The Goldilocks Poll: How Magic is 5e?
AtomicPope
Hero
I voted Medium Magic for the simple fact that you can run a 5e DnD campaign without any magic whatsoever. Of course, no one does that but the option is there unlike other games like Mage The Awakening or Ars Magica. I played a Valor Bard in a short summer campaign where everyone else had no magic (Barbarian, Fighter, Rogue). The DM wasn't too keen on magic for PCs. The monsters were beasts and monstrosities. Besides me, we didn't have any magic and relied heavily on resting. The game was fine, in fact better than fine it was fun!
I've also played a Fighter in a medium magic campaign. I got a +1 Longsword at 3rd level and that was one of the few magic items I had until the campaign ended. The other PCs were a Barbarian, Rogue, Ranger, and Paladin. The Paladin was by far the most magical. We didn't see any powerful magic until 5th level when we fought against Flaming Skulls. Then we didn't see magic for another 2 levels. It was very much like Frazetta's Death Dealer series.
I've also played a Fighter in a medium magic campaign. I got a +1 Longsword at 3rd level and that was one of the few magic items I had until the campaign ended. The other PCs were a Barbarian, Rogue, Ranger, and Paladin. The Paladin was by far the most magical. We didn't see any powerful magic until 5th level when we fought against Flaming Skulls. Then we didn't see magic for another 2 levels. It was very much like Frazetta's Death Dealer series.
I voted medium magic, because while magic may be common for PCs and NPCs in adventures, as they tend to deal with the metaphysics of the world more, which is magical in nature. But they tend to be exceptional people, and to the ordinary populace, magic is still very mysterious and strange. So answer really depends on whether we're talking from the in-universe or out-of-universe perspective. So I went with the happy medium.
Sadras
Legend
That is only because 6-8 poops a day is an unreasonable ask of any man (or woman).
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The use of the terms high magic and low magic are pretty nebulous.
Does the high/low spectrum apply to the rarity of magic or to the power of magic? Does it apply mainly to PCs or to the implied setting that they live in?
In my definition of low magic, magic can be powerful but it is infrequently used by PCs and does not feature prominently in the implied setting. Thus, imo, 5e is very high magic.
That said, I would agree that
Does the high/low spectrum apply to the rarity of magic or to the power of magic? Does it apply mainly to PCs or to the implied setting that they live in?
In my definition of low magic, magic can be powerful but it is infrequently used by PCs and does not feature prominently in the implied setting. Thus, imo, 5e is very high magic.
That said, I would agree that
Sacrosanct
Legend
I would say very high magic. How many classes can cast spells at some point? You can even take a champion fighter and learn ritual caster or magic initiate. Loaded with magic items, but even if you played an entire campaign without any magic items, magic is still everywhere.
So yeah, high magic. Especially compared to TSR era D&D. You'd be hard pressed to see many parties where more than 50% of the PCs could cast spells by 5th level. I would say with 5e you'd be hard pressed to find a party with less than 80% of the PCs not being able to cast spells by 5th level.
So yeah, high magic. Especially compared to TSR era D&D. You'd be hard pressed to see many parties where more than 50% of the PCs could cast spells by 5th level. I would say with 5e you'd be hard pressed to find a party with less than 80% of the PCs not being able to cast spells by 5th level.
I agree.
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