Post originally by Conall Kavanagh at 2004-07-27 12:30:37
Converted from Phorums BB System

>>>I think the main thing on any magical predator is that, pretty much by definition, they'll require both meat and magic to survive. This means that just eating ordinary animals isn't enough to keep them alive- they have to put a lot of energy into acquiring magic

That's an interesting idea, and is actually relevant for classical ecological theory. It is posited that all organisms take in energy and use it for two basic purposes: somatic effort (growing, getting larger, staying alive) and reproductive effort (making eggs, looking for mates, etc.). Trade-offs between these two lies at the heart of life history theory. With magic, there can be a third "magical effort." This will indeed encroach upon an animal's energy budget. It can drive animal's to either eat more and/or skimp on reproduction or body size in order to increase their magical ability.