention (although I'm sure he isn't the only fantasy author to have done so) of such invisible power lines of magic, detectable only by Wizards or their apprentices, who can tap into them and recharge their spell-casting batteries.

Of course, some say this is something that's not the stuff or fantasy or fiction. If you have Google Earth installed, you can download and install this .kmz file that will show you B. Hagen's compiled map of major ley lines and vortices (intersections). Maybe you live in a vortex and didn't know it? :-)

In searching for an image for this post, I stumbled on the above Earth picture and couldn' t resist pairing it with the ubiquitous d20 on the right.